Teen who stabbed Mount Vernon cheerleader Kayla Green, 16, to death gets 9 years in prison
MOUNT VERNON, VIRGINIA: A teen girl who fatally stabbed a 16-year-old Mount Vernon cheerleader after a school event was given a potential nine-year jail sentence. As per the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, the 15-year-old, who was not identified, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter last December and was sentenced to three to nine years in prison by a judge on Tuesday, January 24.
After a parade in Mount Vernon to celebrate the high school boys' basketball team's state championship win, the teenager attacked Kayla Green amid a massive brawl. The tragic incident took place in Westchester in April 2022, and it was caused by a feud among cheerleaders. Green, a sophomore, served as the captain of her junior varsity cheerleading squad at her school; the defendant was a former member of Green's independent cheer group. After being fatally stabbed in the stomach, the victim was unfortunately pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the prosecution.
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On Tuesday, the judge, Susan Cacace, explained the motive for the crime. "A long-standing rivalry between two cheerleading squads in the city of Mount Vernon," Cacace stated, as per CBS 2. Before the judge decided on her sentencing, the defendant expressed regret in court. "I am sorry my actions took away a big sister. I am sorry my actions took away a daughter," the girl stated, per Lohud, confessing that her "bad choices" caused suffering for Green's family.
According to the publication, Green's family feels that the defendant's sentence and apology were insufficient.They contended that the defendant will soon be released from custody. "Her killer gets to get out in three years to live her life, to have family, to have a career. My daughter will never see that," the victim’s mother Laverne Gordon.
A major fight was captured on mobile phone video shortly after the celebration for the basketball team's 12th state championship. The tragic stabbing, according to district attorney Mimi Rocah, "left a community devastated." "A teenage defendant senselessly took the life of Kayla Green, and in doing so, left a community devastated," Rocah stated in a statement, reported by the New York Post. "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," the statement continued.
Rocah added, "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." The district attorney's office stated that in New York, the youngster could have faced a sentence of up to 10 years as a juvenile offender. She will serve her sentence in a juvenile prison facility up until the age of 18, at which point the state's Department of Corrections will take custody of her.