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A couple has been charged in connection with the stabbing death of a 21-year-old woman, with one claiming that the other leads a secret organization that targets people "in charge of sex trafficking or hurting kids," according to police.
Late last month, police in Santa Fe, New Mexico, arrested 25-year-old Isaac Apodaca and his girlfriend 19-year-old Kiara McCulley, after police found the body of 21-year-old Grace Jennings in a garage.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that according to a criminal complaint filed by police in court, Jennings had "several puncture wounds consistent with being stabbed by a sword," and "appeared to have injuries consistent with attempts to decapitate."
According to police, Apodaca allegedly texted McCulley urging her to kill Jennings, saying that doing so would allow her to "move up in the ranks," the newspaper reported. Police stated that McCulley said that her boyfriend is in charge of a secret organization called Ghost, which "gets rid of people who are in charge of sex trafficking or hurting kids."
McCulley also allegedly told police she had thought about murdering Jennings, according to local news station WKRC, and added that Jennings had watched her while she was raped by "16 or 17 males" and collected money during the sexual assaults. Apodaca then allegedly texted McCulley that if she went through with the murder she "could get ranked up in her platoon." When asked about the texts by police, Apodaca said he "means what it says in that text," the station reported.
According to the station, police said McCulley and Apodaca both had been in romantic relationships with Jennings and that they all slept in the same bed the night she was killed.
Police found Jennings' body after Apodaca called 911 saying that McCulley was killing someone using a sword, WKRC reported. The station reported that McCulley allegedly told investigators she couldn't remember the events of the night of the murder, and wasn't sure if she committed it, but was "partially hopeful" Jennings had died. Both are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Newsweek has reached out to the Santa Fe Police Department for comment.
In a separate incident this week, a man in Maryland was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and several of her family members in what appeared to be a murder-suicide. The Charles County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the man killed his former partner as well as her brother, mother, and another man before turning the gun on himself.
Last month, a man in Detroit was arrested allegedly beating his roommate to death and leaving the body inside the home for days. The 44-year-old suspect faces one count of premeditated first-degree murder.
About the writer
Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more