The life of Travis White, a 39-year-old White man from Caldwell, Idaho, ended tragically on the evening of May 19, 2022. The events unfolded inside a detached garage on the 1600 block of Everett Street, where a woman placed a chilling 911 call. The caller, 65-year-old Cacilie Elbel Cordova, told the dispatcher that she had just shot a man at the residence.
Caldwell Police officers arrived at the home around 8:45 p.m. and found Cordova and a wounded Travis White inside the garage.
White was still alive and was rushed to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise for emergency treatment. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 10:03 p.m. An autopsy later confirmed he died from a gunshot wound to the head, fired from a .38-caliber revolver.
Following an interview with investigators at the scene, Cacilie Cordova was arrested and booked into the Canyon County jail. She was charged with first-degree murder, which in Idaho implies a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing. She also faced a felony enhancement for using a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime. During Cordova’s arraignment, prosecutors described the shooting as a "passionate sort of killing" and successfully requested that she be held without bond.
In December 2022, Cordova reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. Two months later, in February 2023, Cordova, then 66, was sentenced for White's murder. A judge handed down a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. She will not be eligible for parole until she has served the first 25 years.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge noted that Cordova and White had a "long, complicated and difficult relationship." Family members who spoke at the hearing remembered Travis White as a "gentle giant." With Cordova's conviction and sentencing, the case was officially closed in February 2023.
