Man already in jail admits to killing elderly Addison woman, police say

A man faces a murder charge after police accused him of killing an elderly woman outside her Addison apartment in July.

Walter Portillo, 30, was already in jail on unrelated charges when he confessed to the murder of 82-year-old Joan Mulcahy, Addison police said.

Police found Mulcahy’s body in her wheelchair July 1 in the 4800 block of Westgrove Drive and released a sketch of a person of interest in the case two weeks later.

Garland police arrested Portillo on unrelated charges on July 13, and he has been in jail ever since, records show.

He became a suspect in the Addison case after a woman saw the police sketch and told officials a man who matched the description followed her shortly after the July 1 attack.

Officials obtained surveillance footage that showed the man using an ATM in the area, police spokesman Dan Reed said. Police were able to track the ATM transaction to Portillo and learned he was already in the Dallas County jail.

Detectives interviewed Portillo at the jail Saturday and he confessed multiple times to the murder, Reed said.

Portillo remained in custody Tuesday on several charges, including murder and aggravated assault, records show.