Santa Barbara woman convicted of 2021 attempted murder found legally insane
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced Wednesday that Cora Vides, the 21-year-old convicted earlier this month of attempted murder, has been found legally insane at the time of the 2021 attack.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, based on the jury's finding of legal insanity at the time of the crime, Vides will be committed to the Department of State Hospitals potentially for the rest of her natural life.
Vides is currently being held without bail and is scheduled for a continued hearing and placement recommendation on Aug. 29 shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Early on the morning of Feb. 14, 2021, Vides asked another student at Laguna Blanca school who was staying at her house for a sleepover to try a meditation technique that required her to lay down and look up while Vides draped a sweatshirt over her head detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
Vides then asked the fellow student to "think about the future and things she was looking forward to" before counting down from three and plunging a switchblade into her neck shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, despite the victim bleeding profusely from her neck, she was able to fight back while Vides attempted to strangle and then suffocate her with a comforter.
Eventually, the injured girl was able to convince Vides that she would forgive her as well as got Vides to get her parents to take her to the hospital for her injuries stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The injured teen was able to survive the attack after undergoing emergency surgery at the hospital shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, after weeks of expert psychological testimony and "clear indications of intrusive violent ideations related to the victim", a Santa Barbara jury found that Vides was legally insane at the time of the attack in a post-conviction phase of the trial.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Savrnoch issued the following statement after Wednesday's decision, "Thank you to the Santa Barbara Police Department and the Prosecution Team led by Senior Deputy Kevin Weichbrod and Deputy District Attorney Sarah Barkley for their work in this difficult case in holding this individual accountable for her actions."
