Wisconsin Killer Richard Sotka Convicted Again After Prison Guard Attack
GREEN BAY, Wis. – A Wisconsin man already serving dual life sentences for murdering his girlfriend and her best friend has been convicted again—this time for assaulting a prison guard.
Richard Sotka, 50, was found guilty Wednesday in Brown County Circuit Court of felony battery by a prisoner. The conviction stems from a violent attack on a correctional officer who had confiscated contraband from Sotka’s cell.
Judge Beau Liegois sentenced Sotka to an additional three years in prison, to be served consecutively with his two life terms without parole.
Prison Guard Assault
According to testimony, Sotka launched the attack after his belongings were searched and items removed from his cell. The officer described a barrage of closed-fist punches.
“Sotka screamed something, and that is when Sotka struck me for the first time with a fist,” the officer said in a statement. “His fist hit me on my left ear. The strike hurt my ear and I saw stars.”
The officer said Sotka repeatedly punched him in the head until another guard arrived, at which point Sotka’s aggression subsided.
Double Murder Convictions
Sotka is best known for the brutal January 2023 murders of his girlfriend, 58-year-old Rhonda Cegelski, and her best friend, 53-year-old Paula O’Connor.
Police responded to the duplex Cegelski shared with Sotka after her daughter found the two women dead. Both victims had been stabbed multiple times in the face and neck with an eight-inch knife later recovered at the scene.
O’Connor was found near the front door with the knife still embedded in her neck, while Cegelski’s body was located in the kitchen.
Investigators quickly named Sotka as a suspect. At the time, he was out on bond in an unrelated Oconto County case involving stalking, harassment, and violating a restraining order. He had cut off his GPS ankle monitor before the murders.
Authorities tracked him to Arkansas about 10 hours later, where he was arrested carrying $4,000 in cash and his passport.
Jealous Rage Confession
After his arrest, Sotka confessed to the killings. He told investigators he had felt “humiliated” after stepping out of the shower and finding the two women being intimate following a night of drinking.
“He said he asked [Cegelski] where he was supposed to go and at that point he said he lost it,” the complaint stated. “[Sotka] said, ‘I’m guilty of killing these girls but I’m not guilty of what they said I did in Oconto County.’”
Sotka had a documented history of violence. During his murder trial, another former girlfriend testified that he had assaulted her roughly 20 years earlier, knocking out her teeth, fracturing her skull, and breaking her leg.
More Time Behind Bars
Sotka is already serving life without parole for the double murders. The new conviction adds three years to his prison term—an extension that, while largely symbolic, reflects his continued violence behind bars.
