Cora Vides sentenced to serve a minimum six-month sentence in a state mental hospital

Cora Vides, the 21-year-old convicted of attempted murder in the Valentine’s Day 2021 stabbing death of her classmate and friend Georgia Avery in Laguna Blanca, was sentenced to serve a minimum six-month sentence in a state mental hospital by a Santa jury. Barbara. She was declared insane at the time of the attack.

“It’s obvious that Georgia Avery … is loved by so many people,” Judge Von DeRoyan said, referring to the consistently packed – and sometimes loud – courtroom during the nearly two-month trial. “But I can’t help but be overwhelmed by the misinformation or misunderstanding of this situation.”

After hearing victim impact statements from Avery’s immediate family, von Deroyan reviewed 104 letters from other relatives and friends close to the victim, many of whom begged the judge to reconsider cases she was legally unable to do.

“I cannot change the law,” she said, and the trial showed that “Vides’ sanity has not been restored.”

Therefore, on the recommendation of the Department of State Hospitals and Courts, Vides will serve an initial sentence of 180 days in a “closed forensic cell.” After this, Vides will be able to contact the hospital with a request to check her sanity. Psychiatrists may take longer to effectively treat Vides, and may do so for a lifetime.

If instead they find her mental health satisfactory, Vides is entitled to a hearing in which the court must find that Vides’ sanity is fully restored in order to secure her release. Otherwise, she will have to serve another year in a mental hospital before applying again.