Insanity Plea Considered for Caro in Slayings of Sons

Murder defendant Socorro “Cora” Caro probably will amend her not-guilty plea to include an insanity defense in the Nov. 22 shooting deaths of three of her young sons, her lawyer said Tuesday.

After Caro’s arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court, Assistant Public Defender Jean Farley told reporters that she is considering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, pending reports from mental health experts.

“That is something that is being considered right now,” said Farley, who emphasized that no final decision has been made.

Caro, 43, a former office manager at her husband’s Northridge medical office, is accused of fatally shooting the children, ages 5, 8 and 11, as they slept at the family’s upscale Santa Rosa Valley home. The wife of Dr. Xavier Caro, she has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder, and a trial is set for Oct. 23.

By entering a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity, Caro would admit no wrongdoing and stand trial for murder. If convicted, she would face a second phase dealing solely with the question of sanity.

Under state law, a defendant cannot be held responsible for a crime if, because of a mental defect, he or she was unable to understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime.

Caro faces a special allegation that she committed multiple murders that makes her eligible for the death penalty.

Authorities say she shot three of her four sons in the head with a small-caliber handgun as the children slept in their beds. The fourth child, a toddler, was unharmed.