Almost ten years ago, 29-year-old Edward Cabanas fatally stabbed his elder brother, 23-year-old Brandon Cabanas. After spending the past decade on remand in jail, his case finally came to an end in the Supreme Court earlier this week.
On Wednesday, his case was called up before Justice Suzan Lamb, and during what would have been his indictment for the crime of murder, Edward Cabanas entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
On December 28, 2012, the two brothers, Brandon and Edward, were at their mother's Sandhill home. Reports to 7News at the time were that Brandon had been drinking. Witnesses on the scene heard when Edward called his brother, Brandon, to come out of the house. They then had an argument, which escalated when Edward pulled out a knife and stabbed his brother in the legs. Brandon bled to death before he could be rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
Last month, before Edward Cabanas entered this guilty plea, Justice Lamb handed down a sentencing indication requested by his attorney, Norman Rodriguez. Justice Lamb told the defense attorney that her starting point for his guilty plea for manslaughter would be twelve years but that the maximum prison time she would hand him is five years. That final number was based on the facts of the case, its circumstances, and the fact that it's been almost a decade that Edward Cabanas has spent in jail awaiting his day in court.
The case has been adjourned for November 11, 2022, when Cabanas will know his sentence for manslaughter. He will celebrate his 30th birthday next Wednesday in prison while he awaits that next court date.
