Simi Valley physician, spouse fatally shot by his son, police say

A Simi Valley couple have been gunned down at their residence by the husband’s son, who then fled to Chino, set his automobile on fireplace and fatally shot himself, police stated.

The grisly double murder unfolded round midday Sunday when officers with the Simi Valley Police Division responded to a number of 911 requires gunfire within the 500 block of Hawks Invoice Place.

There they discovered Eric Cordes, 63, and Vicki Cordes, 66, affected by a number of gunshot wounds inside their storage. The victims have been transported to a neighborhood hospital and later pronounced lifeless, police stated.

Eric Cordes was a “beloved doctor” and radiologist at Adventist Well being Simi Valley who served the Simi Valley group “with compassion and excellence for practically 30 years,” in keeping with an announcement shared by Alice Issai, the hospital’s president.

The slaying rattled the peaceable residential group — which averages round one murder a 12 months — and left neighbors looking for solutions on the suspected killer.

Police initially stated they believed the assault was focused, however the suspected shooter’s identification was not revealed till Tuesday when the San Bernardino County medical expert confirmed that the corpse pulled from the burned automobile in Chino was 37-year-old Keith Cordes.

Police consider that he opened fireplace on his father and stepmother earlier than fleeing in a black Honda Civic. Detectives used license plate recognition cameras to trace the automobile, which was registered to Keith, because it traveled southbound on the 210 Freeway earlier than exiting in Chino and parking close to Ayala Park.

In coordination with Chino police, detectives realized that a person contained in the automobile set the automobile on fireplace earlier than fatally taking pictures himself. Initially, the extreme burns prevented identification, police stated.

Investigators retrieved a handgun from the automobile and consider it’s the weapon used to kill the couple. Keith was a resident of Kentucky, and Simi Valley police are persevering with to analyze the motive behind the assault. The medical expert is conducting extra forensic testing.

“The Adventist Well being Simi Valley group is heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our longtime colleague, Dr. Eric Cordes, and his spouse, Vicki,” stated Issai. “Our hearts are along with his household, mates, and all who had the privilege of working alongside him as we grieve this surprising loss.”