A man who fatally stabbed two men at a home in the Jamacha-Lomita neighborhood of San Diego was sentenced Monday to seven years in state prison.
Michael Major, 40, pleaded guilty to two voluntary manslaughter counts for the May 8, 2022, killings of Edward Robbins, 36, and Jeffrey Moore, 34, both of San Diego. Robbins and Moore were brothers-in-law.
Police were called about 2:40 a.m. that day to a Carlsbad Street residence where they said a fight broke out during a gathering.
Moore died at the scene, while Robbins was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. A woman was also stabbed multiple times during the melee, but survived her injuries.
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Major, who was initially charged with murder, said at his sentencing hearing that some of his family was in the home at the time when the fight broke out and he believed he was acting in self-defense.
Ring Video: Woman begs for help after husband, brother fatally stabbed
Local
Video recorded by a neighbor's Ring doorbell offered a terrifying window into the aftermath of the attacks.
The stabbing took place in the 800 block of Carlsbad Street. When San Diego Police Department officers arrived, they found three victims, SDPD Lt. Jud Campbell said in May 2022.
On the Ring video, the frantic woman can be seen sprinting up to the the house with the doorbell camera, pushing the doorbell several times, then looping back toward the sidewalk.
"I told you that he didn't have no guns over here," the woman says, though it's not clear to whom.
The woman returns to the doorbell, pushing it frantically several times, then can be heard saying, "Hey, you guys, please call 911, my brother and my husband got stabbed."
A 24-year-old woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of wounds that were not considered life-threatening.
Police said at the time that there was a gathering at the home when an altercation broke out and the stabbings occurred.
Major, then aged 38, was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the fight. Major was also held for a parole violation after the killings.
The day after the incident, a neighbor described their experience to NBC 7.
"It was around like 2:45 in the morning, and I was looking through the window, and my pops here was also looking through the window, and we seen a couple females running almost house to house, banging, 'Help me, help me! My brother is dead,' " Esteban Lieras said. "My mom had called 911 inside, and that’s when everyone started coming out, and that’s when one of the ladies was out here saying my brother is dead – my brother is dead, that’s all she was saying."
