Despite DNA Evidence & Confession, Jury Acquits 'Nude Housekeeper' in Paralegal's Slaying
Hired via an Internet service to clean a New York paralegal’s home in the nude, Thomas Cordero was linked by DNA evidence to the man’s 2001 slaying.
But even though he also confessed to the fatal stabbing of John Conley, then 50, Cordero was acquitted of murder today by a Bronx Supreme Court jury, reports the New York Daily News.
Claiming that his confession was coerced and that he acted in self-defense, Cordero, who is now 40, persuaded the jury that there was a reasonable doubt of his guilt, according to the article.
Although jurors were convinced that Cordero was there, they weren’t convinced that he was guilty, panel member Juan Azcona, 20, tells the newspaper. “There were a lot of inconsistencies.”
Cordero was represented by attorney Harvey Slovis, who praised jurors for “doing the right thing.”
