Beloved radiologist and his wife killed in apparent murder-suicide
A respected California radiologist and his wife were killed Sunday, with their deaths later linked to a charred body found miles away.
Witnesses told police they saw a gunman open fire into the garage at the Simi Valley home of Vicki and Eric Cordes, MD, around noon Nov. 30. Hours later, the vehicle that fled the scene was found on fire in Chino, with the badly burned driver and a handgun located nearby, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Police had not released a motive late Tuesday but identified the suspect as the couple’s stepson, Keith Cordes, 37, according to CBS. His father, Dr. Cordes, 63, was a radiologist with Adventist Health Simi Valley, located in the same community where the couple lived, about 37 miles northwest of downtown L.A.
“The Adventist Health Simi Valley community is heartbroken by the tragic deaths of our longtime colleague, Dr. Eric Cordes, and his wife, Vicki,” Alice Issai, the hospital’s president, said in a statement. “Dr. Cordes was a highly respected, board-certified radiologist and beloved physician who served this community with compassion and excellence for nearly 30 years. Our hearts are with his family, friends and all who had the privilege of working alongside him as we grieve this shocking loss.”
Dr. Cordes attended medical school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and completed his residency with the University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas. He also had worked as an associate with Focus Medical Imaging, a Pasadena radiology practice that recently joined multispecialty group Vituity.
"Dr. Eric Cordes was a brilliant, hardworking doctor, and a respected colleague,” Focus Medical Imaging said in a statement. “He served the Simi Valley community and surrounding areas throughout his entire career, never once leaving for other communities. Our entire group will be thinking and praying for him and his family today. He will surely be missed."
The suspected gunman, Keith Cordes, of Kentucky, died after lighting his car on fire in the parking lot of Ayala Park in Chino and reportedly shooting himself when local police responded. The resulting fire caused significant burns that initially delayed identification, the Venture County Star reported. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Forensic testing is still pending, but police believe the same weapon was used in the murders, according to the Star.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.