Video confessor pleads guilty to fatal OVI
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
Confronted at a hospital by police who said he’d just killed a man, drunken driver Matthew Cordle was angry and in denial.
“He became very irate, and began yelling, he didn’t kill anyone, he didn’t do it, and he wasn’t going to give them any blood sample,” Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said Wednesday.
Sober and in recovery, Cordle had a change of heart. He decided to plead guilty as quickly as possible, and made an online video confessing the crime. He didn’t waver from the position he took in the Sept. 3 video, and Wednesday he made good on his pledge and pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide.
“I drank so much I was blacked out,” Cordle told Franklin County Judge David Fais near the end of a 38-minute hearing.
“So I would say this was a binge-drinking situation, correct, Mr. Cordle?” Judge Fais asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Cordle said.
His guilty plea came just over a week after he was indicted, light speed compared with most court cases, which can drag on for weeks or months.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 10. Cordle, 22, faces two to 81/2 years in prison, a $15,000 fine and loss of driving privileges for life. He also pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. His blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.