The Region - News from June 25, 1986

An El Cajon woman who admitted smothering her two handicapped children was resentenced to 30 years to life in state prison. Debra Sue Robles, 28, had little reaction to the sentence handed down by San Diego Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman for the 1980 murder of her infant son Matthew and the 1985 slaying of his 6-year-old brother, John. Her attorney, Michael Popkins, had asked Huffman to give one 15-year term for both slayings. Robles pleaded guilty March 26 to two counts of second-degree murder and received the 30-year term on May 7. Because of a late psychiatric report stating that she was insane when she killed her children, Huffman later set aside the sentence. While agreeing that she suffered from substantial mental impairment, Huffman said Robles required lengthy incarceration to cope with her problems.