A 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty on Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter in the April brutal murder of an honor roll student and cheering star, according to authorities in New York’s Westchester County.
“The defendant has taken responsibility for ending the life of Kayla Green and now faces consequences for this tragic and devastating incident,” District Attorney Miriam E. Roach said in a statement. “We hope the families of all impacted by this senseless violence can begin the journey to healing.”
According to the statement, the defendant, who will not be identified because she is a child, has been promised a sentence of three to nine years in state prison when she is sentenced on Jan. 24.
According to the Journal News Green, 16, was the captain of Mount Vernon High School’s junior varsity cheerleading team, and the defendant was a member of an independent cheerleading team Green had originally belonged to.
According to CBS2 New York, prosecutors said the attack happened minutes after Green celebrated Mount Vernon’s state championship basketball team. Green was attacked with a knife she had previously shown off on social media by the defendant. Green had his back and side stabbed. Despite an officer’s efforts to intervene in the struggle, Green died on the way to the hospital.
Prosecutors claimed the defendant also stabbed another teenager during the altercation, but the charges were withdrawn due to her age. According to News 12 The Bronx, the second teen was Green’s best friend, who was expected to survive her injuries. Nicole Duncan, the friend’s mother, told the channel that her daughter “will never be the same” after the incident.
A GoFundMe set up by Green’s family described her as an “honor roll student and a talented dancer” who was “loved and admired by everyone in her community, school, and family.” Green had celebrated her 16th birthday three weeks prior, according to the page.