Trial Set for Carmel Valley Mom Accused of Drowning her Autistic Son

A Jan. 14 trial date was set today for a woman accused of drowning her 4-year-old autistic son in a bathtub, then driving his lifeless body to a police substation, where she allegedly admitted the crime.

Patricia Corby, 36, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder and assault charges in the March 31 death of her son, Daniel. She pleaded not guilty today at her Superior Court arraignment.   

Corby's next court date is a Nov. 7 readiness conference.   

According to testimony at a daylong preliminary hearing earlier this month, Corby contemplated suicide before allegedly holding her son down in several inches of water in the family's Carmel Valley condominium.    District Attorney's Office Investigator Walter Escobar testified that Corby told him that her son – diagnosed with a high likelihood for autism – had made strides in his battle with the developmental disorder but not enough to satisfy her.   

“She felt like her whole existence was dedicated to her child,” Escobar testified. “She felt like she had no life. She wanted Daniel to be normal.”  

Escobar testified that Corby told him that she tried to drown herself after she killed her son, but couldn't.   

Corby realized what she did wrong and drove to the police substation four miles away to turn herself in, Escobar said Corby told him. The victim's father was at work at the time of his son's death.

–City News Service