Caro Attorney Attacks Testimony of Bloodstain Expert

The defense in the murder trial of Socorro Caro attacked a bloodstain expert Wednesday, saying he used inaccurate models to re-create the killings, consulted psychics and jumped to conclusions before examining all the evidence.

Assistant Public Defender Jean Farley spent most of the day questioning Rod Englert, a consultant retained by the prosecution, on everything from how much he charged to whether he ever studied physics.

On Tuesday, Englert testified that the pattern of the bloodstains on Caro’s striped shorts showed they came from the head of her 5-year-old son Christopher, who was killed along with his 8-year-old brother, Michael, in their bunk beds on Nov. 22, 1999.

The blood spray on the shorts occurred when someone bent over and put the .38-caliber handgun to the heads of the two boys, prosecutors said. Christopher was shot twice, the second time after he moved.

Caro is accused in the slayings of three of her four sons in their upscale Santa Rosa Valley home near Camarillo. Eleven-year-old Joey also died in the shootings.

The defense alleges that Caro’s husband, Dr. Xavier Caro, killed the children and then set up his wife. He has not been charged with any crime, and Englert said his clothes showed no evidence of high-velocity blood spattering.

The courtroom was outfitted with two bunk beds with foam mannequins representing the Caro children lying on them.

Farley noted that the mannequins were not the same size as the children, but Englert said the size of the models made no difference in the re-creation of the crime scene.

She also pointed out that some blood had been transferred from body to body by paramedics working on the children the night of the slayings. Englert said he noted such transfers.

In addition, Farley accused Englert, a bloodstain expert who has testified in 250 trials across the United States, of writing his preliminary report on the case before an analysis was done on the bloodstains.

He said the report was written but that he had refrained from reaching any conclusions.

Then Farley asked how much money he was paid. He said he received $325 per hour and had so far made about $21,000 on the case.

Farley later revisited Englert’s past association with psychics. On Tuesday, she had suggested that he used psychics occasionally “to form his impressions.”

When asked about this Wednesday, Englert said he had endorsed one psychic in Florida because she maintained that psychics are correct only about 1% of the time and she had worked with law enforcement in the past. He said he had never hired a psychic.

Through much of the testimony, which featured graphic slides of the dead children lying in their bloody beds, Socorro Caro buried her head behind her attorney so she wouldn’t see the pictures.

On Monday, she shrieked and sobbed during testimony about blood evidence. Huge 6-foot by 6-foot slides of her slain children, their eyes open and blood soaking their Winnie the Pooh pillows and sheets, filled the room.

After the outburst, the judge cleared the courtroom and warned her against further disturbances. Farley apologized to the judge for Caro’s outburst, saying she tended to get upset when she saw her children’s belongings.

Prosecutors said Caro killed her children in their beds to punish her husband after a loud fight at their home. Caro is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty, later amending that with a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. If found guilty, she could face the death penalty.