DR. CARO: WIFE PULLED GUN ON HIM MOM'S MURDER TRIAL CONTINUES.

Byline: Sabrina Decker Staff Writer

VENTURA - Xavier Caro took the witness stand for the first time Thursday during his estranged wife's murder trial to explain what he says led the woman to shoot the couple's three school-age sons before turning the gun on herself.

In answer to questions from Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Temple, Caro admitted having an affair, and said during an unrelated argument years earlier that his wife had brandished a gun.

``I didn't think she would actually use the gun,'' Xavier Caro said.

The prominent Northridge oncologist was the first major witness in the murder trial of Socorro ``Cora'' Caro, who is accused of fatally shooting the boys as they slept in their beds in the family's Santa Rosa Valley home. The couple's youngest son, a toddler, was unharmed.

Cora Caro, 44, could face the death penalty if she is convicted of murdering sons Joey, Michael and Christopher on Nov. 22, 1999. She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Xavier Caro described himself as a decent man, a good father and a generous son-in-law who had given his wife's parents a home to live in, mortgage-free. He also said he had purchased a vacation property with two mobile homes on it to share with his in-laws.

He described how he discovered that his wife had secretly funneled $105,000 in additional funds to her parents in August 1999.

Xavier Caro also said he and his wife argued frequently, including at his office, where Cora Caro used to work as office manager.

During the argument in which Cora Caro had brandished her .38-caliber handgun, Xavier Caro said he had not believed she would really use it.

Caro admitted he had been having an affair with one of his employees, and he explained the meaning of an e-mail he had once sent the woman, who has drawn some attention. The e-mail, he said, addressed the woman's concerns that his wife would discover the affair.

Xavier Caro said in the e-mail, ``I have ideas, perhaps you do, too.'' He said he meant he had ideas of ways they could arrange to safely be alone together.

In her opening statement, Deputy Public Defender Jean Farley used the e-mail to suggest that Xavier Caro had actually killed his sons, then framed his wife for the murders.

It's an assertion that outrages Xavier Caro's family and friends.

``It's a last-gasp effort when you have nothing else to do,'' said his attorney, Henry Freedman.

At one point, Xavier Caro's testimony was interrupted to give Dr. Donald Pryor a chance to testify. He is the neurological surgeon who operated on Cora Caro after she was discovered with a bullet wound to the head.

Defense attorneys said they will later prove that the bullet wound was inflicted by Xavier Caro, with the bullet moving in a downward trajectory, as if fired by someone standing above her.

But Pryor, who said he is not an expert but is familiar with such cases, testified that the bullet grazed her skull as it traveled upward, which would indicate that Cora Caro herself fired the bullet.

Pryor also said a patient with trauma to the brain might possibly suffer from amnesia but still remember immediate events, such as his or her name.

Cora Caro has said she has no recollection of the events that occurred the night her sons were killed.

Seven of her aunts and uncles were present to hear Thursday's testimony, as were several members of Xavier Caro's family. Xavier Caro is expected to continue with his testimony today.