Hawaii man freed after 30 years in prison for murder he denied committing, celebrates with steak dinner

A Hawaii man was freed after spending 30 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit, and some of the first things he did after his release was enjoy a steak dinner and visit his mother’s grave.

Gordon Cordeiro had his freedom secured on Friday after a judge ordered him released in light of new DNA evidence that led to the overturning of his conviction in the 1994 fatal shooting of Timothy Blaisdell on the island of Maui.

Cordeiro’s mother, Paulette, died in September 1994, a month before her son was arrested. She died at the age of 49 from ALS, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Cordeiro and his sisters had taken turns caring for her before her passing.

“Thanks for looking over me,” Cordeiro recalled saying at her grave just hours after his release on Friday, he told The Associated Press. “Keeping me safe.”

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Cordeiro said he often thought about his mother during his time behind bars. He said he was with her and building shelving units for the family when Blaisdell was shot and killed during a drug deal robbery.

After enjoying a steak dinner at a steak house and visiting his mother’s grave, he celebrated with family at his father’s house. The next day, he went to other relatives’ graves and made a trip to Costco.

“It feels normal,” he told The Associated Press.

Maui, however, has changed a lot during his time in prison, Cordeiro said, citing the historic town of Lahaina being destroyed by a wildfire in 2023.

He also pointed out that technology and its consumption have changed.

“Everybody is looking at their phones,” he said.

Cordeiro only had a pager before he was sent to prison. He now has a smartphone, but said he is “not staring at it yet. It keeps beeping and messages coming in, and it’s different.”

Judge Kirstin Hamman announced Friday that Cordeiro’s sentence was vacated and that he was to be released from custody. She ruled that new evidence, including DNA test results, would likely change the outcome of another trial.

Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin said he plans to appeal and seek to have bail imposed on Cordeiro’s release.

Cordeiro’s first trial ended in a hung jury, as only one juror voted to convict him. He was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder, and he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

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After his conviction, new testing on physical evidence from the scene excluded him as the source of DNA on Blaisdell’s body and other crime scene evidence, according to the Hawaii Innocence Project. A DNA profile of an unidentified person was also found on the inside pockets of Blaisdell’s jeans.

“Thank God for new DNA,” Cordeiro said Saturday. “Technology is awesome.”

Cordeiro said his immediate plans include fixing cars, helping with his dad’s house and “maybe giving back to the community a little bit.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.