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Kaitlyn Arquette

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Kait arquette

Kaitlyn Arquette

Real Name: Kaitlyn Clare Arquette
Nicknames: Kait
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date: July 16, 1989

Case[]

Details: Eighteen-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette graduated from Highland High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 14, 1989. She was an outgoing, popular honor student who had been accepted at the University of New Mexico. She started taking college courses during her senior year. That summer, she got a job as a supervisor of the clothing department at Pier 1 Imports; she continued taking classes as well. She planned one day to attend medical school and become a doctor. Shortly before graduation, she moved into an apartment with her twenty-six-year-old boyfriend, a Vietnamese immigrant named Dung Ngoc Nguyen, using money she had received from an insurance settlement.
Kaitlyn's mother, acclaimed mystery writer Lois Duncan, said that as far as they could tell, Kaitlyn and Dung got along very well. He was eight years older than her, but her family did not know that because they lied about it to them. She knew that they would not let her date someone that much older. So, she told them that he was only four years older. Lois said that he seemed like a nice guy. He was around the house a lot. Overall, the family liked him.
Six weeks later, on the afternoon of Sunday, July 16, Kaitlyn admitted to Lois that she and Dung had been having serious problems almost from the moment they moved in together. She asked Lois to lie about her whereabouts if Dung called. She said that they had had a big fight and she was planning on breaking up with him. She told Lois that she was going to a girlfriend's house for dinner. She planned to either spend the night there or come back and spend it at her parents' house. She said she was not going to go back to the apartment.
Kaitlyn visited her girlfriend at 9:30pm. During the visit, she mentioned that she was "furious" with Dung. At 10:45pm, she left in her 1984 red Ford Tempo, heading east along Lomas Road toward Lois' house. When she pulled up to a red light near Broadway NE at about 10:50pm, another car apparently pulled up next to her. An occupant in it, using a small-caliber weapon, fired four times at her through the driver's side window. She was struck twice in the head. Another bullet lodged in the left door post. Her car drifted across three oncoming lanes of traffic and crashed into a light pole on the 400 block of Lomas NE near Arno St.
Kaitlyn was discovered at about 11pm by police officers investigating what they thought was a car accident. Shortly before midnight, Lois received a call from the emergency room of the University of New Mexico Hospital. They told her that Kaitlyn was there and injured. She asked what happened, but they told her that they could not tell her over the phone.
Lois and her husband, Donald, drove to the hospital. They believed Kaitlyn had been in a car accident. However, when they arrived, they learned that she had been shot twice in the head and was in a coma. Five hours later, the police arrived at her apartment. Dung was home alone, seemingly unaware that she had been shot and was near death. He told Detective Steve Gallegos that he had been out with a couple of friends. They ate, played pool, and had a couple of drinks. They dropped him off after 10pm.
While searching the apartment, detectives discovered a note on top of the kitchen table. It read, "Hon, where are you? I know you're still mad...I'm so sorry okay! I miss you today. I went to mom's house to return these books. I'll see ya. Love." Dung believed that it was from Kaitlyn. He said he had found it when he came home.
Dung told detectives that he and Kaitlyn did argue and have disagreements. However, he was not aware of her apparent plans to break up with him or make him leave the apartment. Detectives conducted a gunshot residue test on his hands; it came back negative. When the police left the apartment, Dung went straight to the hospital and joined her family in a bedside vigil. Less than twenty-four hours later, at 8:15pm on Monday, July 17, Kaitlyn was dead. Dung had remained by her side until the very end. Five days later, he attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the stomach. He survived and told detectives he was depressed over her death and thought everyone blamed him.
Six months after Kaitlyn's murder, the Albuquerque Police Department announced that she had been the victim of a "random act of violence." Lois refused to accept their ruling. Following Kaitlyn's death, she began to uncover the first dark hints that Kaitlyn had somehow gotten mixed up with a major criminal organization. To this day, the police continue to pursue the random victim theory, but Lois is convinced that Kaitlyn was executed by a hired assassin.
Two-and-a-half months before Kaitlyn's death, she and Dung took a trip to southern California. It was at that time that she apparently became involved in a lucrative car insurance scam. Some of her friends and one of her sisters later told Lois and the police that in March 1989, Dung had staged an accident in a car that Kaitlyn had rented for him with Lois' credit card. The scheme was allegedly orchestrated by an organization comprised of powerful members of southern California's Vietnamese community (Dung was reportedly involved in a similar accident in August 1988).
In the scheme, the rental car was intentionally driven into another car. The driver of the rental car got out and ran, leaving the scene of the accident. Everyone in the accident complained of soft tissue injuries to the neck and lower back, which were later treated by a doctor who was part of the organization. Ultimately, a paralegal, working out of an Orange County, California, law office handled the insurance claim with the rental company. The insurance settlement was then split between those involved. Kaitlyn and Dung were given $1,500 as their share of the settlement, which they used to rent the apartment.
According to Lois, it was a major, multimillion dollar insurance scam and Kaitlyn had found out about it. At the time, Lois did not know how they could fit this scam in with the murder. But all of a sudden, there was another element there. Something that suggested a possible motive: if Kaitlyn was breaking up with Dung at that time, then maybe she was a danger to the people who had arranged this. She wondered if they had Kaitlyn killed to keep her from going to the police.
On the night of the shooting, a friend of Kaitlyn's claimed she received a call from Dung in which he said, "Kait's dead! They shot her!" However, police did not notify him of the shooting until several hours after the call. Shortly after Dung's suicide attempt, Lois visited him in the hospital. She told him that she believed he knew who killed Kaitlyn. She said he needed to decide whether he loved Kaitlyn enough to tell the truth. After being silent for a moment, he said, "I know, I'm deciding." However, when he was questioned by police, he said he did not know who was responsible. He also said that while he was in an accident in California, it was not staged for insurance purposes.
A few weeks after Kaitlyn's death, Lois was putting her affairs in order when she made a disturbing discovery. Three phone calls had been made from Kaitlyn's apartment at virtually the same moment she died. In fact, they were made just minutes after she was pronounced dead. At that time, Dung was with her family at the hospital. The apartment should have been unoccupied. The number that was called turned out to belong to a Vietnamese paralegal in Orange County. The paralegal lived in Santa Ana but worked in a law office in Garden Grove. It was the same paralegal who set up the car accidents.
Lois contacted psychics and private investigators in an attempt to find more information about Kaitlyn's murder. She also asked investigative reporter Mike Gallagher to look into Kaitlyn's relationship with Dung. Lois felt that not everything was "right" with their relationship. She felt that there had been some real problems that the police had failed to look at.
Gallagher first met with Kaitlyn's former landlord. He got the impression from neighbors that Kaitlyn was more afraid of Dung's friends than him. She would get "disturbed" when they only spoke Vietnamese around her. They also tended to make fun of her and cause friction between her and Dung. She did not like them, and they apparently did not like her. This led to many arguments between her and Dung. They also argued about money, his wanting to move to California, and his treatment of her. On one occasion, she actually went to the landlord's apartment, afraid that Dung was going to hit her.
Evidently, things were much stormier than Lois had ever guessed. It was not just a lover's spat. Kaitlyn’s life became very problematic after she moved in with Dung. She told her family she was very sorry that she had ever let him move in with her. She said it had been a big mistake. She wanted him to move out so her girlfriend could move in instead. The friend later confirmed that Kaitlyn had asked her to move in because she was "throwing" Dung out. She also told the apartment manager that she was going to force Dung to move out.
Gallagher was able to obtain a copy of the note which Kaitlyn allegedly left for Dung on the day of the shooting. He compared it with another sample of her handwriting. To him, based on the comparison, it was obvious that she did not write that note. Along with the handwriting, he also noticed that there were several misspellings that she would not have made. That led him to believe that, within hours of her shooting, Dung was already lying to the police. The landlord also told Gallagher that on the night Kaitlyn died, three of Dung's associates were in her apartment, drinking. Lois is convinced that one of them made the calls to Santa Ana.
Detective Gallegos, however, does not believe that the "Vietnamese connection" is related to this case. Thus far, he has not received any information to indicate positively that the Vietnamese were involved in Kaitlyn's murder. Was she executed because she had learned too much about the auto insurance scam? While her family and Gallagher were pursuing their investigation, the police were going in a completely different direction.
In November 1989, four months after the murder, a Crime Stoppers tipster identified four potential suspects in this case. Several more tips came in over the next few weeks. On January 11, 1990, Detective Gallegos met with an informant who told him twenty-one-year-old Juvenal Escobedo drove the car and eighteen-year-old Miguel Garcia fired the shots that killed Kaitlyn. The informant told Detective Gallegos that Robert Garcia, who is not related to Miguel, might also have information.
On January 17, the detectives took Robert to police headquarters. At first, he denied knowing anything about the shooting. But during a two-hour interrogation, he admitted being present in the car when Miguel fired three shots from a .22-caliber revolver at Kaitlyn's car on a dare from Escobedo. Based on his and the other informant's statements, police arrested Miguel, Escobedo, and Dennis "Marty" Martinez. Miguel and Escobedo were charged with first-degree murder.
Several witnesses reported that Miguel and Escobedo separately bragged about being involved in Kaitlyn's murder. However, when questioned, both denied any involvement. A tape recorder was secretly placed in their holding cell. In their conversations, they continued to deny their involvement. When questioned by detectives, Martinez said that he was in the car when Miguel shot Kaitlyn. He said he was in the back seat with Robert. However, he also said he was drunk at the time and only heard the shots.
On the same day that Robert was interrogated, the police discovered that Escobedo had recently sold his car, a brown Chevrolet Camaro (which he later painted maroon). Suddenly, an eyewitness report that they had initially disregarded took on a new significance. Between 9:30 and 10pm on the night of the murder, a truck driver said he was stopped at the intersection of Broadway and Lomas when he saw a brown Camaro or Firebird chasing a young woman in a car similar to Kaitlyn's in the area where she would be gunned down an hour later. He believed there were two or three people in the Camaro/Firebird.
The police believed that the men in the Camaro had been out joyriding and Kaitlyn became their random victim. However, it was later learned that Robert had, in fact, been in jail on the night Kaitlyn was shot. Police questioned him again; this time, he said that he had heard about the shooting from Martinez. He also said he was scared during the first interrogation and told police what he thought they wanted him to say. While being held at a jail, Martinez told several people about his involvement in Kaitlyn's murder. Soon afterwards, however, he also recanted his statements, claiming he told detectives what they wanted to hear because he was afraid about going to jail.
Furthermore, Robert and Martinez's statements were inconsistent and contradictory. They both got several details about the crime wrong and were unable to describe Kaitlyn. Several weapons were found in Miguel's home, but all were ruled out as being involved. The truck driver's statement was contradictory as well. The sighting occurred while Kaitlyn was still with her friend. He gave a partial license plate for the Camaro; it did not match Escobedo's.
In February 1990, Martinez was released without charges. Ultimately, in April 1991, all charges against the other two suspects were dropped for lack of sufficient evidence. Detectives later claimed that key witnesses recanted their testimony because they feared "reprisal". The District Attorney stated that one of the issues with this case was the Vietnamese insurance scam angle; he believed that it needed to be looked at further.
Finally, under pressure from Kaitlyn's family, the police questioned Dung once again. He admitted that he and a friend from Albuquerque had taken part in the auto insurance scam. He said at least ten other Vietnamese men were also involved in it. He said he had lied about it before because the friend told him to. The friend is believed to have been the person who made the phone calls on the night of Kaitlyn's death. However, Dung denied being part of a Vietnamese gang and claimed that Kaitlyn was not going to kick him out of the apartment. He also said that he was in it when the calls were made, even though her family placed him at the hospital. Nevertheless, charges have never been pressed against him or any of his friends in connection with the scam. In addition, police do not consider him a suspect in Kaitlyn's murder.
Since Lois started her investigation into Kaitlyn's murder, she and her family have received death threats. She believes that the threats came from the Vietnamese gang. Gallagher says that it is important for the police and anyone who looks at the case to remember that Dung's friends were involved with large-scale, organized criminal activity in Los Angeles and multimillion dollar insurance frauds. He does not think that the police ever took their involvement seriously.
Kaitlyn was killed in July 1989. In this most bizarre case, there seemed to be two viable theories, leaving her family to wonder who, in fact, was responsible, and why did they target her? Lois says that their family does not have any real idea who pulled the trigger. The one thing they feel very strong about is that she was not shot randomly, as just people out on a spree, having fun, shooting a "pretty girl in a red car".
Kaitlyn's family believes she was killed because she was going to talk and was going to expose illegal activities involving Dung and his companions. Lois believes she might have been shot by the Vietnamese gang members, or they might have hired someone else to shoot her. The one thing her family is absolutely sure of is that it was not a random shooting. They believe she was assassinated.
In 1992, Lois wrote the book, Who Killed My Daughter?, asking for information about Kaitlyn's death. Six weeks later, in an unrelated event, one of the initial suspects, Dennis Martinez, confessed to the police that he and his friends had been hired by the Vietnamese to kill Kaitlyn. Later, however, he recanted, claiming he was drunk when he made the confession.

Garcia and Escobebo

Juvenal Escobebo and Miguel Garcia

Suspects: Shortly after Kaitlyn's murder, police announced that they were looking for a gray Volkswagen that they believed was connected to the crime. It was seen near the crime scene around the time of Kaitlyn's murder. Police were uncertain whether its occupant(s) were involved in the murder or merely witnessed it. It does not have an engine cover and has a loud muffler.
Lois believes that Kaitlyn was killed because she knew too much about a Vietnamese gang's criminal activities and they were afraid she was going to go to the police about it. Dung involved her in a car insurance scam that was set up by the gang several months before her murder. She planned to break up with him around the time of her death. They reportedly fought often, usually in relation to his friends. Calls were made from her apartment within minutes of her death, apparently to a paralegal involved in the scam. Police do not believe that Dung was involved, however. Her family also does not believe that he was directly responsible.
Albuquerque police, however, believe that Kaitlyn was the victim of a random act of violence. Six months after her murder, an informant led the Albuquerque police to a man named Robert Garcia. He identified three men, Dennis Martinez, Juvenal Escobedo, and Miguel Garcia, as being involved in Kaitlyn's murder. He claimed that he was in the car with them when Miguel shot her. They were arrested and charged with her murder. However, the charges were later dropped after it was discovered that Robert was in jail at the time of the murder.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the January 27, 1993 episode.
  • Lois wrote a book about it, titled Who Killed My Daughter?. In 2013, she wrote a sequel to it, titled One to the Wolves: On the Trail of a Killer.
  • Lois and Caristo later formed the "Resource Center for the Victims of Violent Death", a center that helps crime victims and their families with their financial, grief, and law enforcement issues.
  • One of the psychics Lois worked with was Noreen Renier who was featured on another broadcast.
  • It was also featured on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, and Sightings.
Apodaca

Paul Apodaca

Results: Solved - In 1995, private investigator Pat Caristo watched The Sally Jessy Raphael Show which featured this case. She contacted the show and said she had information that Lois apparently had missed. Caristo had started her own private investigation business in Albuquerque and was hired by a lawyer who was working on an insurance claim relating to this case. Caristo began researching it and learned from the police reports about twenty-one-year-old Paul Apodaca.
Apodaca was found standing next to Kaitlyn's car when police arrived at the scene. He was driving a primer-gray Volkswagen Beetle which was parked nearby. Other witnesses saw it near the scene. He told police that he "happened to be passing by". His contact information was taken down, but he was allowed to leave. The police did not run his name and he was never interviewed about the case.
Caristo discovered that he had an extensive criminal history, with multiple convictions for violent attacks against women. In 1990, he fired a .22-caliber pistol from the window of his car at a person walking down the street, striking the victim in the back. In 1995, he was convicted of raping his fourteen-year-old stepsister and sentenced to nine years in prison. He allegedly did this so that he could be in prison together with his brother, who was serving time for murder.
Lois hired Caristo to investigate this case further. Caristo discovered that Kaitlyn's car had most likely been hit by at least one vehicle and forced off the road, as evidenced by the damage to the left rear bumper and side panel. Only after she crashed into the light pole and put her car in park was she shot, likely at close range. Caristo also noticed a large bullet hole near the driver's side window which appeared to have been created by a large-caliber bullet. This suggested that two guns had been used in the shooting. This evidence is contrary to the police's version of events.
Lois suspected that the Albuqeurque police department was involved in a cover-up involving this case. For years, they maintained that the suspects initially arrested were responsible and that this case was "closed". Lois and Caristo never understood why no traces of the bullets that killed Kaitlyn or impacted her car were ever found. They also did not understand why police left the scene before an ambulance arrived. Also, the first officers at the scene gave conflicting accounts of their encounters with Apodaca.
In 2003, the Bernalillo County Cold Case Squad looked into this case and determined that Kaitlyn had been shot after her car collided with the light pole. This was based on the accuracy of the shots, which suggested that they were fired at a non-moving target at close range. This confirmed what Caristo had previously determined from reviewing the evidence.
In 2012, Apodaca was convicted of attacking his girlfriend and stealing her car. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison but later released. In July 2021, he was arrested by University of New Mexico campus police officers on the UNM campus for a probation violation. Almost immediately, he confessed to them that he murdered Kaitlyn and two other women. He claimed that he committed them because he "hated women".
One victim was twenty-one-year-old UNM student Althea Oakeley, who was attacked and stabbed to death in June 1988 as she walked home from a party near the campus. It was discovered that Apodaca had been working as a security guard on campus at the time of her murder. The other victim was thirteen-year-old Stella Gonzales, who was shot to death while walking home with a friend from a party near Tingley Beach in September 1988. He also confessed to three rapes that took place in the early 1990s. DNA evidence linked him to one rape from 1993.
In August 2021, Apodaca, then fifty-three, was arrested and charged with Althea's murder. In December, he was also charged with Stella's. Finally, in February 2022, he was indicted for Kaitlyn's. According to police, his confession contained details that "only the killer would know". On January 25, 2024, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Kaitlyn, Althea, and Stella's cases. He also pleaded guilty to rape. He was sentenced to forty-five years in prison. It is no longer believed that Kaitlyn's death is related to the insurance scam or the other men that were previously arrested.
Sadly, Lois passed away at the age of eighty-two on June 15, 2016, without seeing this case solved. Kaitlyn's sister, Kerry, later went on to become a criminologist because of her murder.
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