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Brian Cordovano, age 50, of Ronkonkoma and formerly of Bay Shore, was arrested following a traffic stop in Smithtown, on Columbus Avenue, just before noontime on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.
On Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at around 10:45 p.m. in Selden at 55 Hollywood Ave., Ian Saalfield, age 45, of Lake Grove, who had been reported missing by his wife nearly two weeks earlier, and the homeowner, Robert Julian, age 58, were found shot to death, Suffolk County Police said.
Cordovano was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
On Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, Cordovano pleaded guilty to:
- Two counts of first-degree manslaughter, Class B violent felonies;
- Three counts of robbery in the first degree, Class B violent felonies;
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, Class C violent felonies.
“Today, Brian Cordovano pleaded guilty to killing Ian Saalfield and Robert Julian in a selfish and inexplicable act of violence,” said District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “I hope that this plea provides a measure of comfort to the victims’ families and friends as they continue to mourn these unnecessary and tragic losses.
"With this conviction, the victim’s families will be spared the further pain and anxiety of a trial, while ensuring that the community is protected from any further crimes by this defendant.”
After Saalfield was reported missing, his wife advised police that she last saw her husband the day before with Cordovano, his childhood friend, according to the DA's office.
Saalfield’s wife saw her husband leave their home with Cordovano at approximately 8 p.m., when he drove off in Saalfield’s white 2015 Lexus. Saalfield never returned home.
A few days later, on May 2, 2022, law enforcement found Saalfield’s Lexus abandoned in a parking lot in Holtsville.
On that same day, police responded to a call from a Ronkonkoma motel where Cordovano was suffering from an overdose.
While Cordovano was being transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, the Suffolk County Police Department was able to link a silver 2004 Toyota Corolla left in the motel parking lot to Cordovano.
A registration check revealed that the car belonged to Robert Julian.
Police responded to Julian’s home and found the bodies of Saalfield and Julian inside, each dead due to gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators later determined that Cordovano killed the two on April 25, 2022.
Cordovano is due back in court for sentencing on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and faces an agreed-upon sentence of 30 years in prison.
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