An inmate from San Quentin State Prison on death row, convicted of the murder case of an 8-year-old girl from the Bay Area, has died and authorities are investigating whether he was infected with the coronavirus.
Joseph S. Cordova, 75, was found unanswered in his individual cell at 4:08 pm Wednesday, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 4:22 pm after attempts to revive him.
Cordova had been on death row since 2007, after being convicted in the 1979 rape and stranglehold murder of 8-year-old Cannie Bullock, who was attacked at her San Pablo home while her mother was outside drinking with some friends. In 2002, DNA tied Cordova, who was in a Colorado prison for child sexual abuse, with the Bullock case unsolved.
Her death is the second in a death row inmate in eight days in a prison that has been devastated by the coronavirus. More than 1,100 inmates have been infected since officials transferred sick inmates to prison a month ago.
On June 24, Richard Stitely, 71, was found unanswered in his cell and pronounced dead. A post mortem test determined that he had coronavirus. Stitely was convicted in Los Angeles County for the rape and murder of Carol Unger, 47, and had been on death row since 1992.
Cordova’s death will be investigated by the Marin County Coroner.
Suzanne Espinosa Solis is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]
