So, like, this 18-year-old dude got sentenced to 10 years to life in prison after admitting he totally shot an 11-year-old girl in the stomach back in 2022. His name is Matthew Godwin, and he was just 15 when he did it. He copped to second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and pled guilty on March 6, as per the Bronx district attorney’s office.
His lawyer didn’t wanna chat, but in court, he was all like, “Yeah, my client feels super bad about it, ya know?” Apparently, Godwin was riding on a scooter driven by some guy named Omar Bojang in the Bronx on May 16, 2022. They were supposedly looking for some other dude from a rival gang.
When they saw a 13-year-old boy, Godwin let off two shots, and one hit Kyhara Tay, this poor 11-year-old girl who was just waiting for her friends outside a nail salon. She died that same night at the hospital.
The Bronx district attorney, Darcel Clark, was all, “Kyhara never got to grow up. This is a huge tragedy, especially cuz everyone involved is so young. Justice is served with this sentence, but it ain’t the end of Kyhara’s story.”
Bojang, now 21, also pled guilty and was supposed to get 15 years for manslaughter, but his sentencing got delayed cuz he got into it with jail staff before his probation interview. He’s gotta wait till May 14 for his sentence and then deal with five years of post-release supervision.
During the sentencing, Tay’s mom, Yahisha Gomez, was all emotional and said no mom should ever feel the pain of losing her kid. She made it known that she can’t forgive Godwin for what he did. Godwin, looking all forlorn in a green jumpsuit with his hands cuffed, said sorry and that he regrets everything. The judge, Joseph McCormack, commended him for trying to turn his life around and postponed his sentence till he finishes his GED in August.
