Husband of Slaying Suspect Caro Seeks Divorce

Citing “irreconcilable differences,” Dr. Xavier Caro has filed for divorce from his wife of 13 years, Socorro “Cora” Caro, who remains the sole suspect in the slaying of the couple’s three oldest children.

Xavier Caro, a 52-year-old staff physician at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, filed a petition late Wednesday to end his marriage, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.

Caro lists the couple’s date of separation as Nov. 22--the same day his wife allegedly shot three of their sons as they slept in the family’s ridge-top Santa Rosa Valley home.

Killed were Christopher, 5, Michael, 8, and Joseph, 11.

Xavier Caro found the three boys dead in their beds and his wife bleeding in the master bedroom when he came home about 11:20 p.m., authorities said.

The father is now seeking legal custody of the couple’s remaining child, 15-month-old Gabriel, who was not harmed. He also wants the court to deny his wife visitation rights.

Court documents showed Thursday that Cora Caro, 42, had not yet been served with the divorce papers.

She remained hospitalized from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department officials said.

Spokesman Eric Nishimoto said Cora Caro underwent a second brain surgery Tuesday at the Ventura County Medical Center and was recovering well.

“From what we understand it wasn’t life-threatening, and from what we have gathered she is doing fine,” Nishimoto said. “She still needs to be hospitalized.”

She was arrested last week on suspicion of murdering the boys, and remains under arrest at the hospital with a deputy posted at her door.

Ventura County prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges before a scheduled Dec. 17 arraignment date.

Legal experts said this week that Cora Caro is entitled to tap the couple’s joint accounts and assets to pay for her defense, which some attorneys predicted could exceed $250,000.

The only way for the husband to protect his share of the family’s money, law professors said, would be to file for divorce.

Under California law, community property is split 50-50 at the time of death or divorce unless the couple have a prenuptial agreement, said USC Law School professor Scott A. Altman.

For the Caros, that means Cora Caro is entitled to half the wealth earned during the couple’s 13-year marriage.

Cora Caro was primarily a stay-at-home mom, friends said, although she also worked for a time as office manager at her husband’s medical practice.

The couple own an eight-acre, 4,800-square-foot home in the Santa Rosa Valley and another house in Granada Hills, according to property records.

Xavier Caro has said he plans to sell the family’s Santa Rosa Valley home, a five-bedroom Mediterranean villa, which they moved into in December 1993 after paying $672,500.