Ventura County Mother Arrested in Shooting Deaths of 3 Sons

A 42-year-old Santa Rosa Valley mother was arrested in her hospital room Tuesday on suspicion of fatally shooting three of her young sons.

Socorro “Cora” Caro, recovering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, was arrested at Los Robles Regional Medical Center at 11:45 a.m. on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder, sheriff’s officials said.

She was then taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center, where she is being held without bail, a guard posted at her door.

Sheriff’s spokesman Eric Nishimoto said physical evidence “points to her as the only shooter.” He declined to elaborate on that evidence.

Prosecutors said charges could be brought against Caro as early as today.

The arrest came just a few hours before a ceremony honoring the boys was held at Santa Rosa Valley Elementary School, where Christopher Caro, 5, Michael Caro, 8, and Joseph Caro, 11, were all students.

Attending the somber, and at times tearful, ceremony was Raul Caro, brother of the slain boys’ father. Xavier Caro, the boys’ father, could not attend because he was at a private casket viewing of his sons.

Reacting to the arrest, Raul Caro said the entire family was saddened, adding, “The Caro family has suffered a great loss and this makes it that much more painful when the children’s mother has been accused of murder.”

But the Caros say they are looking forward to seeing the right person punished for the slayings--even if it’s the boys’ mother.

“The only thing we can do at this point is to live day by day and have 100% faith and trust in the state of California, the district attorney’s office and the judicial system to work this all out,” Raul Caro said. “We hope justice is served.”

Xavier Caro, a doctor with his own practice near the Northridge Hospital Medical Center, told authorities he arrived home from work about 11:20 p.m. Nov. 22 to find his three children in their rooms, dead of bullet wounds to their heads. His wife of 13 years lay bleeding but conscious in the couple’s master bedroom with a gunshot would to her head. A .38-caliber revolver lay nearby.

*

The couple’s fourth child, a 13-month-old boy, was unharmed.

Cora Caro had been recovering in the intensive-care unit at Los Robles Medical Center until her transfer Tuesday. Hospital officials said Caro has refused any visitors except her mother.

Relatives and authorities said the couple had some marital problems, but nothing out of the ordinary. Others who worked with Cora Caro--who served as the manager for her husband’s office--said she was a moody woman with a hot temper who sometimes joked about being on Prozac and Xanax.

Sheriff’s investigators are awaiting toxicology test results to learn what, if any, prescription medications were in Caro’s system the night of the shooting.

Employees at the Caro office said the arrest brought them some measure of comfort.

“The consensus here is that we are relieved,” said one staff member, who asked not to be identified. “It’s about time some action was taken in some type of closure.”

At Santa Rosa Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon, students, teachers and parents tried hard to block out images of a mother accused of shooting her children and instead focused on the lives of Joey, Michael and Christopher.

Many of the students shed tears as they listened to the boys’ teachers and the school principal recall their favorite memories of the Caro children.

Sandee Tischler, Michael’s teacher, wrote him a letter to say she always enjoyed his hugs at the beginning of each school day. His smiles, she added, were contagious.

Jodi Atkinson, who taught Joey’s fifth-grade class, recalled a creative boy with a good sense of humor.

And Principal Craig Helmstedter shared memories of Christopher, calling him an enthusiastic student who met “with vigor” every school activity, every learning task.

Christopher was also awarded posthumously the student of the month award, which his uncle accepted on his behalf.

The theme from the Pokemon television show, the boys’ favorite, sounded in the background. And three evergreen trees, to be planted later on the school’s campus, were unveiled during the ceremony as a memorial to the slain students.

*

The ceremony, held after school for those students who wished to attend, ended with a moment of silence.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for the children to have some closure at the school,” Helmstedter said. “Clearly it was an afternoon of heartfelt emotion.”

Students were also allowed to drop cards to the family in a bag next to the trees, Helmstedter said.

Helmstedter said he planned to present the cards to the family during a rosary vigil at the family’s Camarillo church Tuesday night.

Helmstedter will also attend funeral services for the boys today, serving as a pallbearer, he said.

The funeral Mass for the children will be held at 10 a.m. at Padre Serra Church, 5205 Upland Road in Camarillo, followed by burial at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park in Camarillo.