Caro’s Lawyer Resigns From Murder Case

Criminal defense lawyer Richard Plotin stepped down from Socorro “Cora” Caro’s murder case Tuesday, telling a judge that his client cannot afford to pay defense costs that could exceed $500,000.

“Your honor, my services are concluded,” Plotin announced during an arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court.

As he spoke, Caro bit her bottom lip and cried.

She glanced anxiously at family members seated in the courtroom as Judge Art Gutierrez appointed a public defender to the case.

The 43-year-old Caro is facing three counts of murder for allegedly shooting to death three of her four sons Nov. 22 as the children, ages 5, 8 and 11, slept at the family’s Santa Rosa Valley home. Her 15-month-old son was not injured.

Authorities say Caro later fired a single shot into her own head.

Caro and her husband, Dr. Xavier Caro, apparently had been having marital problems.

The defendant’s mother testified at a preliminary hearing last month that her daughter was an abused wife who had endured a beating just hours before the slayings.

Plotin, an Encino attorney who has practiced criminal defense law for 31 years, represented Cora Caro during that hearing.

He had been on the case four months but decided to drop it after a family court judge ruled that Caro could not use money tied up in a pending divorce case to pay for her defense.

“It’s very difficult,” Plotin said after the arraignment. “Now, Ventura [County] has to pay for the services of an attorney and experts. It doesn’t make sense.”

Cora Caro’s relatives sought out Plotin days after the shooting because he has handled similar homicide cases involving family members.

Last year, Plotin won an acquittal for a Sylmar woman accused of killing her husband with a baseball bat.

But the contract with Plotin became complicated when Xavier Caro filed for divorce Dec. 8.

With the couple’s assets essentially frozen, Cora Caro’s lawyers sought emergency funds to pay her criminal defense bills.

During an April 14 family court hearing, divorce lawyer Rand Pinsky said costs could exceed $500,000 if prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty.

He argued that Cora Caro should be permitted to tap her share of the community property to pay those bills.

But Judge John Smiley rejected a request to immediately liquidate property and investments to allow her to pay Plotin’s $300,000 retainer.

Smiley said any division of property would have to wait until the end of the divorce case.

Cora Caro probably will be entitled to a large sum of money at that time, the judge said, adding that Plotin could decide to stay on the case and trust that those funds would be available later on. The Caro estate is worth about $1 million.

Plotin said Tuesday that it was a risk he could not afford to take.

It is customary for private attorneys to get paid up front, he explained, adding that costs such as psychiatric or battered women’s experts could quickly add up to more than $50,000.

“There are substantial funds to defend this woman,” Plotin said.

Assistant Public Defender Duane Dammeyer said the county will conduct a financial assessment in the coming week to determine whether Cora Caro qualifies for a public defender.

The matter is set for a hearing May 9, at which time Caro is expected to enter another plea to the murder charges and receive a trial date.

Dammeyer expects that his office will stay on the case and get reimbursed for defense costs after the trial ends and the divorce case is settled.

Although acknowledging that it is a longshot, Pinsky said he is still trying to negotiate an agreement with Xavier Caro’s divorce lawyer to loosen up some of the family money for Cora Caro’s defense.

“Our dialogue is continuing,” Pinsky said. “As long as we are talking, there is always a chance to resolve the matter.”