Girl, 15, is jailed for stabbing Mount Vernon High School cheerleader to death in NY

A 15-year-old girl was sentenced to as little as three years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter when she stabbed a rival cheerleader to death. 

Kayla Green, 16, died when she was stabbed in the stomach as the result of a 'long-standing' cheer rivalry during a huge brawl after the Mount Vernon High School basketball team won the state championship last year.

The attacker, who has not yet been identified because she's a minor, sobbed in court as she apologized for killing the junior varsity cheer captain, with the judge sentencing her to three to nine years, ABC reports.   

Kayla's mother, Laverne Gordon, condemned the sentence as a 'mockery.' 

'Today the justice system failed my daughter once again,' she said outside court on Tuesday.

'Her killer gets to get out in three years to live her life to have family, to have a career. My daughter will never see that.'

Green was the beloved junior varsity cheer captain at the Mount Vernon High School 

Her grieving mother (above) slammed the court for sentencing Green's attacker to only three to nine years in prison, and rejected the defendant's apology 

The suspect was reportedly a part of an independent cheer club that Green was also in before becoming captain of the JV cheerleading squad.  

Judge Susan Cacace said Green's death was a result of: 'a longstanding rivalry between two cheerleading squads in the city of Mount Vernon.'

Facing the judge on Tuesday, the defendant sobbed as she read a statement expressing her remorse prior to the sentencing. 

'I am sorry my actions took away a big sister. I am sorry my actions took away a daughter,' she said. 

'I think of all the different choices I could have made that day that would have left Kayla alive and saved her family this heartache. But that is why everyone is here today, because I made bad choices.'

Although Cacace said that the defendant appeared to regret her actions, she declined to grant her youthful offender status, noting the girl had a history of violence and truancy in school. 

'This death was avoidable,' the judge said. 'It's a travesty that this young girl lost her life during an unnecessary and violent attack.'

Gordon, who broke down outside the courthouse, said the girl's apology was inadequate and criticized the judge for not issuing a longer sentence. 

As per New York law, the defendant faced a maximum of up to 10 years in prison.  

 'Justice did not occur today. Mockery did,' Gordon said 'My family is broken and our heart will never mend from this loss of my daughter.'

Officials said Green was stabbed multiple times before being rushed to the hospital, where she would die from the knife injuries  

Green's mother said her daughter was robbed of her future, adding 'my family is broken and our heart will never mend from this loss of my daughter.'

The defendant will serve her time in a juvenile detention center until she is 18, when she will be then transferred into the custody of the New York Department of Corrections. 

District Attorney Mimi Rocah said in a statement: 'As a family and the Mount Vernon community remain in mourning, I want to reiterate my commitment to working with our vital community partners for meaningful violence prevention and intervention, especially for our youth.' 

'I know that nothing can cure the pain of losing a child. My Office will do what it can within the bounds of New York's laws to seek accountability in these cases.'

A celebratory photo shows the Mount Vernon Knights and the cheer squad, including Green, hours before the attack, in what would be the last time she was pictured alive

The Mount Vernon High School was celebrating their big title win in April 2022 when Green was stabbed and killed, with a friend also injured in the attacked. 

Prosecutors told the court that the female suspect had posted photos of the knife earlier that day on social media, and had come to the parade armed with it with the intent to do Green harm.

The attorneys said the attack occurred just one block from the parade, while Green sat in a vehicle minutes after walking in the procession.

The lawyers also said that a Mount Vernon police officer tried to intervene when he saw an altercation break out between the two, but was not able to prevent the suspect from fatally stabbing Green in the back and side.