When Marlene Pernicano stumbled into the kitchen of her family’s restaurant on Turquoise Street Friday night her father ” owner John Pernicano ” thought that she was wearing some sort of costume.
Marlene was ashen, covered in blood. One of her forearms was badly broken ” the result of a severe beating with a claw hammer allegedly by her ex-boyfriend Walter Cordell.
Cordell, 52, was supposed to be moving out of the house at 724 Wrelton Drive, across the restaurant’s parking lot, where he lived for a short time with Marlene.
“He told her, ‘Close your eyes and turn around. I have a surprise for you,'” said Marlene’s older brother Johnny. “Then he started hitting her with a hammer.”
Despite her serious injuries, Marlene was able to make it to restaurant for help.
Firefighters and paramedics from Station 21 in Pacific Beach responded to the call and quickly transported Marlene to the hospital.
John says that she has already received more than 100 stitches in her head and will undergo surgery to perform a bone graft on her broken arm when she is strong enough.
According to police reports, Cordell fled in a green Land-rover.
Early the next morning, a neighbor noticed the Landrover was back in front of the house next to Pernicano’s Family Restaurant. Police arrived and the situation soon escalated into a full SWAT operation.
Turquoise Street was taped off between La Jolla and Mission boulevards, traffic was diverted and negotiators began communicating with Cordell via bull horn and “throw phone” ” a two-way communication device that the SWAT team threw into the house after the power, water and phone lines were cut.
Inside Pernicano’s Pizza Restaurant, John and Johnny stood watching the operation in disbelief as they fielded calls from relatives and customers.
SWAT officers on the scene described Cordell as “a determined individual” because he continued to resist ever-increasing doses of non-lethal gases that they were firing into the house via windows, vents and doors.
After each assault, one of Fire Station 21’s trucks would pump water into the house in case a fire had been started by one of the gas rounds.
At about 10:30 p.m. ” approximately 11 hours after the standoff began, a police K9 unit was sent into the home. Cordell walked outside and surrendered a few minutes later.
John Pernicano was standing a few feet away and took a photograph of Cordell being handcuffed and arrested.
“I can’t conceive of someone who would do that to my daughter,” John said after Cordell was arrested. “Everybody knows Marlene. Everybody loves Marlene. ˆ Although will take some time, the family said she will recover and be back at the restaurant.
Like all of the the Pernicano children, Marlene has worked at the restaurant most of her life.
"I started her at nine years old, dishwashing. Standing on a milk crate so that she could push the button and run the dishes through,” John reminisced.