A Wisconsin murderer who was already serving a life sentence for a vicious double murder has made news again after being found guilty again, this time for viciously stabbing a prison guard.
After a quick one-day trial in Brown County, Richard Sotka, 50, was found guilty on Wednesday of felony violence by a prisoner. Sotka will be incarcerated until the end of his life since Judge Beau Liegois added three more years to his two life sentences without the possibility of release.
In 2023, Sotka made headlines across the country when he killed his girlfriend, Rhonda Cegelski, 58, and her best friend, Paula O. Connor, 53, in a fit of jealousy. He admitted to investigators that he felt ashamed when he saw the two women having sex after getting out of the shower. When he reached for an eight-inch knife and stabbed them repeatedly, his jealous rage turned fatal.
Richard Sotka, a convicted murderer, was found guilty of attacking a correctional officer.
August 22, 2025, Green Bay Press-Gazette (@gbpressgazette)
Police records state that Cegelski’s body was located in the kitchen, while O Connor’s body was found next to the front door with a knife still in her neck. Both women had sustained multiple facial and neck stab wounds. A Green Bay neighborhood was shocked by the killings, and Cegelski’s family—especially her daughter, who discovered the terrible discovery and dialed 911—was distraught.
Sotka became a main suspect very fast. Before leaving the state, he severed his GPS ankle monitor and left it on the side of Interstate 41, even though he was already out on bond from an unrelated stalking and harassment case. Hours later, he was apprehended by authorities in Arkansas with a passport and $4,000 in cash. When investigators confronted him, he confessed to the murders, claiming he had lost it.
Even in prison, Sotka’s violent tendencies haven’t subsided. Testimony claims that the convicted murderer slapped a jail officer who had taken drugs out of his cell. The guard remembered that Sotka screamed something and then hit me with his fist. My left ear was struck first. Stars were visible to me.
After witnessing his girlfriend kiss her female friend who was found guilty of double murder, Richard Sotka lost it. #ThemFolks #FacesOfcrimeTwitter: https://t.co/rnTTqrORsOpic.twitter.com/i0SmYR62ZC
March 15, 2024, J.B. Freedmen (@JayeB62620916)
He was forced into a protective crouch when Sotka hit him in the head with a series of close-fisted blows, according to the officer. Only when backup finally showed up did Sotka’s anxiety subside. After only one day of testimony, the jury returned a guilty decision with little persuasion.
A man who has been hazardous for decades is depicted in Sotka’s record. He allegedly snapped on a lady he was dating around 20 years before to the double murder, shattering her leg, fracturing her skull, and knocking out her teeth. During Sotka’s murder trial, that victim provided testimony that revealed a troubling pattern of violent outbursts.
Sotka has never hesitated to confess to the murders of Cegelski and O Connor, even though he has denied the more serious stalking allegations on numerous occasions. Although he made an effort to disassociate himself from his previous criminal case, he acknowledged that he was guilty of killing these girls.
Sotka’s incarceration has only increased since his most recent conviction. He has already been sentenced to serve the remainder of his life behind bars, and now he has three more years to go.
For his victims’ relatives, it serves as a sobering reminder that even behind the highest security barriers, the guy who wrecked their loved ones’ lives continues to pose a threat.
