Ohio man who confessed online pleads guilty to vehicular homicide

The man who used an online video to confess to a night of heavy drinking that led to a crash and the death of another person, pleaded guilty in Ohio to aggravated vehicular homicide.

Wearing handcuffs, Matthew Cordle, 22, entered his guilty plea on Wednesday in criminal court in Franklin County. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told the Los Angeles Times.

Cordle, who lives near Columbus, Ohio, faces 2 to 8.5 years in prison when he is sentenced in October, she said.

The guilty plea had been expected after Cordle released on online video accepting all responsibility for the accident. He had entered a preliminary plea of not guilty last week in a procedural move that allowed a judge to be appointed to accept the guilty plea on Tuesday.

“My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani,” Cordle says on the 3½-minute video that went viral several weeks ago. “This video will act as my confession.”

The confession received more than 2 million views.

Cordle’s face is blurry and he is speaking in a muffled voice as the video begins. He described how he and some friends were out on a binge.

“I was trying to have a good time and I ended up losing control,” he said.
Cordle said he drove into oncoming traffic on Interstate 670. Cordle’s face comes into sharp focus when he gives his name and confesses to killing Canzani.

Cordle ends the video by pleading with viewers not to drink and drive.

On Tuesday, Judge David W. Fais asked Cordle if his friends told him not to drive home drunk. Cordle replied: “I have no recollection, your honor.”

Cordle is currently being held at the Franklin County Corrections facility in Columbus, Ohio.

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