Simi Valley murder-suicide: Keith Cordes, Kentucky man shoots and kills his radiologist father, Eric Cordes and his wife, Vicki Schiller and then himself in nearby Chino. No known motive.
A Simi Valley doctor and his spin instructor wife were fatally shot in their $1.3 million mansion by his son in a murder-suicide according to California authorities.
Eric Cordes, 63, and his wife Vicki Schiller, 66, were found with multiple gunshot wounds on Sunday in their Wood Ranch neighborhood, Simi Valley home after investigators believe his son Keith Cordes, 37, opened fire on the couple.
The suspected shooter, who was reportedly a resident of Kentucky, then fled to the town of Chino around 70 miles away, set his car on fire, and fatally shot himself, cops said.
Chino suspect who gunned down Simi Valley doctor and spin instructor wife id as radiologist’s own son
The identity of the suspect gunman wasn’t revealed until Tuesday when the San Bernardino County medical examiner identified the severely burned corpse found inside the car as the victim’s son, Keith Cordes, the LA Times reported.
Investigators say they are still trying to establish a motive for why Cordes would have wanted to kill his father and stepmother.
Authorities said the condition of Cordes’ burned remains initially prevented identification, while a handgun believed to be the one used to kill the couple was also found inside his car the dailymail reported.
The car Cordes drove from the double homicide to Chino was tracked from the macabre scene using license plate recognition cameras, and the vehicle was found to be registered to the suspect.
Eric Cordes was a longtime physician and radiologist at Adventist Health Simi Valley Hospital, and was described by the hospital’s president Alice Issai as a ‘beloved’ member of the medical community.
She said he had served patients in Simi Valley for almost 30 years ‘with compassion and excellence’, and said the hospital was ‘heartbroken‘ by the incident.
The pair were both previously married and have children.
⚠️ WARNING: This post describes a double homicide & suicide
Police have confirmed that Dr. Eric Cordes, 63, and his wife Vicki Cordes, 66, were fatally shot in their Simi Valley, California, garage by the husband’s son, Keith Cordes, 37. Keith Cordes then fled the scene, drove… pic.twitter.com/YzBDSQdhqL
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) December 3, 2025
Simi Valley community left reeling and at a loss as to why son killed beloved couple
News of the beloved couple’s slaying shattered locals and neighbors who knew the outgoing and friendly couple.
Raul Gomez, Simi Valley resident took to Facebook to share a tribute post about Eric and Vicki, who recently became a grandmother.
‘We are in numb shock that our friend is gone. Earlier this year, we were in Simi and took over her Thursday morning spin class, which was my old class. We took this pic and she let me teach it,’
‘Vicki was the one who challenged Lanie and I to become spin instructors over 20 years ago. She and her husband Eric were senselessly shot in their driveway yesterday. Our hearts are beyond broken. She had recently become a grandma.’
Neighbor Joel Lemons added that the incident is something that ‘just doesn’t happen here’ in their small community.
‘Back in the day, Simi Valley was one of the safest places to live in the nation with a population of 100,000 or more, that’s not the case anymore – it’s gotten a little crazy,’ he added.
