Andrew Urdiales

American Serial Killer (1964–2018)

Andrew Urdiales (June 4, 1964 – November 2, 2018) was a notorious American serial killer whose heinous acts spanned across two states, leaving behind a chilling legacy of violence. Convicted in Illinois in 2002 for the murders of three women, he later faced trial in California in 2018 for the brutal killings of five more. Urdiales was sentenced to death in California, but just months later, he tragically took his own life in San Quentin Prison.

Quick Facts

• Born: June 4, 1964, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
• Died: November 2, 2018 (aged 54), San Quentin State Prison, California, U.S.
• Cause of Death: Suicide by hanging
• Criminal Status: Deceased
• Convictions:
  • Illinois: First-degree murder (3 counts)
  • California: First-degree murder with special circumstances (5 counts)
• Criminal Penalty:
  • Illinois: Death; commuted to life imprisonment
  • California: Death
• Victims: 8
• Span of Crimes: 1986–1996
• Date Apprehended: April 23, 1997

Life

Early Life

Details about Urdiales's childhood are sparse, but one disturbing incident stands out. In June 1977, shortly before he turned 13, he brutally beat his family's dog to death with a baseball bat, deceptively telling his parents that the animal had succumbed to injuries from a fall. After high school graduation in 1982 from Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois, Urdiales enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

Between 1984 and 1991, Urdiales was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. He completed combat training there and later served as a radio operator at the Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms before participating in Operation Desert Storm.

Murders

The nightmare began on January 18, 1986, when Urdiales committed his first murder. He stalked 23-year-old communication arts student Robbin Brandley at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California, and viciously stabbed her 41 times. Just two years later, on July 17, 1988, he shot 29-year-old Julie McGhee with a .45 ACP caliber pistol, her lifeless body later discovered in a ditch near Cathedral City, California.

Urdiales's spree continued as he killed 31-year-old Mary Ann Wells in San Diego, whose remains were found in an abandoned warehouse on September 25, 1988. Later that same year, on April 17, 1989, he claimed 18-year-old Tammie Erwin, whose body was found on the streets of Palm Springs.

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1991, Urdiales returned to his parents' home in Chicago. However, in September 1992, he returned to California during a holiday. On the evening of September 27, he picked up 19-year-old nurse Jennifer Asbenson, who needed a ride to work. After she provided him with a fake phone number, Urdiales confronted her after her shift. What followed was a horrifying ordeal where he assaulted her, tied her up, and attempted to rape her. Asbenson, displaying incredible courage, managed to escape from the trunk of his car after untying herself. She flagged down a truck driven by two Marines, while Urdiales fled in his vehicle. Unfortunately, the authorities had limited evidence to pursue him at that time, as the tire tracks had been obliterated by recent construction.

For three long years, Urdiales refrained from murder, perhaps out of fear of being caught. But in March 1995, he struck again, this time targeting 32-year-old sex worker Denise Maney in Cathedral City. He forced her into his car, drove her into the desert, shot her, and callously left her body to be scavenged.

By April 1996, Urdiales was working as a security guard in a Chicago mall, presenting an image of trustworthiness. Yet, he crossed state lines to Bloomington, Indiana, where he murdered 25-year-old Laura Ulyaki. Her body was discovered on April 14 in Wolf Lake, Illinois, straddling the border of Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. Tragically, the bodies of 21-year-old Cassandra Corum and 22-year-old Lynn Huber were found shortly thereafter, with Huber presumed to be his last victim.

In December 1996, Urdiales's brushes with the law began when he was arrested for possessing an unlicensed weapon but was quickly released after paying a fine.

Arrest and Prosecution

Urdiales's downfall came on April 23, 1997, when police sought to check his gun in connection to the string of murders. During the interrogation, Urdiales shockingly confessed to all eight murders. Ballistics tests subsequently confirmed his involvement in the murders of Ulyaki, Corum, and Huber. The Illinois authorities, working closely with California law enforcement, began drafting the indictment.

On April 29, 1997, Urdiales was officially indicted, but his trial faced delays stemming from heated legal and political debates over the death penalty in Illinois. Finally, on April 30, 2001, the prosecution decided to seek the death penalty. Urdiales's trial for the murders of Ulyaki and Huber commenced on April 8, 2002. On May 23, 2002, he was convicted of both murders and sentenced to death just a week later on May 30, 2002.

His case became a political flashpoint as concerns grew around wrongful convictions on death row. Following a Northwestern University study revealing that some inmates had been innocent, then-Governor George Ryan announced on January 11, 2003, that all 167 death sentences in Illinois would be commuted to life imprisonment. Urdiales's sentence was included in this commutation.

Following this, the prosecution moved forward with an indictment for the unresolved murder of Cassandra Corum. Urdiales, guided by his defender Stephen Richards, shifted his strategy, pleading guilty while claiming mental illness. Despite this defense, Judge Harold Frobish re-sentenced him to death on May 10, 2004. However, in March 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation abolishing the death penalty in Illinois, leading to Urdiales's second death sentence being commuted to life in prison.

At the time, Urdiales was incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois.

California Prosecution

Just hours after Illinois Governor Quinn's decision to commute Urdiales's death sentence, prosecutors in Orange County, California, sought his extradition to stand trial for the murders of five women from the 1980s, when Urdiales was stationed at Camp Pendleton and thereafter.

On May 23, 2018, a jury found Urdiales guilty of the murders of five Southern California women. A mere three weeks later, on June 13, 2018, the jury returned a death verdict after only one day of deliberation. Urdiales was finally sentenced to death for the third time on October 5, 2018.

Death

In a tragic turn of events, Urdiales was found unresponsive in his cell at the Adjustment Center of San Quentin State Prison on November 2, 2018, around 11:15 PM. Alone in his cell, prison officials later determined the cause of death to be suicide by hanging. He was 54 years old at the time of his death.

See Also

• List of serial killers in the United States

Sources

• Wikipedia: Andrew Urdiales
• Michael Newton: The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. 5th updated and expanded edition, Graz 2009, ISBN 978-3-85365-240-4.
• Peter Murakami, Julia Murakami: Dictionary of Serial Killers. 450 case studies of a pathological killing type. Ullstein Tb, München, March 2000, ISBN 3-548-35935-3.
• “Confessions of a Serial Killer Part 1 and 2”, Inside Evil with Chris Cuomo, HLN, 6/30/2019.

References

• Davis, Katherine (August 10, 2011). "48 Hours Mystery: Escape from a Serial Killer". CBS Interactive Inc.
• Pelisek, Christine (January 30, 2019). "I Survived a Serial Killer: How a Woman Escaped After Being Beaten, Bound and Stuffed in a Trunk". People.
• "Serial killer may face death penalty a third time". Chicago Tribune, March 10, 2011.
• "O.C. wants killer after death sentence lifted". The Orange County Register, March 10, 2011.
• "Ex-Marine Convicted of First-Degree Murder in SoCal Serial Killings". NBC Los Angeles, May 23, 2018.
• "Jury recommends death penalty for serial killer Andrew Urdiales". ABC7 Los Angeles, June 13, 2018.
• "Ex-Marine Andrew Urdiales Sentenced to Death for California Serial Killings". NBC Los Angeles, October 5, 2018.