| A man prosecutors suspect of preying on more than a dozen women as the "Bike Path Rapist" pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering three women since 1990, including two whose bodies were found on bike paths. Altemio Sanchez, 49, was arrested earlier this year after DNA evidence linked him to a series of rapes and killings in the Buffalo area. Judge Christopher Burns asked Sanchez about each of the three victims. "I strangled her," he said three times, weeping and barely audible. Sanchez's wife sobbed as he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in each death. He faces 75 years to life in prison at sentencing Aug. 2. "It is unimaginable to us that someone we have truly loved and respected for so many years could be capable of such violent acts," his wife, Kathleen Sanchez, and her family said in a statement. "We are sincerely sorry and filled with grief for your tragic losses." Sanchez admitted killing University at Buffalo student Linda Yalem, who was raped and strangled on a bike path near campus in 1990; Majane Mazur, who was found raped and strangled on a Buffalo street two years later; and Joan Diver, who was strangled along a bike path last fall. "The case against him in each of the three homicides was overwhelming," Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark said after the pleas. Defense attorney Andrew LoTempio said Sanchez wanted to spare his family from a trial and decided to plead guilty after reviewing the DNA evidence against him. Clark said investigators have tied Sanchez to 8 or 9 rapes and suspect him in a dozen more dating back to the late 1970s. |
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