An 18-year-old Santa Barbara woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that she attempted to kill a Laguna Blanca School classmate over the weekend, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Cora Vides entered the plea in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Weichbrod said.
Vides is accused of stabbing the victim, another 18-year-old female, multiple times during the attack, which occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at a residence in the 600 block of Roberto Avenue in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood.
Both Vides and the victim are students at Laguna Blanca’s upper school campus in Hope Ranch, officials at the K-12 private school confirmed.
Santa Barbara police officials said the victim, whose name was not released, suffered “nonlife-threatening but very serious injuries” and was being treated at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Details on her condition were not available.
The criminal complaint filed Wednesday accuses Vides of attempted murder “with premeditation and deliberation,” as well as a special allegation that she used a deadly weapon — a knife.
Vides was booked into County Jail, where she remained Wednesday night, with bail set at $1 million.
Neither the police nor prosecutors have offered a possible motive for the attack.
Prosecutors also obtained a protective order for the victim against Vides, Weichbrod said. He added that Vides is scheduled to be back in court on March 8.
The school provided Noozhawk with the following statement about the incident:
“On Saturday night, an incident took place off-campus involving two Laguna Blanca School students. The incident resulted in the hospitalization of one of the students, and the other student is in police custody. We hold both of these families in our hearts and thoughts at this time and in the days ahead.
“The health and safety of our students and staff is always our No. 1 priority, and we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure our community’s well-being. We have informed all Laguna Blanca families of the incident, and we have offered our full cooperation with officials who are conducting the investigation.
“As a small and tight-knit school, we are providing the support and care needed for our community to process this difficult information. A gathering for students in grades 9-12 and faculty was held on campus Tuesday to address the incident and to implement a multilayered system of support for students to safely process their emotions. Ongoing counseling services will be available for students and faculty.
“We value and respect the privacy of all our Laguna families and especially the ones most greatly impacted at this time. Our focus now is on taking care of each and every member of our community and beginning the healing that needs to take place as we move forward.”
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.