CONVICTED ILLINOIS SERIAL MURDERER EXTRADITED FOR MURDERING FIVE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WOMEN BETWEEN 1986 AND 1995

CONVICTED ILLINOIS SERIAL MURDERER EXTRADITED FOR MURDERING FIVE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WOMEN BETWEEN 1986 AND 1995

*The OCDA is prosecuting a consolidated case involving Orange, Riverside, and San Diego County victims

SANTA ANA – A convicted Illinois triple murderer is being extradited to California for murdering five Southern California women between 1986 and 1995 in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. Andrew Urdiales, 47, is charged with five felony counts of special circumstances murder for committing multiple murders and the personal use of a firearm in three murders. The defendant has prior Illinois convictions for murdering two women in 2002 and another in 2004. The special circumstance allegations in this case make Urdiales eligible for the death penalty. Urdiales is being held without bail an arraignment date is to be determined.

The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) will prosecute a consolidated case on behalf of the Orange, Riverside, and San Diego County victims.

Before the death penalty is pursued by the OCDA, a special circumstances committee will meet and confer. The committee consists of the District Attorney, the Senior Assistant and Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Homicide Unit, and other prosecutors experienced in capital cases. The committee will discuss the defendant’s record, the nature of the crime, and the vulnerability of the victim, among other factors. The committee will also consider mitigating circumstances from the defense attorney. The final decision to pursue the death penalty rests on the District Attorney.

Extradition

Urdiales was extradited from the Department of Correction in Pontiac, IL, yesterday, Oct. 3, 2011, by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is being transported to the custody of the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department and is expected to arrive Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. He will then be transported to the Orange County Jail.

Background on Urdiales

Beginning in April 1984, Urdiales, then-19 years old, was a U.S. Marine stationed at various facilities in Southern California until his discharge in April 1991. During that time, Urdiales is accused of murdering four women, including one in Orange County, two in Riverside County, and one in San Diego County. After his discharge in 1991, Urdiales moved back to his home state of Illinois. He is accused of murdering a fifth woman, his third victim in Riverside County, while on vacation in Palm Springs in 1995.