The man who strangled the daughter of two NYU professors pleaded guilty to manslaughter yesterday in exchange for a 25 year prison sentence. Michael Cordero apologized, "I just want to let the family know I'm really sorry... I know this is nothing to them, but I'm really sorry. If I could take it back, I would," —and also added, "I'll never do it again."
Cordero was allegedly possessive over girlfriend Boitumelo "Tumi" McCallum, a 20-year-old who grew up in NYC and attended Mills College in California. Prosecutors say the couple had a "petty argument" in McCallum's mother apartment at 4 Washington Square Park in August 2007, and Cordero strangled her in a rage. Her body was only discovered days later and Cordero was captured, after a failed suicide attempt, and charged with murder. The NY Times reports that the body's decomposition "complicated" the ME's findings partly led the DA's office to offer the plea deal (the DA's office also cited Cordero's lack of criminal record and their belief the crime was not premeditated).
McCallum's mother Teboho Moja told the Times that though she was still grieving her daughter's death, the guilty plea was a relief, "The most painful thing for me with the court process was being in court and hearing him say that he’s not guilty. When I heard the words come out of his mouth saying, ‘I am guilty; I know what I have done; I deserve to be punished for it,’ it’s almost like some weight taken off of me."
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