Richard Sotka appears in Brown County court May 1, 2023, on charges he killed Rhonda Cegelski and Paula O'Connor in January in Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The attorney for a man accused of killing two women on the city’s east side must ask the state Public Defender’s Office for funding of an expert witness, a judge ruled Friday.
A March 5 trial remains on the calendar for Richard Sotka, who allegedly killed two women on the city’s east side. Sotka, 49, is charged with fatally stabbing Rhonda Cegelski, 58, of Green Bay, and Paula O’Connor, 53, of Bellevue. Their bodies were discovered Jan. 29 at a duplex on Elkay Lane.
During a hearing Friday, the judge instructed the defense to contact the state for funding of an expert witness before he would consider authorizing county funding. The details of the request and topic for the expert were filed under seal, however.
According to a criminal complaint, Sotka admitted to the murders. He went to the residence and told police he was ‘humiliated’ at the scene there, so he killed the women.
He also faces criminal damage to property charges for allegedly cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet while fleeing, as well as bail jumping counts.
Sotka was arrested in Mississippi County, Ark., the same day the bodies were discovered and waived extradition to Wisconsin on Feb. 6. Brown County Sheriff’s deputies traveled to Arkansas to bring him back to Wisconsin.
Sotka faces additional charges for allegedly attacking a corrections officer in the Brown County Jail. He returns to court Dec. 14 in that case.
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