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MANISTIQUE – Garry JC Cordell, 46, of Manistique, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in Schoolcraft County’s 11th Circuit Court this morning for the murders of three people found in a burnt vehicle last April.
Cordell pleaded guilty on Nov. 5 to three felony counts for the murders of sisters Heather Aldrich, 25, and Carrie Nelson, 31, both of the Newberry area, and Nelson’s boyfriend Jody Hutchinson, 42, of Gould City. The bodies of the victims were discovered on April 17 inside Hutchinson’s 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada, which had been lit on fire, on County Road 436, also known as River Road, in Doyle Township.
Originally, Cordell faced 12 charges related to the deaths ranging from first degree murder to unlawful imprisonment. However, against the advice of his attorney, Cordell pleaded to three new charges, which take the place of the original 12.
The new charges are: homicide first-degree multiple theories, for the death of Aldrich; murder first-degree premeditated, for the death of Nelson; and murder first-degree premeditated, for the death of Hutchinson.
The sentence handed down by Judge William Carmody this morning was the mandatory sentence for all three charges in the state of Michigan. Had Cordell chosen not to plead guilty and gone to trial, it is possible he would have been found guilty of lesser charges by a jury. Instead, Cordell’s pleas guaranteed him life in prison.
According to testimony given during multiple court proceedings related to the case, Cordell did not act alone the day of the murders. Marietta Carlson, of Manistique, was at the house where the murders took place on April 16.
Carlson was arraigned on eight charges related to the murders on May 8, however she was never given an opportunity to testify after her arraignment. Carlson passed away from endocarditis, an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, on June 16 after being transported from her jail cell to Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital for exhibiting symptomatic behavior. She was 28 at the time of her death.
According to testimony given by Cordell, he and Carlson were house sitting for Kenneth Daniel Brunke, 46, of Manistique, when Aldrich and Nelson came to the home searching for drugs. Cordell and Carlson strangled the two victims after feeding them drugs, and Cordell suffocated Hutchinson, who had been waiting for the women outside in his vehicle.
Brunke, who helped Cordell and Carlson dispose of the bodies on River Road, was originally arraigned on the same 12 charges Cordell faced. However, after further evidence was gathered and testimony exonerating him from the murders was submitted by Cordell, Brunke pleaded guilty on two lesser charges in exchange for his truthful testimony against Cordell.
Brunke will be sentenced on Dec. 10 for one count of obstructing justice, a five-year and/or $10,000 felony, and one count of of lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation, a four-year or $5,000 felony.