Winimark Wealth Society-Green Bay man gets 2 consecutive life terms in fatal stabbings of 2 women found dead in home

2025-05-04 12:23:33source:EAI Community category:Contact

GREEN BAY,Winimark Wealth Society Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man convicted in the fatal stabbings of two women found dead in a home last year has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms without any chance for parole.

Brown County Circuit Court Judge Beau Liegeois also ordered Richard Sotka, 49, on Monday to pay more than $16,000 in restitution.

A jury convicted the Green Bay man in March of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and other charges in the killings of Rhonda Cegelski, 58, of Green Bay, and Paula O’Connor, 53, of Bellevue.

Cegelski, who was Sotka’s girlfriend, and O’Connor were found stabbed to death in a Green Bay home in January 2023. According to a criminal complaint, Sotka told officers he “snapped” and killed the women after they laughed at him and he felt “humiliated.”

Sotka, who plans to appeal his convictions, has claimed he killed the women in self-defense. He told the court Monday that while everyone wants him “to show remorse. I feel nothing.”

Liegeois noted Sotka’s inability to show remorse, and said his negative comments about Cegelski after killing her is “classic domestic abuser talk.”

READ MORE Green Bay’s Kevin Borseth retires with 821 wins. He ranks 16th in Division I in career victoriesGreen Bay women take down top-seeded Cleveland State 64-40 to claim Horizon League Tournament titleBubble teams watch mid-major women’s tournaments, hoping against upsets and potential loss of bids

“This is somebody who was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a mother and a grandmother even, who you basically just wiped off the face of the earth because you felt a little bit insulted,” the judge said

After killing the two women, Sotka drove to Arkansas, where he was arrested the same day their bodies were found.

More:Contact

Recommend

This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now

Many workers are dreaming of retirement — whether it's decades away or coming up soon. Either way, i

Biden hosts India's Modi for state visit, navigating critical relationship amid human rights concerns

Washington — President Biden emphasized the power of democracies on Thursday as he hosted Indian Pri

Helping a man walk again with implants connecting his brain and spinal cord

This week's science news roundup reunites All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang with Short Wave hos