| For Immediate Release Case # 09ZF0079 October 25, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
OCDA TO SEEK DEATH PENALTY AGAINST CONVICTED ILLINOIS SERIAL MURDERER 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 – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) announced today that he will seek the death penalty against a convicted Illinois triple murderer 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. Urdiales is being held without bail and is scheduled for a continued arraignment Dec. 1, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Urdiales was extradited to Orange County from the Department of Corrections in Pontiac, IL, in early October 2011. The District Attorney made the decision to seek the death penalty prior to extraditing Urdiales from Illinois.
The OCDA will prosecute a consolidated case on behalf of the Orange, Riverside, and San Diego County victims.
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.
Murder of Robbin Brandley, Orange County
On the evening of Jan. 18, 1986, 23-year-old Robbin Brandley was volunteering as an usher at a Saddleback College jazz pianist concert. That evening, Urdiales is accused of driving to the college from Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton armed with a six-inch blade hunting knife with the intention of murdering a random victim.