A New York woman was found guilty of first-degree murder for flying to South Florida and stabbing her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend to death in July 2022.
Sakiyna Thompson, 31, now faces a possible life sentence for the killing of 23-year-old Kayla Hodgson a waitress who was found dead in her home.
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| Kayla Hodgson |
According to prosecutors, the tragic incident started in the early hours of July 13, 2022.
Thompson, who was two months pregnant at the time, traveled from her home in Queens to South Florida to confront Hodgson over her relationship with Thompson’s ex-boyfriend.
The two had been talking on social media prior to the incident but Hodgson blocked Thompson on social media.
Because of this, Thompson traveled so she could arrange a "woman-to-woman" talk at Hodgson's home in the Tamarac Village Apartments, South Florida.
“She was jealous and insecure,” prosecutors told the jury, painting a picture of a premeditated attack.
According to NBC Miami, Thompson arrived at the apartment around 5 a.m. wearing a hat and a COVID-19 mask
She also used a fake Uber account, actions they said were meant to conceal her identity.
However, what truly happened inside the apartment is still unclear.
The defense attorneys argued that Hodgson started the fight after Thompson entered her apartment.
They claimed that Hodgson hit Thompson on the head and cut her stomach with a piece of glass from a hookah, which led Thompson to kill her in self-defense.
“She thought, 'Oh, God, she’s coming for me and my baby,'" defense attorney Ros Meritxell told the court. "That’s when she grabs the glass, and she blacks out. This was a fight, a mutual fight," he added.
They say Thompson later gained consciousness after briefly blacking out and that was when she realized she had killed her romantic rival.
But the prosecution disagreed with the self-defense claim, pointing to Thompson’s actions after the killing.
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| Thompson wearing the victims clothes after the crime |
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| Sakiyna Thompson |
After the murder, she admitted to removing her bloody clothes, wearing the victim’s outfit, cleaning the scene, and disposing of evidence, as per New York Post
For prosecutors, this was not the behavior of someone who feared for their life, but of someone trying to cover up a crime.
The jury deliberated on four hours of closing arguments before returning with a guilty verdict for first-degree murder. In the courtroom, Hodgson’s family cried tears of relief and embraced one another.
"We're just so thankful in this moment that the jury was able to see the story for what it is, that Kayla did not deserve to die the way that she did," family members said after the verdict was read.
Assistant State Prosecutor Tonya Johnson echoed the family’s sentiment, highlighting the vulnerability of the victim.
“Being violated in your own home, in the sanctity of your own home, is a scary thing," Johnson said. "What’s even scarier is being attacked, being brutally murdered in your own home, and that person getting away with it.”
Sakiyna Thompson will be sentenced at a later date, where she is expected to receive a mandatory life sentence.
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