COLORADO SPRINGS | A man accused of killing a woman in Colorado Springs in 1988 when he was 15 years old has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
The Gazette reports 46-year-old James Papol entered his plea Thursday in the death of 24-year-old Mary Lynne Vialpando. He will be evaluated at the Colorado State Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.
Investigators say Vialpando argued with her husband after returning home from a wedding and ran away. Her body was found in an alley the next morning, and she had been stabbed, sexually assaulted and beaten.
DNA testing helped lead authorities to Papol last year.
Papol’s attorneys say he was so disturbed that he didn’t know right from wrong. Insanity commitments have kept Papol at the state hospital for much of the past two decades.
Information from: The Gazette, https://www.gazette.com