Witness says Isaac Apodaca manipulated her into sword killing of Grace Jennings

Kiara McCulley told jurors Isaac Apodaca manipulated her into killing Grace Jennings with a sword, building a false secret-society story to pressure her into carrying out the attack. McCulley described Apodaca as the driving force behind the killing and said he convinced her he led a group called Ghost that targeted people he claimed were bad, including pedophiles, rapists and drug users.

Grace Jennings was 21 when she was killed in October 2022, after spending the night at the Santa Fe home on the 5000 block of Jaguar Drive where Apodaca lived with McCulley. Jennings had previously dated both McCulley and Apodaca, and McCulley testified that Jennings had been going through a breakup and needed a place to stay. McCulley said Apodaca brought Jennings to the house and then pressed her to carry out the killing, telling her she could rank up in Ghost if she went through with it.

Police were dispatched to the property on October 29, 2022, after Apodaca’s mother called and said her son had told her his girlfriend killed a woman with a sword. Officers later found Jennings dead in a detached garage at the home. When police arrived, McCulley fled from the garage and officers found Jennings beside a blood-covered sword.

Prosecutors called Apodaca the “architect” of the killing and showed jurors text messages that capture the pair plotting to kill Jennings and discussing how to clean it up. In court, the alleged murder weapon was described as a double-handed broadsword with a 36-inch blade, purchased on Amazon days before the attack.

Apodaca, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder. McCulley has already pleaded guilty to aggravated second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and her plea deal calls for a 30-year sentence if she testifies truthfully against Apodaca.