Police: Green Bay double-murder suspect arrested in Arkansas hours after 911 call

Police say the man knew at least one of the victims and had stayed at the house
Published: Jan. 29, 2023 at 1:58 PM CST|Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 at 3:31 PM CST

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - UPDATE 1/31

A criminal complaint identifies a person of interest in the killings of two women in Green Bay as Richard W. Sotka, 48.

Action 2 News obtained court documents filed Monday regarding charges of criminal damage to property and bail jumping against Sotka in Brown County. The documents state that police “gained information” that Sotka was a person of interest in Sunday’s double homicide at a duplex in the 1600 block of Elkay Lane in Green Bay.

Officers found the bodies of a 58-year-old Green Bay woman and a 53-year-old Bellevue woman at the residence. Their names have not been released.

Sotka has not been charged with the killings of the women. He was arrested Sunday afternoon in Arkansas where he’s being held in jail.

The criminal complaint filed Monday says investigators found Sotka had open cases out of Oconto County and an active restraining order against him. One of the cases is for stalking. Part of the bond conditions in the Oconto County stalking case includes wearing an electronic monitoring device that confirms Sotka’s location. He was being monitored by a company called ADL Monitoring Solutions.

ADL pulled up GPS location records for Sotka and found that the device had been cut off and last pinged on the exit from Highway 41 southbound and the Freedom Road off-ramp in De Pere. Investigators found the device in a ditch and collected it as evidence.

Officers were able to track Sotka through the onboard data system on his vehicle. They informed authorities that Sotka was in Arkansas. He was arrested during a traffic stop and taken to Mississippi County Detention Center.

Green Bay detectives traveled to Arkansas to interview Sotka at the jail. No information has been released regarding their discussion.

Officers say GPS data placed Sotka at the scene of the Green Bay double homicide at 1657 Elkay Lane at about 2:35 a.m. Sunday. His bracelet was cut off at about 2:54 a.m.

“Richard Sotka admitted to investigators he recalled ‘chucking’ or ‘throwing’ the bracelet out the window of a truck but did not recall where,’” reads the criminal complaint.

On Sunday, at about 11:15 a.m., a friend of the women killed in Green Bay went to the house on Elkay Lane and “noticed what she thought was a suspicious death or someone that was in need of emergency services, backed out, and called 911 and waited for police to arrive.”

Police believe the unnamed suspect knew at least one of the victims and may have spent some time at the Elkay Lane home, though detectives said it was not a “permanent residence” for him.

Detectives said the women who were killed in Green Bay were friends, or at least known to each other.

Action 2 News has obtained the criminal complaint filed against Sotka in Oconto County for stalking, bail jumping, and violating a restraining order.

In 2022, officers received reports that Sotka had threatened to kill an ex-girlfriend and her family. Sotka had been spotted driving past the woman’s home and photographing her new boyfriend.

A witness stated Sotka had threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend by “sneaking in the woods near the home and using a rifle.” He had also mentioned using a bow “because it was quieter,” according to the witness.

Sotka was a felon and had asked to borrow the witness’s handgun. The witness also alleged Sotka wanted her to do a straw gun purchase for him.

Text messages showed Sotka trying to convince the witness to drop off the handgun at his house “so he can familiarize himself with it.” The witness stated he believed he wanted to use it to kill his ex-girlfriend.

The witness said Sotka also had a complaint open in Marinette County for allegedly assaulting his nephew.

The witness also stated that Sotka had tried to get her to poison her mother on Thanksgiving “by putting rat poison in the food.” The witness showed investigators a text from Sotka with a picture of the poison.

In March of 2022, Sotka entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the stalking case.

In May, he was released after posting a $10,750 bond. Conditions of bond included absolute sobriety, no contact with the victim, and an electronic monitoring bracelet.

INITIAL REPORT

A suspect has been arrested in the killings of two women in Green Bay.

Police say the 48-year-old Green Bay man was arrested in Arkansas. At a news conference Monday afternoon, detectives said he was upgraded from a “person of interest” to “the suspect of a double homicide investigation.”

On Sunday, Green Bay police were called to a duplex in the 1600 block of Elkay Lane at about 11:15 a.m. Officers found the bodies of a 58-year-old Green Bay woman and a 53-year-old Bellevue woman.

Police say a friend went to the house and “noticed what she thought was a suspicious death or someone that was in need of emergency services, backed out, and called 911 and waited for police to arrive.”

Police think they were killed late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, based on a preliminary timeline.

Detectives said the women who were killed were friends, or at least known to each other. Authorities are not releasing the womens’ names, saying they’re still in the process of notifying the families.

Commander Gary Richgels said they quickly gathered information at the crime scene leading to believe a person they needed to talk to had left the state.

Officers in Arkansas received a tip that the suspect may be traveling in the state. At about 3 p.m. the suspect was arrested without incident after a traffic stop with help from a local sheriff’s office and the Arkansas State Police. Police did not say where he was found in Arkansas. It was just four hours after that call to the Elkay Lane home.

“We’re still working the scene to this hour, but when it came to information on that we move very fast and work very well with departments throughout the country, and this is just one example of one of those that paid off,” Richgels said Monday afternoon.

Police believe the unnamed suspect knew at least one of the victims and may have spent some time at the Elkay Lane home, though detectives said it was not a “permanent residence” for him.

The suspect is expected to be identified soon.

Police say this does not appear to be a random crime.

“Currently, Green Bay Police have detectives in Arkansas, questioning the suspect. We are also working with the Brown County District Attorney’s Office on extraditable charges,” reads a statement from police.

Richgels said it’s often a challenge when the suspect in a crime leaves the state, but not like it used to be. “It adds to our challenges, but fortunately, with law enforcement today, over the last two decades it’s evolved quite a bit and that they stress networking, they stress partnerships, they stress talking the same language.”

Police say the suspect was captured in Arkansas just 4 hours after the 911 call led police to the victims

INITIAL REPORT

The Green Bay Police Department is investigating the deaths of two people in the 1600 block of Elkay Lane on the City’s east side.

“Once officers arrived on scene they found two females deceased within the duplex,” Captain Jeff Brester with the investigative division said.

Officers were dispatched on Sunday, January 29, 2023, around 11:15 a.m. to the duplex after a neighbor called, saying they saw someone hurt.

Police haven’t said how the people died or what caused their deaths.

“It is suspicious. I mean anytime you find two people deceased in a residence it’s suspicious. Again we haven’t been able to process the scene so I can’t even explain to you now why they died, how it happened, what’s inside the house, what’s not,” Brester said.

He told Action 2 News after securing the area, the department waited for a search warrant to continue their investigation.

“We have about 14 detectives between our detectives, our crime lab and our supervisors. Obviously we have several patrol officers out here just helping with scene security but even with all those people it just takes time. We wanna go slow, make sure we don’t miss anything...”

Brester said he believes the deaths to be an isolated incident.

“Right now we don’t have anything specifically that says our community is in danger right now but if anything does come up we’ll share that with everybody.”

This is an active scene at this time. No further information is currently available - we will update our story as we learn more details from official sources.

Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged to call Green Bay Police at (920) 448-3200 and reference case #23-205264. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (920) 432-STOP (7867). You may also submit a tip online at www.432stop.com, or utilize the “P3 Tips” app for crime tips.

Two women dead in Green Bay