A Westchester County, New York teenager pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, in the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old cheerleader in April 2022.
According to a press release from Westchester District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah, the 15-year-old suspect, who was not named, will serve three to nine years in a state prison. The term will be determined on Jan. 24, 2023.
"Today, the defendant has taken responsibility for ending the life of Kayla Green and now faces consequences for this tragic and devastating incident," Rocah said. "We hope the families of all impacted by this senseless violence can begin the journey of healing. My office will continue to support them in any way that we can."
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On April 8, 2022, the defendant stabbed Mount Vernon High School Sophomore Green in the abdomen with a knife, several blocks away from the school. The incident occurred after a school celebration turned violent, the DA’s office said.
EMS crews tended to the victim and transported her to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where she died.
Mount Vernon Police Department officers arrested the suspect later that night in Dobbs Ferry, following an investigation conducted with the assistance of the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
The DA said the suspect was charged in connection to another stabbing that took place at the same time, but the charges were dropped because of the defendant’s age.
The case is being prosecuted by Homicide Bureau Chief Lana Hochheiser and Bureau Chief James Bavero of the Trials and Investigations Division, and the case is before Judge Susan Cacace in Westchester County Youth Part.