A Ronkonkoma man has pleaded guilty to killing two men inside a Selden residence.
On April 26, 2022, Ian Saalfield, 45, of Lake Grove was reported missing by his wife. She advised police that she last saw her husband the day before with Brian Cordovano, his childhood friend. 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, 59, of Selden. Police responded to Julian’s home and found the bodies of Saalfield and Julian inside, each dead as a result of gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators later determined that Cordovano killed the two on April 25, 2022.
On October 9, 2024, Cordovano, 50, pleaded guilty before County Court Judge Stephen L. Braslow, to:
- two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree, 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
Cordovano is due back in court for sentencing on November 20, 2024, and faces an agreed-upon sentence of 30 years in prison.
“Today, Brian Cordovano pleaded guilty to killing Ian Saalfield and Robert Julian in a selfish and inexplicable act of violence,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray 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.”