⚠️ A Middlesex County jury convicted an Edison man of murder in a deadly South Plainfield home invasion.
➡️ Brandon Andrews-Cruz, 38, died in the stabbing, while a woman who knew the defendant survived.
🔴 Pablo Cicero faces 30 years to life in prison.
A 48-year-old Middlesex County man now faces up to life in prison after being convicted of a deadly home invasion in South Plainfield last year.
After a four-week jury trial in Middlesex County Superior Court, Pablo Cicero, of Edison, was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and home invasion burglary, as well as three weapons offenses in the stabbing death of Brandon Andrews-Cruz.
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Victim Brandon Andrews-Cruz was killed in a stabbing in South Plainfield (Cuoco Funeral and Cremation)
A masked attacker broke into a South Plainfield home
On May 19, 2025, after 2 a.m. Cicero broke into the residence of a woman he knew, along Tooz Place.
Wearing a ski mask and armed with a knife, prosecutors said he attacked the 32-year-old female victim, along with Andrews-Cruz.
The 38-year-old Raritan resident was stabbed multiple times and died of his injuries, while the woman survived being stabbed twice, police said.
Investigators found deleted text messages that she had ended a previous “intimate” relationship with Cicero, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
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The entrance to the Middlesex County Court House in New Brunswick (Google Maps)
License plate readers also put Cicero’s blue Mazda 6 in the area of the South Plainfield home just before the stabbings.
Surveillance footage from his own apartment complex showed Cicero returning in the time after.
Driving up to a gated access area, he was seen getting out of his car, stripping off his pants and shoes and tossing them into a dumpster.
He then got back into the driver’s seat, nude from the waist down and drove through, the affidavit said.
Forensic testing found human blood in Cicero’s car
Cicero’s car was later found parked in Linden — forensic swabs found the presence of at least two types of human blood inside.
Cicero faces between 30 years and life in prison when sentenced before Middlesex County Superior Court Bina Desai on Jan. 22, 2027.
These 31 convicted killers were pardoned by Gov. Murphy
In a one year span, Gov. Phil Murphy granted clemency to over 283 individuals convicted of various crimes. Of those, at least 31 have been pardoned and released early from state prison after they were convicted of murder and aggravated manslaughter. After release, each person is subject to five years of parole supervision.
Gallery Credit: Rick Rickman
