CARO CALLED VENGEFUL KILLER MOM SHOT 3 SONS TO HORRIFY, PROSECUTOR SAYS.

Byline: Sabrina Decker Staff Writer

Soccoro ``Cora'' Caro deliberately shot three of her boys in their beds, even pulling her 5-year-old back down as he tried to escape, prosecutors said during closing arguments Wednesday in Caro's murder trial in Ventura.

Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Temple said further said that the defendant so wanted to horrify her estranged husband, she turned her oldest boy over after she shot him so he would be face up.

``She knew he adored those children,'' Temple said. ``She went after what he loved because that was the only way to hurt him.''

Caro has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity for the Nov. 22, 1999, shooting deaths of Xavier Joseph ``Joey,'' 11; Michael, 8; and Christopher, 5. Her youngest son, Gabriel, just over 1 year old at the time, was unharmed.

She is charged with three counts of first-degree murder with special allegations that would make her eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

During her closing argument, Temple described Caro as ``a child who never had to grow up,'' someone who spent money frivolously, used her parents as servants, had her nails done once a week and was volatile and mean to her husband.

Dr. Xavier Caro, a prominent Northridge physician, lived with his family in a palatial Santa Rosa Valley home prior to the shootings.

Their faltering marriage had suffered from numerous troubles prior to the boys' deaths and was already on the brink of collapse the night prosecutors allege Cora Caro thought her husband had left her for good.

Their marital woes included accusations that Cora Caro had secretly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to her parents, causing financial distress to her husband's medical practice.

``Without him they'd all be on their own,'' said Temple, who later showed a picture of the defendant's extensive wardrobe. ``With him they had it pretty good.''

The prosecutor then led jurors step by step through the night of the incident, that it began with an argument over how to discipline their oldest boy and led to Xavier Caro leaving for his office to cool down.

It was after Xavier Caro left that Cora Caro allegedly shot her sons and then tried unsuccessfully to shoot herself in the head, Temple said.

The prosecutor also replayed Xavier Caro's 911 call and showed the jury pictures of the boys after they were shot.

Caro has said she has few memories of the events surrounding the deaths of her boys, but Temple attempted to show through the inconsistences in the defendant's testimony that this was a lie.