Man convicted of killing girlfriend and her friend after finding them in ‘compromising position’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (TCD) — A jury found a man guilty this week of murder and several other charges for killing his girlfriend and her friend after he found them in the midst of a sexual act.

Brown County court records show Richard Sotka was convicted of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon, criminal damage to property, and multiple counts of bail jumping for the deaths of Rhonda Cegelski and Paula O’Connor. One of the homicide charges also had a domestic abuse modifier to it.

On Jan. 29, 2023, at 11:15 a.m., Green Bay Police Department officers responded to Cegelski’s duplex on the 1600 block of Elkay Lane and found the two women deceased. Police identified Sotka as the suspect and learned he might be traveling through Arkansas. Law enforcement officials in Arkansas conducted a traffic stop and arrested Sotka the same day.

According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, Cegelski’s daughter and her friend called police after finding them stabbed to death. O’Connor reportedly still had the knife in her neck. Cegelski and O’Connor both sustained stab wounds to the face and neck.

WFRV-TV reports Sotka got out of the shower and walked in on the two women in a “compromising position.”

The Green Bay Press Gazette reports Sotka admitted he “snapped,” and told police, “I’m guilty of killing these girls, but I’m not guilty of what they said I did in Oconto County.”

He was out on bond for stalking and other charges out of Oconto County when the killings occurred and was required to wear an ankle monitor, which he cut off after fleeing the scene.

About 20 years ago, Sotka “snapped in a similar way” in an incident with his then-girlfriend. He reportedly broke her leg, fractured her skull, and hit out some of her teeth.

Sotka will remain in custody without bond until his sentencing hearing in May.

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