Tragedy at Manor Senior High: A Community in Mourning After Fatal Stabbing
A somber cloud hangs over the Manor Independent School District (ISD) community following the tragic death of a student at Manor Senior High School. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, October 29, involved an altercation between two students that resulted in the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Darrin Loving.
The Incident
According to reports, the stabbing took place after an altercation between two students at Manor Senior High School, located at 14832 FM 873. The Manor Police Department (MPD) identified the victim as Darrin Loving, who was 18 years old. Police say he was stabbed in the chest. Medics arrived on the scene and attempted life-saving efforts, but they were unsuccessful and Loving was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witness accounts and surveillance video indicated that the altercation began in a boys' bathroom before moving to a hallway near the lunchroom, investigators said. Students reported the incident to a school resource officer and said that Mbanwei had been holding a kitchen knife. A school resource officer discovered Loving bleeding from multiple stab wounds after confronting Mbanwei, who was holding a kitchen knife. The blood splatter indicating a fight between two students started in the restroom and ended in the hallway near the lunchroom. Students captured the aftermath on video.
The Suspect
The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Mac Brown Mbah Mbanwei, was detained, arrested and charged with murder. Mbanwei is currently being held in Travis County Jail. MPD said it is still investigating the "isolated" incident as a homicide.
New details in court documents revealed that a school resource officer reported hearing students yelling "oooh" and "Mac Brown had a knife" at lunchtime. He glanced towards the bathroom and saw a student with his hands in his pockets. The officer said he asked him to take his hands out. He didn’t, and there was a struggle. The officer eventually removed his hands from his pockets, one of which had a kitchen knife in it. The officer said back at the lunch area, a student was found with multiple stab wounds.
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Community Response and School Closures
The news of the stabbing sent shockwaves through the Manor ISD community. Manor ISD Superintendent Robert Sormani said the incident is "devastating for our entire community," and that counselors will be available for staff and students at campuses this week during closures and when campuses open back up.
In the wake of the tragedy, Manor ISD took immediate action to support students and staff. The district closed early on Tuesday at Manor Senior High School, Manor Early College High School and Manor High. School was canceled Wednesday and Thursday, as well. Manor ISD officials have canceled classes for students on Wednesday, October 30, and Thursday, October 31, for Manor Senior High School and Manor Early College High School.
Sormani added that the district is reviewing its on-campus security in light of the stabbing. Since then, the district has made changes to the way students have entered the school building, including wanding students with hand-held metal detectors, before entering the school and have pledged to use bond money to buy additional security features like structured metal detectors.
Victim's Background
According to Loving's sister, Sierra Smith, Loving was a special needs student who was nearly non-verbal.
Legal Proceedings and Mbanwei's Competency
Court records say Mbanwei was found incompetent to stand trial. Under Texas law, a person is incompetent to stand trial if they do not have: sufficient present ability to consult with the person's lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, ora rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against the person
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A judge deemed Mac Brown Mbanwei, the 18-year-old student charged with murder in the stabbing death of a classmate at Manor Senior High School, incompetent to stand trial. An agreed order signed by State District Court Judge Brandy Mueller says Mbanwei must be sent to a mental health or residential care facility for treatment. Neither Mbanwei’s defense attorneys, nor the prosecution, opposed the finding of incompetency, according to the order.
According to Tuesday's order, Mbanwei will be placed in a facility “determined appropriate by the local mental health authority for inpatient observation and treatment." Under state law, defendants deemed mentally incompetent receive treatment in hopes they can be sufficiently rehabilitated to face trial. Mbanwei's order says he must be re-evaluated within 120 days. But the law says that such specified time periods don't begin until a defendant is actually placed at a facility and begins treatment and that could take a while as there is a long waitlist for a limited number of beds at mental health facilities.
Leslie Boykin, a longtime Austin criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case, said Mbanwei will most likely be sent to a state-run facility for treatment. Once there, she said it will be up to medical professionals to determine when and whether Mbanwei has been sufficiently rehabilitated to face a jury. “Because he's been ruled incompetent, the first priority of the justice system is to make sure that he is restored to competency before his case moves forward at all,” Boykin said.
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