MISSOULA – A man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend in 1985 and dumping her body on the outskirts of Missoula accepted a plea agreement Tuesday.
Robert Chickene, 58, entered an Alford Plea on charges of murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Paula Rodriguez. In such a plea, the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to obtain a guilty verdict. Chickene also pleaded guilty to tampering with government documents to obtain a false identity.
Authorities say Chickene had been living under a false identity because of other run-ins with the law, and when Rodriguez found out about his criminal history, she threatened to expose him. A vacationing police officer from Spokane, Wash., found her body wrapped in a tarp in a creek west of Missoula in November 1985. She had been shot twice at close range.
Chickene was arrested in September just outside San Antonio, Texas, where he had been living under an alias.
The agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence for the murder charge, and 10 years on each of the remaining counts, to run concurrently.
“This family has been agonizing under a blanket of uncertainty for almost 25 years and certainly welcomes the opportunity to close this chapter and begin the healing process,” said Chief Deputy County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, who noted that the victim’s mother is supportive of the plea agreement. “If the agreed upon sentence is imposed, justice will be served.”
Chickene remains in custody and is set to be sentenced June 30.