Hilo man accused of brutally stabbing mother of children pleads guilty

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Hilo man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend in front of their children in 2021, has pleaded guilty.

Cyrus Jabilona was originally charged with attempted murder for attacking Cheylee Octavio 2 years ago.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter and felony abuse.

Jabilona repeatedly stabbed Octavio in front of their 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, leaving her with a sliced kidney, liver and collapsed lungs.

Octavio tells us after what she went through, a life sentence wouldn’t be enough.

“Thank God, I did make a full physical recovery,” Octavio said. “But there is a lot of emotional damage and trauma that has stemmed from the incident that I am still processing and still working through. So a lot of it is dealing with PTSD, anxiety, depression.”

Jabilona was released from jail after posting more than half a million dollars bail.

He faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing is set for December.