As a 63-year-old Rhawnhurst woman tried to fight off a home invader on April 11, 2013, the intruder hit her so hard and inflicted so much pain to her face and head, police initially thought he had used a hammer.
During the attacker’s sentencing hearing last Friday, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kemp revealed that Abraham Cordova had actually used brass knuckles to knock the victim unconscious and blind her left eye. Cordova, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who was staying in the Olney area at the time of the beating, was ordered to spend 25 to 50 years in state prison for the crime. Common Pleas Court Judge Ann Butchart issued the sentence. Court records list Cordova as 27 years old, but that may not be accurate, authorities said.
The crime occurred on the 7900 block of Loretto Ave. at about 12:10 a.m. The victim was changing clothes in the bedroom of her ground-floor apartment when Cordova climbed through her unlocked window. A loud struggle began immediately, police said, with the victim screaming and the intruder striking her several times in the face and head. Eventually, the attacker fled, leaving the victim for dead. Witnesses helped police get a description of Cordova and identify him. Officers arrested him six days after the crime.
Cordova pleaded no contest on Jan. 24 to attempted murder, attempted rape, burglary and possessing an instrument of crime. He could be deported after serving the state prison sentence.
For the sentencing hearing, the victim sent a printed statement to the court, but she did not attend personally. Kemp explained that the victim still has nightmares of the incident and did not want to see Cordova again, although she bravely helped police identify the culprit. ••
