The Hawaiian man was released after spending 30 years in prison for a murder he said he didn't commit, and some of the first things he did after his release was mother enjoying a steak dinner It was to visit the grave.
Gordon Cordeiro ordered a freer on Friday after ordering a judge in light of new DNA evidence that led to the overturning of his conviction in the 1994 fatal shooting of Timothy Blaisdell on Maui. I've secured it.
Cordeiro's mother, Paulette, passed away in September 1994, a month before her son was arrested. She passed away at the age of 49 from ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Cordeiro and his sisters were caring for her before she passed away.
“Thank you for looking at me,” Cordeiro recalls saying at her grave hours after being released Friday, he told The Associated Press. “I'll keep me safe.”
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Gordon Cordeiro, who spent 30 years in prison for a murder he said he had not committed, visited his mother's grave after ordering his release on Friday, February 21, 2025 at Shiroyama, Hawaii. (Denise Cordeiro via AP)
Cordeiro said he thought a lot about his mother behind the bar. He said he was building a shelf unit for his family with him when Blaisdell was shot dead during a drug deal robbery.
After enjoying a steak dinner at the steak house and visiting his mother's grave, he celebrated with his family at his father's house. The next day he went to the graves of other relatives and traveled to Costco.
“I feel that's normal,” he told The Associated Press.
But while in prison, Maui has changed a lot, saying that the historic town of Lahaina was destroyed by a wildfire in 2023, Cordeiro said.
He also pointed out that technology and its consumption has changed.
“Everyone looks at their phone,” he said.
Gordon Cordeiro enjoyed dinner at a Steakhouse held in Karui, Hawaii on Friday, February 21, 2025, hours after a judge ordered him to be released for new evidence. (AP)
Cordeiro had a pager before being sent to prison. He now has a smartphone, but he said, “I haven't stared at it yet. It's a beep and a message coming in, and it's not.”
Judge Kirstin Hamman announced Friday that Cordeiro's sentence is open and that he will be released from custody. She determined that new evidence, including DNA test results, is likely to change the results of another test.
Maui County prosecutor Andrew Martin appealed and said he wanted to apply for the release of Cordeiro's release.
Cordeiro's first trial ended with the judges, as only one ju judge voted to order him to convict him. He was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Gordon Cordeiro was released after ordering him to be released in light of evidence of the new DNA that was overturned in the fatal shooting of Timothy Blaisdell. (istock)
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After his conviction, new tests of physical evidence from the scene ruled out him as a source of DNA for Blaisdell's body and other crime scene evidence, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project. The DNA profiles of the unidentified person were also found in the inner pocket of Blaisdell jeans.
“Thank you for the new DNA,” Cordeiro said Saturday. “The technology is amazing.”
Cordeiro said his immediate plans include repairing the car, helping out his father's home and “maybe giving back a little bit of the community.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
