Paid killer pleads guilty to manslaughter for role in death of Edmonton woman found in torched Jeep

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A man paid to take part in the brutal kidnapping and slaying of an Edmonton woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Cordell Kennedy was scheduled to begin a trial Tuesday for his role in the death of Vanessa Silva, whose remains were found in a burned out car east of Sherwood Park in 2021.

He instead pleaded guilty to a single count of manslaughter, admitting he participated in the events leading up to Silva’s death.

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Crown prosecutor Marissa Tordoff told Court of King’s Bench Justice Douglas Mah the state of Silva’s remains made it impossible to establish a cause of death or the exact roles played by Kennedy and his co-accused.

Both Crown and defence said they plan to make a joint submission on sentencing, though Kennedy, who is Indigenous, requested a Gladue report before that happens. Dates for sentencing will be scheduled Friday.

Silva, 29, lived with her dog in a townhome in southwest Edmonton’s Rutherford neighbourhood. According to an agreed statement of facts, a friend requested a welfare check on Sept. 16, 2021, when Silva failed to check in. Police arrived at her home and the front door had been kicked in. The home appeared to have been “ransacked,” with drawers and cupboards torn open and muddy footprints on the floor.

Silva’s dog was locked in the bathroom, where police also found several zip ties. Neighbours said they heard screaming coming from Silva’s home around midnight the night before.

Police later determined a Jeep found on fire near Ardrossan the previous night belonged to Silva. Her body was found in the back underneath a mattress, which was burned to the coils.

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A break in the case came the next day when kids hiking in Rundle Park noticed a cellphone in the North Saskatchewan River. The phone survived the water and location data revealed it had left Silva’s home around 1:30 a.m. the night before. It stopped recording location data around 1:53 a.m., when it was within one kilometre of Kennedy’s residence. His fingerprints were later found in Silva’s home.

Police obtained search warrants for Kennedy’s house as well as his phone and his common-law spouse’s vehicle.

Inside the home, police found a pair of shoes which matched the prints in Silva’s residence. Kennedy’s phone revealed he had been texting with a “third party,” who was “interrogating Silva for passwords to unknown accounts,” the agreed facts state.

The phone also contained photos and videos taken inside Silva’s home, including in her bedroom and basement, where an array of photos of Silva’s friends and family had been laid out on the floor.

Another photo showed Kennedy holding a large stack of $20 and $50 bills.

GPS data from the car, meanwhile, showed it was within 200 metres of Silva’s residence around the time of the robbery. The car was later in Rundle Park, where the phone was dumped in the river.

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Kennedy was charged with first-degree murder in May 2022.

On Tuesday, Kennedy admitted he was part of the group that broke into Silva’s home, held her prisoner and extorted her for passwords “to various accounts she held and financial information,” the agreed facts state. He was paid for his participation and did not know Silva. The agreed facts do not state who paid him, how much he was paid, or why Silva was killed.

Silva’s family, including her mother and grandmother, were in court Tuesday to hear the guilty plea. Kennedy remains in custody and sat in the prisoner’s box wearing a dress shirt and glasses. He did not speak except to confirm his plea.

The case of Bith Gattang Chuol, Kennedy’s co-accused, remains before the courts. 

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