HAMILTON TOWNSHIP – An Atlantic County jury convicted Oscar Cordoba, 56, of Egg Harbor Township Wednesday, July 11 in the 2003 murder of his mother-in-law, a release from Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel said Wednesday.
The jury deliberated for about 4½ hours over two days before convicting Cordoba of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and aggravated assault on a police officer.
Cordoba killed his mother-in-law, Julia Bradway of Dover, Del., on Sept. 13, 2003 in the home he shared with his then-wife, Sylvia, and their three children, the jury found. He also stabbed his wife and attempted to stab his teenage daughter, Assistant Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said.
According to the release by the prosecutor’s office, Cordoba and his wife got into an early-morning argument. He grabbed an 8-inch kitchen knife, and during a struggle in the foyer, stabbed her in the neck. Her screaming woke her mother and two daughters.
Julia Bradway and the girls came downstairs, and Bradway then tried to intervene between Cordoba and his wife. His oldest daughter also tried to stop the fight, and she was assaulted.
Sylvia Cordoba and the two daughters ran out of the house to the home of neighbor Michael Steinman, an Egg Harbor Township Police Officer, who called 911 for help, Ruberton said.
When police arrived, they were forced to break into the home. They found Bradway dead on the living-room floor and took Cordoda into custody.
Atlantic County Medical Examiner Dr. Hydow Park, who performed the autopsy on Bradway, testified that she died from 12 stab wounds to the torso. She was also beaten about the face and head, causing a broken eye orbit, nose and cheekbones. She had multiple cuts to the face and third-degree burns to her face and neck. Park testified that she died from massive bleeding, Ruberton said.
The defense maintained that Cordoba suffers from epilepsy and on the day of the murder, he had a seizure that prompted his violent conduct.
In her closing argument to the jury, Ruberton argued that even though Cordoba is an epileptic, his conduct on that day was in no way consistent with any of his prior seizures. “The cold and calculating and deliberate manner in which he cut and beat and burned Julia Bradway tell you that his mind was clear,” Ruberton said.
“He was mad with anger,” she said. “What we have is an intentional killing by a man who made the conscious decision.”
Following the verdict, Ruberton moved to have Cordoba’s bail revoked.
Superior Court Judge James E. Isman granted the motion and set his bail sentencing for Sept. 6.