JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A woman who kidnapped her daughter and lead officers on a chase that ended in a crash and the death of her five-year-old daughter is set to be sentenced Friday.
Pamela Cabrera pleaded guilty in January to charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, along with aggravated felony fleeing or attempting to elude causing a death.
Cabrera was removed from the courtroom Friday about 20 minutes into the proceeding after interrupting the judge and a witness a handful of times. As she was leaving the courtroom, she could be seen flashing a note she said she wanted to give to the judge.
After Cabrera was kicked out of the courtroom, there was a brief recess. When court returned, Cabrera was not in the courtroom. Instead, she joined the hearing from another room on a Zoom call.
The rest of the hearing included testimonies from JSO employees about what they saw and heard that night, with body camera footage showing Cabrera combative, cursing at officers and even spitting at one.
Cabrera's sister, Whitney Baez, testified that she had custody of Cabrera's daughter because of Cabrera's mental health issues and erratic behavior. Both prosecutors argued Cabrera knew exactly what she was doing despite her mental health issues.
The prosecution wanted the maximum sentence of 30 years while the defense asked for a 10 year sentence with continued mental health treatment.
In the end, the judge moved the case to next week, where Cabrera will be allowed to read the letter she showed the judge while being escorted out of the courtroom Friday.
Here's what happened
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a north Jacksonville home in reference to Cabrera kidnapping her daughter with a knife on March 31, 2022. Police records said she did not have custody of her daughter.
An officer later saw Cabrera at the intersection of Biscayne Boulevard and Dunn Avenue and followed her on a chase running every red light from Biscayne Boulevard to Interstate-95 South. Nearly hitting other vehicles, Cabrera attempted to take the exit for 9B West, but went straight toward 9B East, driving into a retention pond.
While Cabrera escaped the submerged vehicle and held onto a tire to stay afloat as the vehicle sank in the pond, police said, five-year-old Vanity Cabrera was trapped in the front seat of the vehicle. The vehicle sank to the bottom of the pond, and officers were unable to save the child.
Vanity's body was recovered by a dive team.
Vanity had been living with family members due to her mother's persistent mental health issues. A court filing indicated her attorneys intended to rely on an insanity defense, citing "Chronic Severe Bipolar Disorder, Type 1 with Psychotic Features" and "Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type."