A teenage conflict in Puerto Rico ended in tragedy on August 10, leaving a community in shock. Sixteen-year-old Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario was killed in front of her mother, Lisandra “Lisa” Rosario, just days before her 17th birthday. Gabriela “dreamed of becoming a psychologist” and was remembered as kind and animal-loving.
The attack followed an end-of-summer party. Gabriela defended her older sister during a fight, but prosecutors say 17-year-old Anthonieshka Avilés Cabrera and her 40-year-old mother, Elvia Cabrera Rivera, stabbed Gabriela eight times. A friend was also seriously wounded. Lisandra, “restrained by others, could only watch in horror.” Gabriela died shortly after midnight.
Both suspects were arrested and face first-degree murder charges with $1 million bail each. Anthonieshka will be tried as an adult. Forensic evidence—including a weapon, bloodstained clothes, and a vehicle—supports the case.
Hundreds attended Gabriela’s funeral. Images of Lisandra’s grief circulated widely, prompting messages like, “When a mother cries, we all cry.” Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Justice condemned the crime, calling it an act of “collective outrage.”