Woman Accused of Killing 3 Sons Adds Insanity Plea

The wife of a Northridge physician accused of killing her three oldest sons as they slept amended her not guilty plea Wednesday to include an insanity defense.

Socorro “Cora” Caro, 43, burst into tears when asked by prosecutor Cheryl Morgan whether she understood her plea. “Yes,” Caro said, shielding her face from spectators at the hearing in Ventura County Superior Court.

Assistant Public Defender Jean Farley later told reporters that Caro has no memory of the night of Nov. 22, 1999, when authorities allege that she fatally shot three of her four sons in the head. Farley said her client is “very close to being unable to withstand the rigors of these proceedings” because of acute depression. “She totally denies the charges and profoundly believes that she never would have hurt her children,” Farley said.

Authorities allege that Caro shot her sons, ages 5, 8 and 11, as they slept at the family’s Santa Rosa Valley home. A fourth child, a toddler, was unharmed.

Caro faces three counts of murder, as well as a special allegation of multiple murder that could make her subject to the death penalty. Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty.

Caro’s dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity means that she admits no wrongdoing in the slayings, her attorney said. In California, a defendant cannot be held responsible for a crime if, because of a mental defect, he or she is unable to understand the difference between right and wrong.

If convicted of murder, Caro would face a second proceeding in which the jury would decide whether she was insane at the time of the shootings. If the jury found that she was insane, Caro would be sent to a state mental hospital instead of to prison.

Two court-appointed psychiatrists will evaluate Caro. They will consider three factors: whether she was suffering from a mental defect, whether she was capable of understanding the nature of her alleged actions and whether she knew right from wrong at the time of the killing.

Farley said the new plea signals her client’s mental state is going to be a significant trial issue.

According to investigators, Dr. Xavier Caro returned home from his Northridge medical office about 11 p.m. to find his children dead and his wife of 13 years suffering from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

He later filed for divorce and is pursuing a wrongful-death claim against his wife. Authorities have not suggested a motive.

During the preliminary hearing earlier this year, Caro’s mother testified that her daughter had been a victim of domestic abuse, an allegation Xavier Caro has denied.

With the new plea, the lawyers agreed to a postponement of her trial to Jan. 8.