Inset: Kayla Hodgson (GoFundMe). Background: Sakiyna Thompson during her sentencing hearing for killing Hodgson (Law&Crime).
A New York woman will spend the rest of her days in a prison cell for traveling to Florida to fatally stab her ex-boyfriend's new lover dozens of times and taking the witness stand to claim self-defense.
Sakiyna Thompson, 31, was convicted in October for the murder of 23-year-old Kayla Hodgson. On Monday, a judge sentenced Thompson to life behind bars. Deputies with the Broward County Sheriff's Office say Thompson killed Hodgson at the victim's apartment in Tamarac on July 13, 2022.
Hodgson's family members, wearing "Justice For Kayla" T-shirts with her picture on the back, spoke to the judge about the victim, saying she was a "fashionista" with a loving personality who was willing to help anyone in need.
Her cousin had harsh words for Thompson.
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"What gave you the right to come to her home and do this to her?" Hodgson's cousin said. "What makes you think you can violate someone's right of human life and take it away and just live a normal life after as if nothing has happened? Or how about the audacity of you to come on this stand and waste taxpayer dollars and tell them a crop of garbage about [you blacking out]?"
The suspect stalked Hodgson's Instagram page and searched her ex-lover's phone looking for evidence of a relationship. During the legal process, Thompson never took responsibility for killing Hodgson, according to the victim's family.
"You sat here and you stared at me and my family, my aunt, and our eyes taunting us for three long years showing absolutely not one drop of remorse for what she's done," Hodgson's cousin said. "In fact, your stares showed an expression of, 'So what? Yeah, I did it and I'd do it again.'"
Thompson was jealous of Hodgson, the victim's family said.
"Tell me what you thought every time you searched, '1PrincessKay' on Instagram, seeing a beautiful girl with a banging body [and] vibrant personality, the complete, total opposite from what you see when you stand in front of the mirror," the cousin said. "That killed you so much, you wanted to damage her face. That's why you did what you did."
The judge called Thompson's crime "heinous" because she "tracked down, showed up and killed" the victim.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Thompson took the stand in her own defense.
According to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WTVJ, Thompson claimed she traveled from the Empire State to the Sunshine State to have a "woman-to-woman" chat with Hodgson.
Thompson conceded the fact that she killed Hodgson, but reportedly told jurors she did so in self-defense.
"You didn't kill her because she was fighting you?" a prosecutor asked.
"No," Thompson responded. "I killed her because she took the glass from the hookah and slashed me across the stomach."
The suspect, who was pregnant at the time, said she then blacked out and the next thing she remembered was holding the murder weapon and seeing Hodgson dead on the floor in a pool of blood. Hodgson suffered dozens of stab wounds, prosecutors reportedly said.
Thompson then allegedly changed into a set of the victim's clothes and tried to clean up the scene before fleeing.
"I was walking in the blood," she reportedly said.
She said she never called 911 because she was afraid and traveled back to New York. Authorities arrested her on Aug. 3, 2022, and extradited her back to Florida on a charge of first-degree murder.
Hodgson's family set up a GoFundMe account after her death.
"Kayla meant so much to so many people — she was an amazing daughter, a very loved and adored big sister, niece, granddaughter and cousin, whose bond was like no other," the fundraiser read. "Everyone loved her tremendously and she was a friend to all."
