Avilés Cabrera pleads guilty to lesser murder charge
Sentenced to 38 years in prison for fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario in Aibonito last summer
By THE STAR STAFF
Anthonieska Avilés Cabrera, 18, pleaded guilty Tuesday to the killing of Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario after reaching a sentencing agreement with prosecutors that reduced the main charge to second‑degree murder with mitigating circumstances.
Judge Juan A. Reyes Colón accepted the deal and imposed the sentence as negotiated.
According to the court filing, “the prosecution requested a prison term of 37.5 years for that charge, consecutive to six months and one day for the weapons violation, for a total of 38 years and one day.” Avilés Cabrera also waived her right to a jury trial as part of the agreement.
The judge determined that the guilty plea was entered freely, voluntarily, and with full knowledge of the consequences. Avilés Cabrera stated that no one had threatened her or offered her anything in exchange for pleading guilty.
Family members of both the victim and the defendant filled the courtroom. Gabriela Nicole’s mother, Lisandra Rosario, and her sister Lizmarie sat in the front row alongside the head of the Justice Department’s prosecutors, Juan Ramos García. Roughly a dozen relatives and supporters of Avilés Cabrera also attended. When she entered the courtroom, “the accused sat down and began wiping away tears,” as her attorney and a grieving aunt tried to comfort her.
The trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday morning with the presentation of evidence, but after discussions between the parties and the judge, the court recessed until mid‑afternoon. Proceedings resumed shortly after 3 p.m., when the plea agreement was announced.
Avilés Cabrera originally faced first‑degree murder and weapons charges for allegedly stabbing Pratts Rosario during a confrontation in the early hours of Aug. 11, 2025, at the Roberto Colón bypass in Aibonito after an outdoor party to mark the end of summer had wound down in the southern-central town. Her mother, Elvia Cabrera Rivera, was tried separately and sentenced to 102 years in prison for her role in the same incident.
The prosecution alleged that the victim sustained 11 stab wounds.
Prior to hearing her sentence, Avilés Cabrera said her mother was innocent.
“I maintain that my mother is innocent and that all the witnesses in her trial have lied,” Avilés Cabrera stated when the judge gave her the opportunity to speak before sentencing.
Defense attorneys María Soledad Sáez and Rocío Revelles represented Avilés Cabrera, while prosecutors Belinda Brignoni, Jackeline Pizarro, Silda Rubio and Myriam Nieves handled the case.
The plea brings a major development in a case that has drawn intense public attention across Puerto Rico, though relatives of the victim have previously said they believe justice is still incomplete.
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