GUILTY CA - Sophia Parker Pedreros, 2, Humbolt County, 20 May 2011

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So the judge ruled today Claudia was competent to stand trial. Her attorney entered a plea of innocence and a plea Innocent by Reason of insanity. I didn't get any future court dates set yet. I wonder if her brother is still here from Chile. The psych evals she had by 2 appointed court psychologists determined she is sane (at this moment) but I guess the case her attorney is going to present that AT The Time she was not. He still says it was all a terrible accident.

ETA:
Here's the link to the Redding Newspaper reporting:
http://www.redding.com/news/2011/jul/06/trinity-judge-deems-toddler-drowning-suspect-menta/
 
Reminder: If you snip (copy and paste) from a MSM news item, please limit the snip to no more than 10% of the source article.

Thanks.
 
Pedreros was evaluated by Marin psychologist Otto Vanoni and Redding psychologist Ray Carlson following an arraignment June 1 during which Woodward questioned her ability to stand trial. Clanton declined to comment on Pedreros' psychological evaluation, but said he thinks a jury will find his client innocent of murdering her daughter.

”I think factually she'll be exonerated,” Clanton said. “I have confidence in the facts of the case and I think she'll be successful.”
Now that pleas have been entered, Pedreros will be re-evaluated by Vanoni and Carlson to determine what her mental state was at the time of Sophia's death, said Trinity County District Attorney Michael Harper. A third doctor may also evaluate Pedreros. Harper said he is trying to find a doctor who has expertise in insanity pleas connected with child-death cases. ”Competency means is she competent to help her attorney to stand trial,” Harper said. “Insanity has to do with the time of the crime.”

A defendant is considered legally insane if his or her mental defect made them either not understand what they were doing or not understand that their offense was wrong, said Hadar Aviram, a criminal law professor at the University of California Hastings.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_18427840?nclick_check=1
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Does anyone have insight based on a similar case tried in a California court?

It seems to me that an insanity plea fits this case. Claudia did not try to hide anything, she left a trail of clues. At this point, I have some real compassion for her.
 
I have been following this case closely, and will continue to, as I live in the same community as this family.
This is an onion case. There are many, many layers, and we may not be privy to the upeeling of all the layers. But the truth will come out, given time. The English/Spanish language barrier makes it difficult, for both sides of Sophia's family.

The news sources to watch are:
The NorthCoast Journal http://www.northcoastjournal.com/search/?q=claudia+pedreros

The Times-Standard http://www.times-standard.com/circa...0&searchbutton.y=0&view=entiresitesppublished

The Redding Searchlight http://www.redding.com/search/?q=claudia+pedreros&t=&sortby=date&image.x=0&image.y=0
 
That's a good analogy georgiajean.

What's your view on this case?
 
Knox said:
That's a good analogy georgiajean.

What's your view on this case?
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My opinion is that any time someone with mental health issues is involved in a death, the whole family system must be examined in minute detail.
That Sophia's father is staying steadfast by the mother says a lot to me.
RP (Sophia's dad), GP (Sopia's grandfather, RP's dad) and CP (Sophia's mother) are the main players in SP (Sophia)'s death. The roles they played, what they knew, and how their actions contributed to SP's death are the unknowns.
RP left the afternoon/evening before SP was killed. He was going to school in Nevada.
CP was staying home with SP, living with GP while RP was away at school.
RP had just graduated from the university, and was now pursuing graduate studies.
CP and GP had an altercation the day before SP died.
CP had a diagnosed mental illness, and had prescribed medications.
CP was not native to this area, or this country, and did not have a strong support network.
SP drowned. CP confessed to drowning SP.
CP was found nude, disoriented, lost, walking along the river where SP drowned.
CP's attorney asks everyone to keep an open mind and says there is far more to this than we know.
For now, I'm watching and listening. CP was found to be competent to stand trial, but that does not have anything to do with her mental health at the time of SP's death.

Is it possible CP killed her daughter, knowing full well what she was doing? Yes. But I think it is unlikely. My take is that she had a psychotic break with reality, and caused SP's death during that break.
 
I agree, georgiajean. Right now, it seems like a tragic situation. It's entirely possible that Claudia suffered a mental break. If that is the case, I feel terrible for her, as I know this will haunt her for the rest of her life. So sad, all around.
 
Local paper published an extensive (very extensive) article about this case.
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_18691683

I wish I could just post the entire thing. I can summarize this: Claudia went to neighbors to get away from her husband a month before Sophia died. She told the neighbors about her life. They felt bad enough for her to try and get her to a women's shelter. The shelters were all full, so they put her up in a hotel for a day or so. A week later, when they ran in to her, she said she'd gotten a job, and would be able to be independent from her husband. Claudia had reported to those same neighbors that she knew her husband and his father had a plan to get rid of her.

Posters in the comments are hypothesizing that perhaps there was more going on behind closed doors. Some even posted the idea that the father was involved in the events that lead to Sophia's death somehow, as retaliation at Claudia for trying to be independent or even end the marriage.

It's worth reading the entire article.
 
Claudia's attorney is talking about traveling to Chille to investigate the defendant's mental health history there.
In a phone interview after Wednesday's hearing, Pedreros' attorney Russell Clanton said Dr. Otto Vanoni, who has been hired to evaluate Pedreros' mental health as a part of the case, is insisting on researching Pedreros' mental health history in Chile, where she lived until moving to the United States permanently in 2008 with her husband Robert Parker.

”There's a (mental health) history in Chile way back to the time she was a child, including hospitalization,” Clanton said, adding that evidence and possibly witnesses from Chile will be integral in his ability to defend Pedreros.
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The attorney believes he will need to travel there to gather the evidence, and says that he is working pro-bono on this case. He has not said if he intends to have the court pay for his travel expenses. Many in Chile have indicated a desire to testify at the trial, but traveling from Chile is quite expensive. So they are working on how to make that happen--perhaps electronic communication will work.
More in article
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_18706116
 
From the same article above
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_18706116

Clanton said he believes his client will ultimately be exonerated.

”As far as we're concerned, there was not a homicide,” he said. “It's as simple as that, and I think at the end of the day, it's going to be very clear. A child did die, but we think the evidence will show it was not a homicide.”
Click to expand...
 
But the neighbor said Pedreros' abuse allegations weren't the most alarming thing said that day. He said Pedreros told him and his wife that she thought Parker and Parker Sr. had a plot to do her and Sophia harm. He said Pedreros repeated the claim -- like most of what she said that morning -- numerous times.

”She kept saying, 'I know they have a plan,'” the neighbor recalled.

Pedreros said she didn't want to go back home, but also wasn't interested in returning to Chile, saying “there was nothing there for her anymore,” the neighbor recalled.

Ultimately, the neighbor said he came to feel two things -- he wasn't comfortable inviting Pedreros and her daughter to stay at his home, but he also wasn't comfortable turning them out onto the street. He said they called all the women's shelters but all were either closed for the weekend or full.

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_18691683

Definitely has changed my mind about the husband & father. Wow!
 
krimekat said:
But the neighbor said Pedreros' abuse allegations weren't the most alarming thing said that day. He said Pedreros told him and his wife that she thought Parker and Parker Sr. had a plot to do her and Sophia harm. He said Pedreros repeated the claim -- like most of what she said that morning -- numerous times.

”She kept saying, 'I know they have a plan,'” the neighbor recalled.

Pedreros said she didn't want to go back home, but also wasn't interested in returning to Chile, saying “there was nothing there for her anymore,” the neighbor recalled.

Ultimately, the neighbor said he came to feel two things -- he wasn't comfortable inviting Pedreros and her daughter to stay at his home, but he also wasn't comfortable turning them out onto the street. He said they called all the women's shelters but all were either closed for the weekend or full.

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_18691683

Definitely has changed my mind about the husband & father. Wow!
Click to expand...

It makes me feel that there is much more to this story, for sure. The incident with the neighbors could illustrate how far her psychological troubles had gone, regarding paranoia and warped perceptions (if the husband and father were not doing the things she said), or the incident could indicate that things were really twisted in the home. Either way, this woman needed help.
 
georgiajean said:
It makes me feel that there is much more to this story, for sure. The incident with the neighbors could illustrate how far her psychological troubles had gone, regarding paranoia and warped perceptions (if the husband and father were not doing the things she said), or the incident could indicate that things were really twisted in the home. Either way, this woman needed help.
Click to expand...

Or the worst of both possibilities, she could have been mentally ill AND her husband and father inlaw could have been doing twisted things, resulting in her condition deteriorating even further.

No matter what it turns out to have been, I think she is clearly in need of mental health care. :(
 
This case makes my heart ache. Not just for Sophia, but Claudia too.

I still want to know more about the allegations Claudia's family made against RP. My issue is that he left her with a very aged Father to look after her while he pursued his Masters in Reno.

In reading a few stories, it's clear RP knew the extent and history of Claudia's mental health issues. What kind of help was he getting for her, who supervised and tracked any meds she was taking? WHO was there for Claudia and Sophia?
 
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_19044384

WEAVERVILLE -- A Trinity County judge on Tuesday ordered a McKinleyville woman to stand trial on charges she drowned her 21/2-year-old daughter in the Trinity River this past spring.

Superior Court Judge James Woodward made his ruling after a three-hour preliminary hearing that included testimony from an FBI special agent from Redding, who interviewed Claudia Pedreros shortly before the naked body of her daughter was recovered from the river on May 21.
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Details in article about how Sophia died, and the inconsistencies in Claudia's interview before Sophia's body was found.

No trial date set yet.
 
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