Sylvia Bracamonte remembered; family gathers on anniversary of social worker’s fatal stabbing in Cotati

Three years to the day Sylvia Bracamonte was fatally stabbed, loved ones gathered Monday to demand justice for the group home program coordinator killed in Cotati.

Supporters converged outside the Sonoma County Superior Courthouse in Santa Rosa, where they carried signs, including a large banner that read “Remembering Sylvia Bracamonte.”

Hours later, a vigil was held on Old Redwood Highway where the 33-year-old was killed March 20, 2020 while working for Community Support Network’s Sanctuary House.

It wasn’t clear if the facility was still operating at the site.

One count of murder was filed against Anderson Quinonez-Cabeza, now, 21, who was an 18-year-old resident at the group home.

Court proceedings were delayed for months while his mental competency was evaluated. Records show proceedings had been delayed numerous other times over the past year due to scheduling conflicts.

A jury trial was most recently set for February before being pushed to Aug. 18, though that could change depending on the outcome of an April 26 readiness conference.

Bracamonte, a mother of two, had been lauded for rebuilding herself after dropping out of high school before she was 16 and spending her childhood involved with drugs and gangs.

Bracamonte enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College in 2010. She graduated three years later as its first Latina valedictorian with a 3.9 GPA.

After transferring to UC Berkeley, she earned an undergraduate degree in social welfare and ethnic studies and later, in 2019, a master’s degree in social work.

The Sylvia Bracamonte Memorial Scholarship was established at UC Berkeley in 2020.

Bracamonte’s family filed a civil lawsuit against her employer, Santa Rosa-based Community Support Network, a nonprofit that provides housing and behavioral health programs. The suit accuses Community Support Network officials of putting her in a dangerous environment.

Court records show the suit has yet to be resolved. Opposing attorneys were in court Feb. 28 for a case management conference. Another hearing has been set on June 13, according to court records.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.