A young 15-year-old girl from New York was slammed with a sentence of three to nine years this past Tuesday in the wake of putting in a plea of guilty regarding the death by stabbing of a peer.
Due to the girl still being only fifteen years old, her name will not be disclosed.
The District Attorney’s office for Westchester County has released additional information about the sentencing, stating that the young girl chose to plead guilty to a charge of first-degree manslaughter for the deadly stabbing of Kayla Green, who had been 16 years old at the time of her death.
“A teenage defendant senselessly took the life of Kayla Green, and in doing so, left a community devastated. As a family and the Mount Vernon community remain in mourning, I want to reiterate my commitment to working with our vital community partners for meaningful violence prevention and intervention, especially for our youth,” explained District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah.
“I know that nothing can cure the pain of losing a child. My Office will do what it can within the bounds of New York’s laws to seek accountability in these cases,” continued Rocah.
The incident took place back on April 8, 2022, when the then 15-year-old stabbed Kayla Green while attendings an event after school which erupted into violence, as explained by the DA’s office.
As reported by NBC News, the events of the day included a parade around Mount Vernon High School. A scuffle kicked off with a few of the cheerleaders in the wake of the off-campus events, explained Kenneth Hamilton, the former Mount Vernon City School Superintendent, back in April, reportedly.
Green was stabbed with a knife in the stomach before being rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, at which it was determined that she was dead.
The 15-year-old will be kept in the custody of NYC Office of Children and Family Services until she reaches the age of eighteen. At that time she will be moved over to the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, explained a report from the DA’s office.
Prior to the sentencing, the defendant claimed that she was very sorry for what she had done.
“I am sorry my actions took away a big sister. I am sorry my actions took away a daughter,” she expressed, as reported by Lohud.com
“I think of all the different choices I could have made that day that would have left Kayla alive and saved her family this heartache. But that is why everyone is here today, because I made bad choices,” she finished.
Lavern Gordon, Green’s mother, also elected to speak.
“Justice did not occur today. Mockery did,” exclaimed Gordon. “My family is broken and our heart will never mend from this loss of my daughter.”
