Mother Of Bronx Teen Stabbed To Death By Classmate Hoping For Justice
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A pre-trial hearing will resume on Thursday for a teenager accused of stabbing a fellow classmate to death and injuring another.
Prosecutors say Abel Cedeno killed 15-year-old Matthew McCree and critically injured 16-year-old Ariane Laboy at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in September 2017.
CBS2's Marc Liverman was in court Tuesday and spoke with the McCree's mother, Louana Dennis.
"Watching him living his life and he took my son's life... I have to... You know, I pray. I pray a lot for god to give me the strength to deal with this," she said.
Dennis says she's hoping those prayers don't just bring her strength, but justice.
"The healing part is very hard because we need some type of closure," she said.
Dennis says that closure won't come until her son's accused killer is found guilty.
Cedeno sat mostly in silence at the first day of proceedings, watching as his attorneys and prosecutors worked to figure out if an admission of guilt recorded the day McCree was stabbed will be admissible for trial. Lawyers say if the admission was voluntary, then the video will be admitted as evidence.
If he's found guilty, Cedeno faces up to 50 years in prison -- 25 years per victim.
"I want 25 for each," Dennis said.
Cedeno's attorney says he snapped after being bullied in school because of his sexuality. He pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges. His attorney refused to go on camera after the hearing.
The victim's family has also previously demanded that the Department of Education make some changes to their bullying policy, along with metal detectors in the school.
