FATHER CONVICTED IN DEATH BY TORTURE CASE OF

4-YEAR OLD SON

Defendant Claimed Child Was the ‘Devil, Blamed Injuries on Victim

Atlanta- Following a week of testimony regarding the horrific treatment that led to the death of his four-year-old son, a Fulton County jury has returned a guilty verdict in the murder case against Marcos Cordero of Atlanta. Cordero was convicted late Monday on charges of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault and Cruelty to Children for the beating and torturing death of young Marc Estephano Sanchez Mendez.

On January 18, 2008, Defendant Cordero brought the child’s lifeless, scar-covered body to Piedmont Hospital where the boy was pronounced dead. An immediate investigation ensued into the child’s severe injuries. Detectives discovered traces of blood throughout the Sheridan Drive basement apartment the defendant shared with his wife and two other children. In a video statement to police, Cordero called his child the “devil” and claimed that the boy cut and beat himself with knives and other objects. The defendant did admit to occasionally spanking the child and punching him in the stomach.

Sabina Mendez, the boy’s mother, detailed a more brutal version of her husband’s abuse of the child. Mendez testified at trial that Defendant Cordero beat young Marc with a variety of objects including a 2x4, a plunger, broom, screwdriver and shoes and also repeatedly kicked the child. According to Mendez’s testimony, the defendant also tied the child’s hands and placed him in the bathroom for hours on end as punishment. Mendez, who says she was also beaten by the defendant, says she never sought help for her son because she was terrified of her husband, the only English-speaking person in the home. In exchange for her truthful testimony against her husband, Mendez has pled guilty to Cruelty in the First Degree for failing to get help for little Marc.

Sabina Mendez and her husband Marcos Cordero will be sentenced on April 11, 2011 by presiding Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Tanya Miller with assistance from Chief Senior ADA Pete Johnson and DA Investigator Michael Green. Detective J.D. Stephens of the Atlanta Police Department led the initial investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov