Bronx Teen Accused Of Stabbing Classmate To Death Says He Was Bullied For Being Gay
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Closing arguments are expected today in the trial of a Bronx teenager accused of stabbing one classmate to death and wounding another.
Prosecutors say Abel Cedeno killed 15-year-old Matthew McCree and injured 16-year-old Ariane Laboy at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation back in September 2017.
Cedeno says he was acting in self-defense after being bullied because he’s gay.
“You’re gay, you shouldn’t be gay,” he testified on Thursday. “It was psychological abuse for being gay.”
During his testimony, Cedeno said the bullying got physical on the day of the attack.
“I began getting hit in the back of the head with broken pencils, pen caps and bunched up paper,” he said. “Matthew punched me on the cheek two or three times.”
MORE: Bronx School Stabbing Suspect Says He Was Bullied For Years, Punched Repeatedly Before Pulling Knife
Cedeno admitted he pulled a knife from his pocket, but said it “was only meant to scare people away.” When asked if he remembered stabbing McCree and Laboy, he said “not specifically the times when the blade went inside them.”
Outside the courtroom, McCree’s mother said she didn’t buy Cedeno’s story.
“What I didn’t understand is he don’t remember at no point in time when he used the knife, but however he remember when he was being hit. He remember everything when it came to the other side, but when it was his turn, he can’t remember anything,” said Luna Dennis.
“Clearly the attempt to call Matthew a bully is an attempt to dirty up the victim, and we will not stand for that,” attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.
Cedeno pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges. If convicted, he faces up to 50 years in prison.
After closing arguments, the judge will get the case. This is a bench trial, so there’s no jury deliberation. A decision might come as early as today.
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July 12, 2019 at 03:20PM
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