Authorities in southern California are probing a potential link between a suicide in San Bernardino County and a double homicide in Ventura County.
The Simi Valley Police Department reported receiving numerous calls about gunshots just before noon on Sunday. Upon arrival, officers discovered a man and a woman in a driveway, both suffering from several gunshot wounds, according to KTLA. The victims, identified as 63-year-old Dr. Eric Cordes and his 66-year-old wife, Vicki, were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition but subsequently succumbed to their injuries.
Investigators revealed that the shooter approached the couple’s open garage and began firing.
Approximately two and a half hours later, Chino police responded to a parking lot where a vehicle was ablaze. On the scene, they discovered a deceased individual beside a burning black Honda Civic, with a firearm found nearby, as reported by KNBC.
While officials await the San Bernardino County Coroner’s confirmation of the deceased’s identity and cause of death, Chino Police communicated with Simi Valley Police regarding the potential connection between the incidents.
“Personnel from the Chino Police Department collaborated with Simi Valley PD’s Public Information Officer, Detective Sergeant Rick Morton, who verified that they were looking into the double homicide and dispatched detectives to Chino to assess any relation between the two events,” Chino police stated on Monday. “Preliminary findings suggest that the incidents are probably linked.”
Morton told KTLA that investigators think the killer knew the victims and that there may be a family connection. A neighbor told the station that the gunman may have been the couple’s stepson.
“That is one of the leads we’re looking into, but we are still trying to confirm if that is the case,” Morton said said.
Adventist Health Simi Valley said that Eric Cordes was a radiologist who worked at the hospital.
