A Greeley man intends to fight extradition from Colorado to Maryland, where he has been linked to an unsolved 2000 homicide through DNA evidence.
Alexander Charles Bennett, 32, did not speak during a court appearance Monday, but his attorney advised the judge he wasn’t going to waive extradition to Maryland.
Bennett was arrested Jan. 19, four months after Baltimore County detectives got a hit in the national Combined DNA Index System linking him to genetic evidence found at a murder scene, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Another hearing to review the extradition was set for March 19. Bennett’s attorney, Mitch Ahnstedt, said he might file motions challenging some of the particulars of the extradition warrant.
On April 20, 2000, Heidi Bernadzikowski was found strangled and with her throat cut when her boyfriend Stephen Cooke returned home from running errands. The couple lived in Dundalk, a suburb of Baltimore.
Before her death, Bernad-zikowski and Cooke had together taken out a $700,000 life-insurance policy on her. Bernad- zikowski’s family later sued Cooke over the policy and settled the case out of court.
Before the insurance trial was settled, a detective testified that Cooke was the sole suspect in the homicide.
Cooke couldn’t be located for comment about Bennett’s arrest.
Police in Baltimore County have said they have evidence besides DNA that Bennett was in the state at the time of Bernadzikowski’s death.
Less than a month before the killing, Maryland Transportation Authority police made contact with Bennett while he was walking along the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway.
Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost declined to disclose whether Cooke was cleared as a suspect.
“This case remains open and active,” she said. “Our detectives continue to investigate. We are not sure if Mr. Bennett acted alone.”
Tim Bernadzikowski said his sister’s death devastated his family, but he declined to speculate about the evidence.
He described his sister as a fun-loving person who liked to hang out and play pool with her friends and co-workers.
She was 24 years old and working as an administrative assistant for a health-care-benefits company when she died.
“She got along well with everyone,” her brother said. “But she was also tough. She wasn’t one to let people push her around.”
Bernadzikowski said his sister’s attacker was probably too strong for her to overcome.
“We were just trying to comprehend how someone could do that to someone else,” he said of her death.
While the Bernadzikowskis have endured more than a decade of unanswered questions, they hope Bennett’s arrest will reveal what happened.
“We are satisfied that progress is being made,” he said. “We are not concerned about how long it takes — just as long as justice happens.”
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219or fcardona@denverpost.com
