Victim Continues Testimony in Cora Vides Attempted Murder Trial

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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The attempted murder trial of Cora Vides, who stabbed her Laguna Blanca classmate and friend in the neck in 2021, resumed Thursday, with the victim of the stabbing, Georgia Avery, continuing her testimony.

Vides has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and her defense team argues she was experiencing a dissociative episode at the time of the incident — “a bad thing,” she said, that moved her to commit the act.

The two young women, both 18 years old at the time, were at Vides’s home on the Mesa when Vides offered to lead Avery through a new meditation technique. Avery lay down on the bed and covered her face, after which Vides “counted down from three, then stabbed me in the neck,” Avery testified Monday.

A nervous, darting glance by Avery toward Vides at the beginning of Thursday’s proceedings was the only time the two met eyes.

The prosecution began by asking Avery if there were any indications that Vides was suffering from an altered mental state at the time of the stabbing — perhaps having hallucinations or talking to something that wasn’t there. “It felt deliberate,” she responded, consistently denying the implication that Vides was having some sort of out-of-body experience.

Immediately after she was stabbed, Avery bolted upright and struggled to gain control of the knife. During the struggle, Vides stared at the wall in front of her as opposed to the victim. “She had to make an effort to look away,” Avery said, affirming that it wasn’t a natural position for Vides to look up in that direction.

When Avery’s throat began to make “gurgling” noises, Vides looked down at the victim, her lip quivering. She then backed away from the victim, left the room, and got her parents. Avery heard Vides “freaking out” on the way to the car, where she was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

“I didn’t know if she was realizing what she had done and was scared, or if maybe she was angry or upset that I got away,” Avery said. In the hospital, Avery expressed extreme anxiety and fear that “she would try to come into my room and finish me off.”

Avery detailed the long-term consequences of the attack, namely scars on her neck and head, along with severe anxiety and PTSD. A service dog accompanied her during both days of her testimony, and is by her side “all the time.”

Avery said that eating in general was “really stressful,” and it took her a long time to have a meal. Eating with her throat injury “brought up memories of choking.” She was unable to sleep at night and suffered from night terrors for about a year after the attack, only successfully sleeping when it was light outside. 

“It took a long time for me to be okay with people touching my neck,” she added, making necessary visits to the dentist incredibly difficult and anxiety-inducing.

The emergency room nurse at the time of the incident, Jasmine Montes De Oca, took the stand next, detailing Avery’s care after entering the hospital.

Avery bypassed triage due to her critical condition, but was “surprisingly still awake” when she entered the treatment room. Montes De Oca was primarily responsible for checking Avery’s vital signs and starting an IV.

“Any number below 92 percent for oxygen saturation is considered a problem,” Montes De Oca explained. “Hers was at 13 percent. I knew that if we didn’t intervene immediately, there would be a very poor outcome and a possibility of death.”

“The number 13 is still ingrained in my mind,” she said.

Montes De Oca asked Avery, “Who did this to you?” Because Avery was unable to speak, the nurse gave Avery a Sharpie pen and held her arm out to write on. The prosecution showed the jury a photo of the nurse’s arm on that night, clearly reading “Cora Vi…” before the handwriting trailed off as Avery lost consciousness.

The surgeon that night, Dr. Rohit Sharma, testified as well, describing Avery’s injuries as “rapidly fatal.”

Dr. Sharma walked the jury through the anatomy of the throat area, explaining how multiple structures used for breathing, speaking, and eating were damaged in the attack. Photos of the stab wound before surgery were also shown to the jury, eliciting grimaces across the room. This was the only time that Vides reacted Thursday, shaking and crying, her attorney’s hand on her shoulder, as she looked at the hole in Avery’s throat.

Avery underwent emergency stabilization surgery at Cottage Hospital before being transferred to UCLA for a highly complex throat reconstruction.

The defense team did not cross-examine Montes De Oca or Dr. Sharma.

The crime scene investigator that night, Sonja Crawford, was dispatched to the hospital around 3 a.m. as Vides and her parents waited outside. After making contact with her fellow officers, she went outside to speak with Vides, who she described as “visibly upset,” crying, and shaking.

Pictures of Cora Vides, “soaked in blood” outside the hospital, were shown to the jury, along with pictures of the victim’s clothes in similar condition. 

“She was very articulate,” Crawford said of her chat with Vides. She added that Vides was acting normally, did not have trouble communicating, and was not talking to things that weren’t there.

After the conversation, she was dispatched to the Vides home to conduct a full crime scene investigation. There were pools of blood on Vides’s bed, blankets, and floor. The seven-inch switchblade used in the attack — a birthday present from Cora’s father — had been neatly folded in a napkin and left on the bathroom sink.

Also left at the crime scene was Avery’s phone, with multiple texts from her mother asking if she was okay and wondering when she should come pick her up.

The trial will continue through the week.