Judge Delays Resentencing in Mother’s Murder Case

The judge in the double-murder case of Debra Sue Robles on Monday postponed her resentencing and appointed an independent lawyer to help determine whether Robles was mentally competent when she pleaded guilty to killing her two disabled children.

Superior Court Judge Richard Huffman took the step in light of a psychiatrist’s report that surfaced after Robles was sentenced May 7 to a prison term of 30 years to life. The report, prepared for the prosecution, concluded that Robles was insane when she killed her children.

“This is a heavy-duty psychiatric evaluation that I’m not going to proceed on until I make sure this defendant understands what has been going on, has been properly advised and understands all her alternatives,” Huffman said.

Robles, a 28-year-old El Cajon woman with a long history of mental illness, pleaded guilty in March to murdering her young sons. Their deaths occurred in 1980 and 1985 and were not officially traced to murder until Robles spontaneously confessed in January.

Robles pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, to avoid facing trial on charges of first-degree murder. A psychiatrist hired by the defense to evaluate Robles’ mental state had concluded she was mentally ill, but not legally insane.

But two days after her sentencing, the prosecution produced another psychiatrist’s report that reached the opposite conclusion. The report had been delayed in the psychiatrist’s office and had not reached the prosecutor until May 9, the doctor’s office and prosecutors say.

Defense lawyer Michael Popkins then asked Huffman to vacate the earlier sentence and intended Monday to ask for a lesser term. He said Robles did not wish to withdraw her guilty pleas and be tried for first-degree murder using the insanity defense.

On Monday, Huffman vacated the earlier sentence. But he said he wanted to be certain that Robles knew what she was doing when she pleaded guilty. To avoid a conflict of interest for Popkins, Huffman appointed attorney Elisabeth Semel to meet with Robles and discuss her new situation.

Semel is a former president of the Criminal Defense Bar Assn. and the Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Club of San Diego. Huffman said Semel agreed to meet with Robles, review her case and help determine if the resentencing should go forward.

Huffman scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday, at which time Semel is to report back on “whether there should be a doubt as to (Robles’) competency” when she entered her pleas. Huffman said Monday, “What we do after that, we’ll have to wait and see.”