A Hartford teenager was sentenced to prison Tuesday for stabbing his brother to death a year ago.
David Carasquillo, 19, was 17 when the crime occurred Jan. 13, 2018 at 2006 Main St. He was initially charged as a juvenile, but the case was moved to the adult docket.
Carasquillo and his brother, Jiram Ortiz, 22, had been driving around the city. As they returned home, they got into an argument and began to punch each other. They got out of the car and the fight continued.
Ortiz was getting the better of Carasquillo, and Carasquillo ran to the family’s apartment because he did not want to fight anymore, he would later tell police.
That’s when he realized he’d left his phone in his brother’s car. He fetched a kitchen knife and headed downstairs to get his phone. He encountered Ortiz on the way. The fight resumed and Carasquillo stabbed his brother in the chest.
Once he realized what he’d done he pressed on his brother’s chest to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived. Police took Carasquillo into custody and he confessed to stabbing his brother.
He was initially charged with murder, but the charge was reduced to second-degree manslaughter as part of a plea agreement worked out by his lawyer, Michael Dwyer and prosecutor Debra Collins.
On Tuesday, Hartford Superior Court Judge Laura F. Baldini sentenced Carasquillo to 10 years in prison, suspended after he serves seven years, and five years of probation. While on probation Carasquillo must undergo substance abuse evaluation and treatment.
Collins told the judge that the mother of the two men, who did not attend the sentencing, considers herself to have lost two sons, one to homicide and the other to incarceration.
“This is a pain no mother should have to go through,” Collins said the mother said.
Collins said she agreed to the reduced charge because Carasquillo cooperated with police, rendered aid to his brother and has been so clearly remorseful about his conduct.
“It was the worst day of his life,” Dwyer told the judge.
Baldini told Carasquillo she believed he was remorseful and attributed Ortiz’s death to underage drinking and reckless behavior.
