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Cordell headed to circuit court following preliminary exam

MANISTIQUE, MI--   The third suspect in the Schoolcraft County triple homicide has been bound over to circuit court.  

Garry Cordell, 47, of Manistique is charged with three counts each of open murder, conspiracy to commit open murder, first-degree murder, and unlawful imprisonment in connection with the deaths of Jody Hutchinson, Heather Aldrich, and Carrie Nelson in April.

During the prelim the prosecutor read from affidavits signed by Cordell.  They indicate while Hutchinson and Nelson were tied to support beams in codefendant Kenneth Brunke’s basement, Cordell taped a plastic bag over Hutchinson’s head and choked Nelson to death.  Then Marietta Carlson—who later died in jail—allegedly went up to a bedroom and choked Aldrich to death. 

The documents say Brunke was not home at the time of the murders, but indicate all three helped burn the evidence. 

A pretrial hearing is set for November 5.  

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.
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