The Man With No Face premiere on ID

June 06, 2024

James Papol, a Colorado man being held at a mental institution in connection to multiple crimes, was arrested and convicted in 2018 in the decades-old unsolved case of Mary Lynn Vialpando, who was found stabbed, r*ped, and beaten to death in a Colorado Springs alley in 1988. The 24-year-old mother was the victim of an alleged attempted robbery.

Papol was connected to the crime using DNA evidence collected from the crime scene all those years ago. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery in 2021 and was given a 60-year prison sentence.

Reports state that James Papol is currently serving time at the San Carlos Correctional Facility in Pueblo, Colorado.

ID's Homicide Hunter: The Man With No Face is scheduled to revisit the murder of Mary Lynn Vialpando and the recent conviction of James Papol on Wednesday, March 8. The synopsis reads as:

"Joe Kenda's investigation into the brutal rape and murder of a young wife and mother goes cold until DNA technology leads cold-case detectives to the most unlikely of killers 30 years later."

The two-hour special airs at 9.00 pm ET on Investigation Discovery.

James Papol pleaded guilty to Mary Lynn Vialpando's 1988 killing after initially pleading not guilty by reason of insanity

In May 2021, 48-year-old James Papol, who admitted to r*ping and killing Mary Lynn Vialpando in an alleyway in Old Colorado City in 1988 when he was only 15 years old, was given a 60-year jail term. He was given a maximum sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and four-sentence enhancements for crimes of violence, including using a deadly weapon.

According to reports, the murder of Vialpando, 24, remained one of Colorado Springs' most baffling unsolved cases for three decades until Papol's arrest in 2018 after Colorado Springs police's standard DNA database check revealed a match between him and the semen discovered on her body.

The Gazette reported that 4th Judicial District Judge Robin Chittum spoke of the savage crime, claiming that "what she [Mary Lynn Vialpando] went through is unspeakable." She further added:

"It was a prolonged period of her being the focus of hate and rage and anger. And she struggled and she suffered and she fought back — holy cow."

The lengthy sentence was handed down three months after Papol pleaded guilty in the case, avoiding a trial in which he was supposed to argue he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

At the time of his arrest, James Papol was a resident at the Colorado State Mental Health Institute in Pueblo

James Papol was a long-term resident at the Colorado State Mental Health Institute in Pueblo following an insanity commitment for unrelated crimes at the time of his arrest. But, there is no evidence that Papol was mentally ill when he killed Vialpando, who was found viciously stabbed, beaten, and r*ped closeby to a motel where the accused and his family had been residing at the time.

According to authorities, Papol admitted to the crime to his mother in a phone conversation following his arrest. He reportedly claimed that he found the 24-year-old dead and attempted to steal her jewelry.

While testifying in court, Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly described the several stab wounds and severe head trauma Vialpando incurred throughout her struggle. The injuries were consistent with her attacker's attempts to subdue her while she was still trying to fight him off.

Former three-term district attorney for El Paso County and lead prosecutor Dan May urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence. Meanwhile, James Papol's defense pleaded with the judge to consider a less harsh sentence. They put emphasis on his past as an abused and neglected child brought up by his alcoholic mother, while also citing his addiction issues.

While handing down the sentence at the hearing, Judge Robin Chittum reportedly said that,

"This is unlike anything I’ve had before. This is one of the most horrific, violent, vicious, brutal, sadistic cases I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot."

Homicide Hunter: The Man With No Face airs on ID this Wednesday.

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