Despite her husband’s surprise pleas for mercy, a California mom has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for stabbing her three kids to death.
Carol Ann Coronado, 32, sobbed as Superior Court Judge Ricardo Ocampo gave her the sentence. It occurred after she was convicted in December of the first-degree murders of Sophia, two years old, Yazmine, sixteen months, and Xenia, two months, at their home south of LAX Airport.
Her lawyers claimed she was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, however the judge determined she was normal at the time of the crime.
Rudy, her husband, stepped up in court, telling the judge that he accepted his judgement however that his wife had gone insane. ‘Your honour, she wigged out.’ ‘She wigged out,’ he explained.
Despite the fact that Coronado required therapy, Judge Ocampo stated during his sentencing: ‘The treatment will have to be in state jail.’ During her trial, prosecutors informed the court that Coronado used a butcher knife to slit the throats of the three children before stabbing them in the heart.
Coronado’s mom, Julie Piercey, halted the attack when she saw the dead females laid on a bed and many more knives lined up in the kitchen. Ms Piercey snatched the knife from her daughter’s grasp and dashed across the street to where Coronado’s husband Rudy worked. Coronado then stabbed herself in the chest, puncturing her lung, in front of them.
Mr Coronado wept outside the courtroom when she was convicted, saying he had lost the most important things in his day to day existence. He added he lost his entire family. His three little daughters. He was shattered.
However, he said that he felt his wife was suffering from postpartum psychosis and that she required therapy rather than a prison term. ‘She went insane,’ he continued. He said he hasn’t forgiven her, however he told her he understood her mental condition.
Prosecutor Emily Spear said in the closing arguments of Coronado’s trial that Coronado killed the kids to retaliate against her husband, who desired a divorce.
She also stated that she was burdened by the task of taking care of the kids without his assistance. Ms Spear stated that one of the girls had a “potty mishap” on the day of the deaths, which she believes was the final straw.
‘She has a definite motive,’ she stated. She harmed (the spouse) in the only way she knew how. She removes his children.’
It’s heartbreaking to know the little angels had to go experience such a horrific tragedy. May their souls rest in peace.
