The son of a Southern California radiologist has been identified as the suspect in a Nov. 30 double shooting that killed the doctor and his wife, police said Tuesday. Keith Cordes, 37, was found dead by suicide more than 70 miles away in San Bernardino County just hours after the couple was found in their home, Chino police said.
Eric and Vicki Cordes, 63 and 66 years old respectively, were killed in Simi Valley on Sunday afternoon when Keith Cordes, of Kentucky, entered the open garage of their Hawks Bill Place home and opened fire. Both of the victims were struck by gunfire multiple times, police said, and despite being rushed to a nearby trauma center, they both died later that day.
CBS LA
The early stages of investigation revealed that Keith Cordes, Eric Cordes’ and the step-son of Vicki Cordes, was a possible suspect, officers told CBS Los Angeles. Simi Valley police investigators identified Cordes’ black Honda Civic, which left the Wood Ranch neighborhood following the shooting, via the FLOCK camera system, according to an updated news release.
They later captured the car on license plate-reading cameras as it traveled south on the 210 Freeway, eventually exiting in Chino before arriving at Ayala Park.
“They learned that an individual associated with the vehicle had reportedly set the car on fire before fatally shooting himself,” said Simi Valley Police Department’s news release. “The resulting fire caused significant burns that initially prevented identification.”
CBS LA
Cordes was identified as the deceased person by the San Bernardino County Medical Examiner on Tuesday. They say that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police believe that the same gun was used in the homicides of Eric and Vicki Cordes.
Detectives are still working to investigate the circumstances leading up to the Simi Valley shooting and a possible motive.
Simi Valley neighbors remembered Eric and Vicki as cornerstones in their neighborhood. Eric, a board-certified radiologist, had worked with Adventist Health Simi Valley for nearly three decades, while Vicki worked as a fitness instructor in her community.
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