“I Killed A Man” – Youtube Confession

A Youtube Confession to a killing has led to a 6 1/2 year prison sentence for an Ohio driver. The prosecutor and the defendant disagreed about whether a conviction was inevitable even without the confession.

In the three and a half minute video, 22-year-old Matthew Cordle admits to bar hoping, blacking out and then driving the wrong way on Interstate 670 before smashing into a car driven by Vincent Canzani, who was killed in the June 22, 2013 collision. As of September 3rd, the defendant, who initially denied causing the accident, had not been charged with any crime. That’s when Cordle boldly defied his own attorneys and posted the online confession, describing his drinking problem, which he attributed to a desire to escape depression, and detailing the events that transpired the night of the accident.

Cordle begins the video with his face pixilated while claiming, “I consulted some high powered attorneys who told me stories about similar cases where the drivers got off. They were convinced that they could get my blood test thrown out and all I would have to do for that was lie.” Cordle then dramatically states, “Well I won’t go down that path.” He then reveals his face and name and admits to the crime, apologizing to the family of the victim and concluding with a plea to viewers not to drink and drive.”

Foxnews reported that prosecutor Ron O’Brien believed Cordle’s remorse in the Youtube confession to be genuine, but disputed Cordle’s assertion that he could have fought to get a reduced sentence or no jail time. O’Brien even called the case against Cordle “a slam dunk” according to Foxnews, after requesting the maximum sentence of 8 1/2 years. Cordle’s attorneys countered with a plea for a sentence that was “fair.”

TheBlaze reported that the victim’s daughter, Angela Canzani, “delivered a powerful appeal for the judge to give Cordle the maximum sentence,” telling the judge, “My sister, Marie, and I will never see our father’s face again. Our children will never see their grandfather again. We will never hear his voice. We will never hug him.” TheBlaze further reports that Cordle delivered both a private apology to the Canzani family and a public during the sentencing hearing, in addition to the Youtube Confession, stating “I am so sorry for the pain I have caused you, for the loved one I have taken from you. It should have been me that night, the guilty party, instead of an innocent man.”