Kiara McCulley was a nineteen year old living in New Mexico when she would murder Grace Jennings
According to court documents Kiara McCulley was dating Isaac Apodaca who held a severe grudge against Grace Jennings after the three of them had spent a night together. Isaac would somehow convince Kiara that they would be better off if Grace was dead
Kiara McCulley would attack Grace Jennings inside of a garage with a three foot sword causing the woman’s death.
Police would soon find text messages from Isaac Apodaca to Kiara McCulley talking about killing Grace Jennings which would lead to their arrest
Kiara McCulley would take a plea deal for the charges of aggravated second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She would be given a thirty year prison sentence under the condition she testifies truthfully in the trial of Isaac Apodaca who has yet to go to trial
Kiara McCulley Case
A 22-year-old Santa Fe woman pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated second-degree murder for nearly decapitating another young woman with a sword in 2022.
Kiara McCulley also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors that requires her to testify against her former boyfriend and co-defendant, Isaac Apodaca, whom police allege coerced her into killing 21-year old Grace Jennings. The incident occurred inside a garage at McCulley’s mother’s home on the city’s south side, where the couple lived.
Under the plea deal, McCulley will be sentenced to 30 years in prison — but not until after she has truthfully testified against Apodaca, who is set to stand trial this spring.
If she does not abide by the terms of the deal, which requires her to cooperate fully with prosecutors, the state could withdraw the plea deal and try McCulley on the first-degree murder charge, exposing her to a life sentence.
The crime of second-degree murder carried a 15-year sentence at the time of the killing — it’s now 18 years — but Deputy District Attorney Haley Murphy told the court Monday five years will be added to McCulley’s sentence for the charge based on “aggravating” factors, including the use of a sword, the “brutality” of the killing and the high number of stab wounds McCulley inflicted on Jennings. She faces a total of 20 years on the charge.
The agreement calls for McCulley to be sentenced to 15 years on the conspiracy charge as well; however, Murphy told the court, the five-year enhancement on the murder charge will be suspended under the deal, for a total sentence of 30 years.
Kiara McCulley’s sentences will run consecutively, beginning with the sentence for murder, which is classified as a serious violent offense, meaning she must serve at least 85% of her sentence. Credit for good behavior while incarcerated is capped at 15% of the sentence. McCulley will be eligible to earn day-for-day good time credit on the conspiracy charge.
Police found Jennings’ body and what appeared to be a bloody 3-foot sword inside a detached garage on Jaguar Drive, according to a criminal complaint. Investigators also found a series of text messages in which Apodaca, 28, seemed to encourage McCulley to kill Jennings after the three had a spent a night together, police and court records say.
Police records suggest Apodaca and Jennings previously had a romantic relationship, but Jennings’ mother has disputed that.
McCulley — who appeared in court in a beige prisoner’s jumpsuit with her hair died red and closely shaved on either side — said almost nothing during the hearing, speaking only in response to the judge’s questions regarding her understanding of her rights and the plea.
Her mother, Lani McCulley, a senior planner at the city of Santa Fe, attended Monday’s hearing but declined to comment on the plea.
Jennings’ family also attended, Murphy told the court. But they did not participate in the hearing.
Relatives of both Jennings and McCulley will likely be given an opportunity to address the court at her sentencing hearing, which has not yet been set.
McCulley has been in custody since the killing and spent part of that time being treated at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., after her competency was questioned.
Her attorney, Tom Clark, said Monday she has been found competent to stand trial.
McCulley’s and Apodaca’s cases have been set for trial twice since Jennings’ death — in August 2023 and again in September 2024 — but the cases faced several delays including some related to a backlog in DNA testing at a state crime lab.
