Serial killer Andrew Urdiales was born on June 4, 1964, in Chicago Illinois. He was convicted in Illinois in 2002 of killing three women and again convicted in California in 2018 of killing five women and sentenced to death. A few months later he committed suicide at San Quentin State Prison as a result of police arresting him for another murder which he wanted to confess before being executed.
Early life
Andrew Urdiales was a lone wolf by nature, he was an average student and graduated from Thornridge High School in Dolton Illinois in 1982 with the title “social outcast”, and though he had very few friends, it didn’t stop him from attending a high school reunion two years later and telling a former schoolmate that he had killed 2 prostitutes in California. He joined the marines not long after high school and was stationed in Southern California.
Murders
Robbin Brandley (January 18, 1986)
On the evening of January 18, 1986, Andrew Urdiales committed his first murder at Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California. He stalked and stabbed communication arts student Robbin Brandley (23) to death.
Julie McGhee (July 17, 1988)
Two years later (July 17, 1988), he shot and killed Julie McGhee (29) in Cathedral City, California and left her body in a ditch.
Mary Ann Wells (September 25, 1988)
Serial killer Andrew Urdiales murdered his third victim Mary Ann Wells barely two months later in San Diego. The body of the 31-year-old was found by police on September 25, 1988, in an abandoned warehouse.
Tammie Erwin (April 17, 1989)
The body of his fourth victim, Tammie Erwin, was found on April 17, 1989, on the streets of Palm Springs. He was 18 years old.
Jennifer Asbenson (September 28, 1992)
On September 28, 1992, Andrew Urdiales kidnapped a 19-year-old nurse named Jennifer Asbenson. He tried to rape her but was unsuccessful. He beat up the nurse and bundled her in the trunk of his car but the girl managed to escape the trunk and ran naked from the waist down and with her hands bound for a few miles along the highway. She was almost caught by Urdiales who was wielding a machete but she was able to flag down a truck before he caught up with her.
Denise Maney (March 1995)
Andrew Urdiales committed no murders for three years due to fear of being caught. In early March 1995 when he returned to California, he assaulted Denise Maney, a sex worker in Cathedral City, California, and forced her into his car. He then drove her deep into the California desert where he shot her, stripped her of all clothes, and left the corpse for scavengers.
Laura Ulyaki (April 14, 1996)
The serial killer Andrew Urdiales was on the loose and picking off his victims one by one in 1996. The first victim of his cross-state killing spree was Laura Ulyaki. She was a 25-year-old woman whose body was discovered April 14, 1996, in Wolf Lake, Illinois which is situated on the border of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana.
Cassandra Corum (July 14, 1996)
On July 14 that same year, another young woman’s body was found in an area called Vermilion River just south of Danville. The victim was 21-year-old Cassandra Corum.
Lynn Huber (August 2, 1996)
On August 2, 1996, the corpse of 22-year-old Lynn Huber was unearthed in Wolf Lake. Authorities believe that Andrew Urdiales may have killed her sometime around the night before she was discovered.
Arrest (April 23, 1997)
Andrew Urdiales was arrested on April 23, 1997, when the police wanted to check his gun in connection with a series of murders. During trial for the murders, he was convicted in Cook County in 2002 and 2004 for the murders of Cassandra Corum, Lori Uylaki and Lynn Huber.
Conviction (May 23, 2018)
On May 23, 2018, Andrew Urdiales was found guilty on five counts of first-degree murder for the California murders. On June 13, 2018, the jury recommended he receive the death penalty for all of his crimes.
Death (November 2, 2018)
On November 2, 2018, at about 11:15 p.m Andrew Urdiales was found hanging in his cell by prison officials. Urdiales was 54 years old when his life came to an abrupt end while being held on Death Row at the San Quentin State Prison complex.
