Aug. 20—Even as prosecutors work toward plea deals to resolve the murder charges against a Santa Fe couple accused in a grisly October 2022 slaying with a sword, their trials have been postponed to November.
Kiara McCulley, 21, and Isaac Apodaca, 27, are accused in the death of 21-year-old Grace Jennings. Their trials initially were scheduled in August 2023, but the cases faced several delays — most recently by a backlog in DNA testing at a state crime lab. Separate trials had been scheduled for the pair in September but were again delayed at the request of their attorneys during a hearing Tuesday in state District Court.
Apodaca’s defense attorney said there had been “some developments that will require some new interviews” in his case.
McCulley’s attorney said the defense and prosecution were “in the process of resolving her case.”
McCulley is suspected of fatally stabbing Jennings with a 3-foot sword in a detached garage at her mother’s home on the city’s south side, where she lived with Apodaca. He is accused of persuading McCulley to kill Jennings. Both are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Santa Fe police have alleged a series of text messages showed Apodaca convinced McCulley to kill Jennings. Police videos showed a detective and Apodaca reviewing numerous text messages in which Apodaca seemed to encourage her carry out the slaying with the sword.
Prosecutors in recent days had offered Apodaca a plea deal, and he and his attorneys returned with a counter offer, Deputy District Attorney Haley Murphy said Tuesday. She said she planned to speak with Jennings’ family members before bringing another offer to Apodaca.
Apodaca appeared for the virtual proceeding from the Santa Fe County jail, where he has been held since his arrest on the charges.
Plea deal negotiations were underway in both cases as early as March, attorneys told Ellington in a hearing at the time, but the processes were held up by a backlog of DNA evidence awaiting testing at the state’s forensic laboratory in Santa Fe. Attorneys for McCulley and Apodaca told the court in March they expected both cases to be resolved through plea agreements.
A judge had found McCulley was not competent to stand trial in November 2022, and she was sent to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., to receive treatment. She was found competent in a Dec. 21 evaluation from the state institute and was rebooked into the Santa Fe County jail Jan. 10, 2023.
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