New York – Twenty-five years to life.
That was the sentence for Paul Cortez, the personal trainer convicted of slashing the throat of his ex-girlfriend, exotic dancer Catherine Woods.
The 21-year-old Woods was from Ohio and dreamed of dancing on Broadway. She instead became a striper, and the victim of an ex-boyfriend’s rage.
As the parents of Catherine Woods left the courthouse, they told reporters they are relieved this is over. If only, they say, they could learn to live without their daughter. Meanwhile, Paul Cortez looked down and cried as the judge gave him the maximum sentence. His lawyers plan to appeal. They say Cortez is innocent.
“He’s very, very sad,” defense attorney Dawn Florio said. “You could see him sitting in court, with his head down and crying because he misses Catherine. And he did not kill Catherine.”
In court, they spoke about Cortez’s poetry writing and his love of theater. But Judge Carol Berkman wasn’t buying it.
“He appears to be a person of great, apparent talent,” she said. “{But} he is the author of his own tragedy.”
Paul Cortez did not speak at his sentencing today, even though his lawyer said he originally planned to. His family and friends were there on his behalf as well.
“It’s just so out of character for him,” friend Barbara Feed said. “He could not have done this.”
They say he is spiritual, soft-spoken, and non-violent. He often clutched a bible during his trial. But there was a primary piece of evidence: His bloody fingerprint found in Catherine Woods’ apartment on the Upper East Side shortly after she was stabbed more than 20 times.
There were also his repeated phone calls to her, which stopped right after her murder. And his troubling diary entries, some specifically about Catherine Woods. Others had violent sketches and lyrics about killing and revenge against women.
The overall picture, in the words of Woods’ father, Jon, painted a man who stole Catherine’s life and dignity.
“Nothing can bring Catherine back,” Jon Woods told the judge. “Our hearts will never be quite the same. Paul Cortez savagely ended the life of a young 21-year-old pursuing her lifelong dream. Our family has forever lost a beautiful part of our lives. We hope he will be kept off the streets forever.”