Killer Escapes Death In Illinois, But Still May Be Executed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Convicted serial killer Andrew Urdiales has escaped death row twice while in Illinois, but he could face it a third time if extradited to California.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel reports, Andrew Urdiales, 46, was convicted of killing three women in Illinois.
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The 46-year-old former Marine was convicted and sentenced to die in May 2004 for the 1996 shooting and stabbing of Cassandra Corum of Hammond, Ind. Her body was found in the Vermilion River about 100 miles southwest of Chicago.
Authorities say Urdiales also has confessed to killing seven other women in Illinois and California between 1988 and 1996. He previously had been sentenced to die for killing two Chicago-area women, but that sentence was commuted when former Gov. George Ryan cleared Illinois' death row in 2003.
His more recent death sentence was commuted when Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill abolishing the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the death sentence of all 15 death row inmates.
Within hours of Quinn's decision Wednesday, prosecutors in Orange County, Calif., began seeking his extradition to be tried in the murders of five women there.
Those murders occurred in the 1980s, when Urdiales was stationed at Camp Pendleton, and after he was discharged from the military.
Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jim McKay prosecuted two of the Illinois cases against Urdiales, and says he will work diligently to see that Urdiales is extradited to California.
"This is a joke. This is a man that, without remorse, killed eight innocent women, and oh by the way, I forgot to add, he raped them too," McKay said.
A representative of Quinn's office said until the request for extradition is received, Quinn will not comment on the matter.
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