A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend after walking in on her with another woman, court documents say.
Richard Wendell Sotka, 48, was caught in Mississippi County, Arkansas, by police 10 hours after the double killing and admitted to the brutal stabbing, according to a criminal complaint.
He adamantly denied the lesser stalking charges.
Wendell's girlfriend 58-year-old Rhonda Cegelski and Paula O'Connor, 53, were found slain in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on January 29.
The two women worked together at the Sei Bella Salon, a hair salon in Green Baa. Sotka was on bail on charges of stalking and harassment and violating a restraining order, at the time of the killings.
He had removed his electronic ankle tag and dumped it on Interstate Highway 41, local media reported.
On an online fundraising page, Haley Defnet and Jordan Comyne paid tribute to the victims, writing: "On January 29th Rhonda Cegelski and her best friend, Paula O'Connor, were taken from this world too soon.
"Rhonda is leaving behind her 4 Children (Jordan, Paige, Cory and Sydney), Granddaughter (Julianna), her Mother (Bev), and many friends, extended family, and colleagues.
Cegelski’s neighbor called police on the morning Jan. 29 to report "an injured person" and responding officers found the two slain women, according to Green Bay Fox affiliate WLUK. They had worked together as hairstylists at a salon in the suburb of Ashwaubenon, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. Sotka had only recently moved in with Cegelski.
A witness told police that Sotka had been dating Cegelski, according to Green Bay ABC affiliate WBAY. Police then learned that Sotka had an open restraining order against him in Ocanto County, which is north of Green Bay, as well as several open cases.
A review of court records by Oxygen.com shows that Sotka has three open cases against him in Ocanto County, and faces: two domestic abuse misdemeanors from July 2021; a bail jumping charge from December 2021; and a stalking charge, restraining order violation, disorderly conduct and bail jumping charge from January 2022.
He was out on bond at the time of the murders under the condition (among others) that he submit to electronic monitoring. Police then discovered his electronic monitoring device had been cut off and disposed of in a ditch near an exit ramp in the southern suburb of DePere, according to WBAY.
Police then used his truck’s OnStar system to track him to Arkansas, where he was arrested later on Sunday.
Under questioning, Sotka allegedly admitted to the double murder, claiming that he’d murdered Cegelski and O’Connor because he’d been “humiliated” after discovering the two in bed together, according to the case’s criminal complaint obtained by WLUK.
Police have not corroborated Sotka's allegations about the two women. Rhonda Cegelski and Paula O'Connor Photo: Green Bay Police Department
The 48-year-old also told investigators that he'd taken two Adderall that day and was drunk at the time. Cegelski allegedly demanded that he leave the property, however, because of his bond conditions in the Ocanto case, he was not legally allowed to without violating his bond.
"He said he asked RC where he was supposed to go and at that point he said he lost it, he just lost it," the criminal complaint stated, per WLUK-TV. "He said he couldn't tell [a detective] details or tell [a detective] exactly what happened but he knows he completely lost it."
Though he allegedly admitted to the two murders, Sotka denied responsibility in the Ocanto County case.
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