A judge rules that a Bronx high school student is guilty on manslaughter charges after fatally stabbing one of his classmates in 2017.
Abel Cedeno, 19, was convicted of manslaughter, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for killing Matthew McCree and injuring another student, Ariane Laboy.
In September 2017, Cedeno was repeating the 12th grade at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation. He said he was the victim of years of harassing and bullying because he’s gay.
Cedeno said he “snapped” when he whipped out a 3-inch switchblade he’d purchased online and fatally stabbed McCree and injured 16-year-old Laboy. Cedeno was initially charged with murder, however, a grand jury downgraded the charges to manslaughter taking into account his claims of years of harassment. He pled not guilty.
“I just can’t wait for it all to be done with so we can really deal with his death the way we really need to,” McCree’s mother said during a previous interview with the AmNews. “Going back and forth to court for two years, we haven’t really been able to deal with it. Once everything is said and done, at least we’ll have some kind of closure.”
Cedeno faces up to 25 years in prison. Judge Michael Gross rendered his verdict in the bench trial.