The Appeals Court denied a petition from Elvia Cabrera Rivera’s defense team to access a damaged verdict form from her trial in the Aibonito Court of First Instance. Cabrera Rivera was found guilty of first-degree murder and firearms law violation in the death of teenager Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario. The three-judge panel, consisting of Fernando J. Bonilla, Nery E. Adames Soto, and Alicia Álvarez Esnard, determined that the defense failed to demonstrate any error by the lower court that would justify their intervention.
The defense team, led by Mayra López Mulero, Alberto C. Rivera Ramos, Yancarlos Maysonet Hernández, Alberto López Merlán, and Héctor J. Vázquez Santisteban, had requested the verdict form after the judge, Luis S. Barreto Altieri, noted that one of the pages had been damaged by the jury. The Appeals Court also recently denied a request to stay the sentencing while this appeal was being considered. Cabrera Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10.