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The Manhattan DA's office has announced they will charge Catherine Woods' yoga-instructing boyfriend with her murder. Paul Cortez, who was a person of interest when the young woman with dreams of being a dancer but the reality of being a stripper to make ends meet was found dead in her Upper East Side apartment after Thanksgiving, will be charged later this week. The prosecutors said they found a bloody fingerprint at the crime scene that matched Cortez. Cortez had made several phone calls to Woods prior to the murder, but then none afterward.
And it turns out that Cortez would have been charged yesterday, BUT the transit strike "prevented grand jury members from getting to court," according to the Daily News. The DA's office was only able to charge him with sodomy (thanks for that detail, NY Post!), after a woman came forward saying he attacked her last year. And members of the Equinox gym where Cortez worked said he was "overly obsessive" with some women.
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What a piece of work...
Hope it helps the family now that they have this one figured out. This guy is not likely to beat evidence like a bloody fingerprint.
Cortez is a typical shitbag trainer and he'll pay for it.
I am a guy that works out in a modest Equinox-like gym. Ever notice how the personal trainers wait around like sharks and flock the good-lookin' women? It agitiates me. The gals get sketched out, so decent paying members are in a less comfortable position to flirt.
no "Cortez the Killer" headline from the post?
bloody fingerpaint ? did he spill some Elmer's glue while he was at it ?
I don't mean to be that guy but that headline is kinda confusing. Shouldn't it say ex-boyfriend?
am i crazy or does Cortez look exactly like Andy Samberg from Saturday Night Live?
Nope, you're not crazy. I saw him and exclaimed, "Mr Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious!"
So justice was delayed because grand jury members couldn't get to court because of the transit strike. Where are all the wiseasses now who go around mocking, "Wah, wah, the whining hipsters can't get to work"? Anybody who thinks the subway is nothing but a way to get to and from a job is an imbecile.
thank god someone will pay for this crime. now all we have to do is identify the piece of filth that
introduced that young impressionable girl to the world of sleaze. despite what you say about the "reality" of stripping, I don't think it was a necessary reality. poor catherine made it for almost three years without doing it and she had a strong support structure at home. I think her decision to dance had more to do with negative social influences around her than being financial in nature.
December 18, 2005: A girl “steps forward” to tell police that she was assaulted on a date with Paul a year prior. She’s made no mention of this to anyone all year. They had been seen by many mutual friends making out all night long. She invited Paul back to her place to continue. Who’s to say for sure what happened after two consenting adults closed the door to her apartment?
What is certain is that the girl was seen by scores of people cheering for Paul at a number of subsequent concerts. Odd behavior for someone who has been assaulted.
The prosecutor dropped this charge 3 months later, which is unusual. Usually the prosecutor likes to put even the flimsiest case like this in front of the jury, so they’ll be predisposed to think of the defendant as a monster before the murder trial has even begun. We hope the girl had a pang of conscience and withdrew her accusation. If that’s the case we are grateful.
December 19, 2005: Police entered Paul’s apartment without a warrant to arrest him. Refused to let him contact his lawyer or even put in his contact lenses. Denied that he was being arrested. Handcuffed him “for his own protection”. Questioned him for hours with his hands handcuffed to a post over his head.
He was charged with assault and denied bail—which is ludicrous. He had been under suspicion of murder for three weeks and hadn’t run. Why would he run from this charge?
Police took Paul’s fingerprints and found a possible match to a smeared, fraction-of-a-print at Catherine’s apartment. There are degrees for matching of fingerprints. Our best understanding at this time is that this fingerprint is so smudged, its at the lowest possible margin for law enforcement to even consider looking at. It meets less than half of FBI criterion to be considered a match. And most of us were not aware that fingerprint matching is more of an art than a science…
December 23, 2005: Paul was arraigned for murder. Remember, the preliminary DNA was back earlier and no arrests were made. So, a young man’s life was being destroyed for no more than this flimsy fraction of a print match.
The fingerprint was actually a 13-point match where minimum is 6.. and it was clearly attached to a bloody handprint which is very apparent. and all that, taht he was handcuffed to a post and treated unfairly sounds like mumbo jumbo that his defense and friends are saying in desperation to get him out of jail. all evidence is very damning
-catherines friends started a website with her won words from her friendship with paul and even testimonials from his friends that you wont see on his website...
www.dontfreepaulcortez.org
The fingerprint was actually a 13-point match where minimum is 6.. and it was clearly attached to a bloody handprint which is very apparent. and all that, taht he was handcuffed to a post and treated unfairly sounds like mumbo jumbo that his defense and friends are saying in desperation to get him out of jail. all evidence is very damning
-catherines friends started a website with her won words from her friendship with paul and even testimonials from his friends that you wont see on his website...
www.dontfreepaulcortez.org
The fingerprint was actually a 13-point match where minimum is 6.. and it was clearly attached to a bloody handprint which is very apparent. and all that, taht he was handcuffed to a post and treated unfairly sounds like mumbo jumbo that his defense and friends are saying in desperation to get him out of jail. all evidence is very damning
-catherines friends started a website with her won words from her friendship with paul and even testimonials from his friends that you wont see on his website...
www.dontfreepaulcortez.org
and the girl he assaulted was not at the concerts to 'cheer' paul. She is close friends with a few of the other bandmates that invited her to the concert, so all you that try to twist things saying that she was there 'cheering' for Paul, are very ignorant to say that, at the least.