Four years have passed since Nick Cordova's murder in Gilbert and his wife is steadfast in finding out who took him from her and their two children.
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Who killed Nick Cordova? Father's murder heard over FaceTime remains unsolved by Gilbert PD
Four years have passed since Nick Cordova's murder in Gilbert and his wife is steadfast in finding out who took him from her and their two children.
Nick was shot and killed while on FaceTime with his kids. The tragedy happened in Gilbert back in 2020.
A 300-page police report and 911 call leave loved ones with many questions – Who killed him, and why?
His widow believes it’s time to put pressure on the Gilbert Police Department to make a break in the case.
On May 27, 2020, just after 5 p.m., life for the Cordova family changed.
"I was in the kitchen, and then I heard Capri say like, ‘Something, something's wrong.’ And so, I grabbed the phone, and, I mean, I couldn't see anything, but like, my instincts just kicked in that something wasn't right," she said. "I could hear muffled noises, like some yelling. I immediately took the phone and ran into my room where my phone was and called 911."
Dispatch: "911, what’s your emergency?"
Alysha: "I’m on FaceTime with my husband, my kids are FaceTiming, and someone came in and started beating him."
Dispatch: "OK, what’s your address?"
Alysha: "He’s at Gilbert Air. Gilbert Air."
"It's terrifying. I felt helpless because I'm just screaming through this phone like someone, like someone do something. Someone say something," she remembered.
While Gilbert Police officers rushed to the scene, Alysha stared at Nick’s office ceiling from his phone's camera while still on FaceTime.
"I’m pretty sure I saw a black glove or black gun above. I didn’t hear any shots or anything though. I could hear him screaming, yelling, someone was hitting him," she said.
The 911 call picks up audio between Alysha and Nick's business partner, who picked up Nick's phone while it was still live on FaceTime.
Dave Sweetman had been Nick’s silent business partner for about a year.
"Nick was the one that had stepped up and built the company to what it was. He'd come home and just say that they had been arguing about this or that. Yeah, their relationship was not … they didn't have a friendship, or a great relationship … was purely business related," Alysha said.
Alysha: "Dave! Dave, is he OK? Is he breathing? Dave, answer me!"
Alysha: "Dave, what the (expletive) is going on?"
When the police arrived, Nick was found with a gunshot to the head.
Gilbert Police say Sweetman was detained, placed in handcuffs and told officers that two men had come into the office.
One suspect hit him on the head while the other shot and killed Nick, Sweetman said, calling it a robbery despite a substantial amount of cash left at the scene.
Sweetman turned his own handgun, a 9MM Sig Sauer, over to the police.
Two employees later told police that they left the business just after 5 p.m. and didn't see anything suspicious. One of them remembers Nick and Sweetman having a closed-door meeting and that the conversation got louder than normal.
The police report says Sweetman was not a suspect at the time, but his involvement remained unclear. He declined to speak on camera about the case, but called this the most traumatic ordeal he’s experienced.
Just weeks after Nick’s murder, Gilbert Police released surveillance video of a suspect seen at a nearby gas station. He walks into the store, head down, briefly speaking to the clerk and then walks back outside.
This is captured minutes after the shooting. Police say the suspects drove off in a two-tone red and silver Ford F-150 truck.
Gilbert Police has high-quality security footage from inside Gilbert Air, but it’s never been released to the public.
A unique piece of evidence found at the crime scene was a potato with a hole in it.
"I do feel like he was targeted. I wish I could say it was a freak accident and someone just came in. You know, two guys came in hoping to, like, rob someone and take some money, but … deep down, that's not what I think happened," she said.
