The U.S. Army specialist who fatally stabbed Rye Neck High School graduate Andrew Smith at a Southern California military base last fall will spend the next 50 years in military prison.
Army Spc. George Cornejo, 27, pleaded guilty to the unpremeditated murder of Smith during a court-martial at Fort Irwin National Training Center in May, according to the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. A military judge sentenced Cornejo to 50 years of confinement, reduction in rank to E-1, and a dishonorable discharge.
Smith, 27, was found mortally wounded at his residence on Fort Irwin on Oct. 28, 2024, after what prosecutors said was an argument that escalated into a violent physical altercation. He was taken to Weed Army Community Hospital, where the New York native later died.
Cornejo, from Fontana, Calif., and Smith were both assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and had been watching Game 3 of the World Series — where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-2 — at Smith’s home when the dispute began, according to court documents.
As the fight escalated, Cornejo grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Smith multiple times.
Another soldier, who Cornejo called during the altercation, ran over to the residence shortly afterward and immediately called 911 when he saw the bloody scene.
Military police arrested Cornejo at Smith’s home, and the soldier later admitted to killing Smith during questioning by Army Criminal Investigation Division agents.
The military judge tacked on an additional 10 years to Cornejo’s sentence, citing the violent nature of the crime, the fact that it occurred in Smith’s own home, and also weighing that Cornejo knew Smith’s wife was pregnant with the couple’s first child, according to the Army.
Smith was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant following his tragic death.
“My heart is still heavy for the loss suffered by Sgt. Andrew Smith’s family,” said Maj. Joshua Mikkelsen, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, in a released statement. “No court-imposed sentence could ever fill the void this tragic crime has created.”
Smith, who graduated from Rye Neck High School in 2015, joined the Army in 2021 and was stationed at Fort Irwin beginning in 2022. He lived on the base with his wife, Erika, who was seven months pregnant at the time of his death.
The couple’s son was born some time after Smith’s death, according to a post on his wife’s Facebook page.
He is survived by his wife, his parents Christine Santillan and William Smith, and his sister, Lauren Smith.
A GoFundMe established last October to support Smith’s wife and child has raised nearly $35,000.
Cornejo is serving his sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
