A teenage girl has been given a possible nine-year prison sentence for fatally stabbing a 16-year-old Mount Vernon cheerleader after a school celebration.
The 15-year-old, who was not identified, was given three to nine years in prison by a judge Tuesday after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter last December, the Office said. of the Westchester County District Attorney.
The teenager stabbed Kayla Green during a huge brawl after a parade in Mount Vernon to mark the state championship won by the high school’s boys basketball team.
The fatal event took place in Westchester last April and resulted from a cheerleading rivalry.
Green, a sophomore, was the captain of her school’s junior varsity cheerleading squad; the defendant was part of an independent cheer club of which Green was a past member.
The victim was stabbed in the stomach and pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, prosecutors said.
Judge Susan Cacace explained the motive in Court on Tuesday.
“A long rivalry between two cheerleading squads in the town of Mount Vernon,” Cacace said, according to CBS 2.
The accused apologized in court before her sentence was determined.
“I’m sorry that my actions took away my older sister. I’m sorry that my actions took a girl,” said the girl, according to Lohud.com, who admitted she made “bad choices” that led to heartache for Green’s loved ones.
Green’s relatives believe that the defendant’s apology and sentence were not enough, the newspaper reported. They claimed that the defendant would be released from prison shortly.
“Her killer comes out in three years to live her life, to have a family, to have a career. My daughter will never see this,” said the victim’s mother, Laverne Gordon, according to CBS 2.
Shortly after the celebration to recognize the basketball team’s 12th state title, a huge fight was caught on cell phone footage.
“A teenage defendant senselessly took the life of Kayla Green, and in doing so, left a community devastated,” District Attorney Mimi Rocah said in a statement.
“As a family and the community of Mount Vernon remain in mourning, I want to reiterate my commitment to work with our vital community partners for meaningful violence prevention and intervention, especially for our youth.
“I know that nothing can heal the pain of losing a child. My office will do what it can within the limits of New York law to seek accountability in these cases.”
The maximum sentence the young man could have received was three to 10 years as a juvenile offender in New York, the district attorney’s office noted.
She will serve her time in a juvenile detention center until she turns 18, when she will be taken into custody by the state Department of Corrections, the district attorney’s office said.
