Prosecution Amends Charges Against Anthonieska Avilés in Gabriela Nicole Murder Case
The Puerto Rico Department of Justice amended the indictments against Anthonieska Avilés Cabrera, adding three aggravating circumstances to the charges in the killing of 16-year-old Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario in Aibonito.
Prosecution Amends Charges Against Anthonieska Avilés in Gabriela Nicole Murder Case
The Puerto Rico Department of Justice amended the two indictments filed against Anthonieska Avilés Cabrera for the murder of Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario, a 16-year-old girl killed in August 2025 in Aibonito.
The changes were announced Thursday during an emergency hearing before Superior Court Judge Juan A. Reyes Colón in Courtroom 3 of the Aibonito Tribunal. The defendant is being tried as an adult for the crime.
In essence, the charges of first-degree murder and violation of the Weapons Law remain. However, the indictments now include three aggravating circumstances that, if she is convicted, could result in a harsher sentence.
During the hearing, the judge ordered the accused to stand and read the charges to her again. The defense has ten days to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, although the initial plea of not guilty remains on record.
Following the amendments, the prosecution added eight new witnesses to the case: seven employees of Bonifacio Sánchez School, where both the accused and the victim studied, and one representative from the Municipal Alliance of Integrated Services (AMSI).
According to the amendment motion, the accused allegedly acted in concert with Elvia Cabrera Rivera between August 10 and 11, 2025, approximately between 11:45 p.m. and 12:04 a.m., causing the death of the teenager through multiple cutting and stabbing wounds inflicted with a bladed weapon.
The weapons charge alleges that the defendant knowingly and intentionally used a cutting object approximately one inch wide and five inches long with a sharp tip during the commission of the offense.
Prosecutor Belinda Brignoni Hernández explained that the amendments address "formal defects" in the indictment—drafting imperfections that do not affect the defendant's substantive rights. Defense attorney María S. Sáez Matos, however, challenged the move, suggesting it could amount to a new indictment rather than a true amendment.
The trial is scheduled for June 23. The prosecution now has 73 witnesses, including the eight recently added. The defense has not yet indicated whether it will choose a bench trial or a jury trial.
The changes come while the Supreme Court evaluates two related motions: one concerning the possible reclassification of the first-degree murder charge to a lesser offense, and another related to procedural timeliness.
Source: El Nuevo Día
Source: Google News PR — Crime