Caro Denied Access to Family Estate to Pay Criminal Defense

A Ventura County judge loosened the purse strings on murder defendant Socorro “Cora” Caro’s assets Wednesday, but refused at this time to let her tap a million-dollar family estate to pay for her criminal defense.

Judge John R. Smiley allowed Cora Caro, accused of fatally shooting three of her children in November, to sell off property, jewels and an antique doll collection valued at about $190,000.

But Smiley would not authorize the sale of Cora Caro’s and her husband’s Santa Rosa Valley home or other community assets that she wants to use to pay an estimated $500,000 in legal costs.

The ruling, which capped a two-hour hearing in family court, marks the first step in what is expected to be a long and messy divorce case. The request for money has infuriated Cora Caro’s husband, who last month filed divorce papers and a wrongful death lawsuit against his 38-year-old wife.

In a sworn declaration filed last week, Dr. Xavier Caro called his wife’s demands for money “obscene and outrageous.”

“Having brutally murdered three of my children, she is seeking to dissipate the assets available to the one child whom she failed to kill, and the father who is left to care for him,” Xavier Caro wrote. “She is seeking the immediate release of more assets than she would be conceivably entitled to . . . to say nothing of the fact that any purported ‘entitlement’ will be more than offset by my wrongful death claim, to which she has no viable defense.”

Xavier Caro, a prominent Northridge physician, stated in court papers that he is “grief-stricken” and on any given day nearly immobilized by the pain of losing his three oldest sons, ages 5, 8 and 11. Although he is now living in a hotel room with his surviving 16-month-old son, Gabriel, the father wants to move into a Granada Hills home he purchased before his marriage. He is trying to evict his in-laws, who have lived in the home for more than two years, his lawyer said.

The 52-year-old doctor returned home from work Nov. 22 to find three of his children dead from gunshot wounds to the head. Court documents recently revealed the boys were all tucked into their beds and had Bibles under their pillows.

Xavier Caro told authorities he found his wife of 13 years lying in the master bedroom, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. She has undergone two surgeries and is using a wheelchair.

Last month, Cora Caro was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation that makes her eligible for the death penalty, though Ventura County prosecutors have not indicated whether they will seek it.

She has not entered a plea and is scheduled to appear for an arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Cora Caro is not employed and has no income but does not qualify for a public defender because of the wealth shared with her husband. The couple own a five-bedroom ridge-top home in the Santa Rosa Valley near Camarillo that is valued at $900,000 and riverfront property in Stanislaus County valued at about $180,000.

Those properties are among the assets Cora Caro’s lawyers are going after to help pay her legal costs in the pending murder case.

But after listening to the couple’s lawyers argue at length during Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Smiley denied a request to immediately divide the community property.

The judge told Cora Caro’s attorney that he needs to provide more specific information on what portion of the estate the wife is entitled to.

When he married at age 39, Xavier Caro already had an established medical practice, which complicates the divorce proceedings because the lawyers must determine what assets are his alone and what assets are theirs and thus subject to the 50-50 community property rule in California.

The judge also denied requests to award Cora Caro spousal support and attorneys’ fees. But he did agree to release about $190,000 in funds tied to Cora Caro’s personal property and possessions to fulfill her contractual agreement with her defense attorney.

“It is terribly important to [the] wife that all or part of that contractual obligation be paid,” Smiley said.

Cora Caro and her mother, Juanita Leon, jointly own three parcels near Modesto valued at about $180,000, her attorney said. Cora Caro’s share of the property--which Smiley said could be sold--is about $90,000. But Xavier Caro has made some payments of an undetermined amount that would have to be repaid, the judge said.

Cora Caro’s jewelry, dolls and an antique piano given to her by her parents were estimated to be worth about $100,000. “I am fairly certain [the] husband has no interest in keeping that stuff,” the judge said.

During the hearing, Los Angeles attorney Henry Friedman, who is representing Xavier Caro, successfully argued the family’s Presilla Road home should not be sold now because it remains a crime scene.

“My client does not want that property sold,” Friedman said.

He also argued that since Encino-based criminal defense attorney Richard Plotin stated in a court declaration that he would take the murder case without being paid up front, there is no urgency to divide the couple’s funds.

“It defies logic to me that we’re going to say she can have a bundle of money just because she asks for it,” Friedman argued, adding that if anyone should be first in line to collect money owed to them from Cora Caro it would be his client through the wrongful death lawsuit.

But Agoura Hills attorney Rand E. Pinsky, who is representing Cora Caro in the divorce case, told the judge his client is entitled to a criminal defense and should be allowed access to her share of the couple’s money.

After the hearing, Pinsky said he was pleased the judge decided to release some funds to his client and said the case is a long way from being over.