Fallbrook woman will stand trial after shooting son-in-law
VISTA CNS) – A woman accused of fatally shooting her son-in-law in Fallbrook after he made a comment about what she was wearing must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Cynthia Katherine Cdebaca, 63, is charged in the death of Geoward Flores Eustaquio.
After a daylong preliminary hearing, Judge James Dorr found that enough evidence was presented for Cdebaca to proceed to trial.
Around 8 a.m. on Feb. 11, Cdebaca and the 53-year-old victim were the only people in their home when he commented on her attire, said Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior.
In response to the comment, the defendant went to her “granny flat” adjacent to the residence and retrieved a .38-caliber, five-shot revolver that she had purchased about two weeks earlier, according to Prior.
Cdebaca came down the stairs and fired all five rounds at Eustaquio as he stood in a patio area, the prosecutor alleged.
When Cdebaca realized that her son-in-law was not dead, she walked to her car — where she had a box of ammunition — and reloaded the gun before firing five more shots, Prior alleged.
Recognizing that Eustaquio was still alive and was trying to crawl into the home and lock the door, Cdebaca returned to her car to reload the gun and allegedly fired five more times at him, according to the prosecutor.
An autopsy revealed seven .38-caliber bullets in the victim’s body, as well as four other holes where bullets had entered and exited, Prior said.
“She (the defendant) then left the residence, tossed the gun in a nearby drainage ditch and threw the ammunition away,” Prior alleged at Cdebaca’s arraignment. “She then went to Denny’s for breakfast, she went to Pechanga (Casino) for gambling, she went to the liquor store for cigarettes and she went to her favorite coffee shop to end her day.”
Around 5 p.m., officers caught up with Cdebaca, who allegedly told police she was responsible for shooting the victim and that he “better be dead,” Prior said.
The defendant told investigators that Eustaquio was mean and had been violent with the family, but Prior said there were no documented reports of domestic violence.
