Edhat Staff
After a four-week trial and intense deliberations, a Santa Barbara County jury has delivered a guilty verdict against 21-year-old Cora Vides for the attempted murder of her former classmate.
The incident, which took place on February 14, 2021, involved an alleged premeditated attack at Vides’ family home in the 600 block of Roberto Avenue, Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood.
Vides, a former Laguna Blanca student, was found guilty of attempting to murder another 18-year-old woman, who was her classmate at the time. According to court documents, the attack occurred inside Vides’ bedroom where she stabbed her victim in the neck.
During the trial, it was revealed that Vides instructed the victim to lie down and close her eyes under the pretense of showing her a meditation routine, only to violently attack her with a knife, resulting in severe injuries. The jury also substantiated all special allegations, which included Vides’ use of a deadly weapon to inflict significant bodily harm.
The verdict came after more than four days of jury deliberation following closing arguments presented by Kevin Weichbrod for the prosecution and Robert Sanger for the defense. Following the jury’s decision, Vides was taken into custody at the county’s Southern Branch Jail without the option of bail, differing from her previous status where she was out on $1 million bail.
Having previously entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, Vides now faces a crucial phase of the trial to determine her mental state at the time of the crime. The upcoming sanity phase is scheduled to commence on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Judge Von Deroian’s courtroom.
Depending on the findings of the sanity phase, Vides could either be committed to a state psychiatric facility or sentenced to state prison, depending on the outcomes of her mental health evaluation.
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