ROCKVILLE, Md. — The man behind a deadly two-day shooting rampage that left three people dead and three injured will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Eulalio Tordil, 64, received four life sentences — one of which comes without the possibility of parole — for two first-degree murder and two attempted-murder charges in Montgomery County.
As part of an earlier plea deal, Tordil admitted to the crimes in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“He will never walk the streets again, and he will die in jail,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy after an emotional sentencing hearing in circuit court.
The May 6, 2016, Montgomery County shootings resulted in a manhunt that involved more than 100 police officers.
The shooting spree originally began in Prince George’s County on May 5, 2016, when the Adelphi, Maryland, resident killed his wife and wounded another man outside of a school. His sentencing on Friday was for two violent attempted carjackings, which happened the following day in Montgomery County.
The first shooting happened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, where Tordil is accused of trying to steal a woman’s car. Two good Samaritans heard her screams and came over to help. That’s when a smiling Tordil opened fire on the woman and the men, prosecutors said. One of the good Samaritans, Malcom Winffel, 45, was killed.
“These two men, without any regard to their own personal safety, tried to reach out and rescue her,” McCarthy said about their heroic actions that day.
Tordil looked at the floor of the courtroom and didn’t turn his head toward Winffel’s wife, Norma, as she looked at Tordil and called him a “predator” and “disgrace to mankind” in court.
Winffel also said Tordil was “a monster who never imagined a real man would try to stop him.”
The daughter of Claudina Molina — a 65-year-old hospice nurse who was fatally shot when, prosecutors said, Tordil tried to steal her SUV outside an Aspen Hill Giant store — also addressed the court while fighting back tears.
“I don’t think this man deserves parole,” Melissa Molina told the judge.
In urging the judge to allow for a possibility of parole down the road for Tordil, defense lawyer Theresa Chernosky said “the two horrible days do not define him.”
Tordil’s attorney described her client as a “devoted father” whose life was in a downward spiral of depression when he committed the crimes.
Chernosky told the court that after killing Molina, the former Federal Protective Service officer placed the gun in a bag, tied it up, and put it out of sight so he wouldn’t use it again. He then ate at a Boston Market near the scene of the last shooting, Chernosky said, so police would come and arrest him.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, said Tordil planned what took place for days or possibly months and talked about potential victims in a suicide note.
“I ask God and the potential victims that may hurt, for forgiveness,” the note read.
Tordil chose not to speak before the judge made her decision. Tordil did, however, want to express his sorrow and deep regret for what happened, his lawyer said.
In the end, Judge Sharon Burrell said that Tordil acted in cowardice and selfishness when he committed the murders and attempted murders in cold blood.
Before announcing the sentence, the judge said the ultimate crime deserved the ultimate punishment.
On Sept. 6, Tordil will be sentenced for the murder of his wife and wounding of another man in Prince George’s County.
