Avila says he approached Katie Sepich to help her, but 'suddenly lost it'

LAS CRUCES — Gabriel Avila told police he had been trying to help Katie Sepich when he "suddenly lost it" and attacked her, raping and strangling her until she stopped moving.

New details about Avila's confession to the 2003 homicide emerged Tuesday in court documents filed by Doña Ana County Sheriff's investigators.

Avila, 27, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and two counts of criminal sexual penetration.

Avila, who is already serving a nine-year prison sentence for burglary, was arrested Dec. 21 in the homicide after his DNA came back a match to DNA taken from Sepich's body.

The 22-year-old New Mexico State University graduate student was found dead Aug. 31, 2003, in the desert near the old city landfill. She had last been seen as she walked away from a party on the city's east side in the early morning hours.

An autopsy revealed she had been raped, strangled and partially burned.

District Attorney Susana Martinez said she could not comment further on the case, but that more information will come out through the trial.

Investigators report that when they confronted Avila with the DNA evidence, he agreed to talk with them without an attorney.

Avila said he was driving in the area of Roadrunner Parkway when he saw Sepich walking and almost hit her. He stopped and offered her assistance, but she declined, saying she lived just a few blocks away, documents state.

Avila drove a short distance, then stopped to urinate. When he got back in his pickup truck, he saw Sepich again and decided to follow her.

He reportedly approached Sepich again when he saw her trying to get into her home through a window. She told him she did not have her keys and didn't want to wake her roommate and roommate's family.

Then, Avila told police, "he suddenly lost it and he grabbed (Sepich) from behind and took her down to the ground. ... he then raped her," the report stated.

Avila also described how he killed Sepich.

"(H)e then started to strangle (Sepich) with his hands and that he stopped when she stopped moving and stopped breathing," according to the report.

Avila said he then removed two rings from her hand, carried her to his truck and drove her to an area in the desert and dumped her body.

Before Avila left, he poured a bottle of alcohol from his truck on Sepich's body and set her on fire.

Martinez said last week that Avila knew details of the case that had never been revealed to the public, including information about the rings that were taken.

Martinez said one of Sepich's rings was found in Avila's truck, which had since been sold.

Avila's bond was set at $1 million dollars by Magistrate Judge Joseph Guillory.