A New York man, aged 37, faces a lifetime in prison after being convicted of murdering a mother of three, just weeks following her accusation that he raped her.

On Monday, Michael Charles Burham was sentenced by Chautauqua County Judge David Foley to 25 years to life in a state prison for the murder of Kala Hodgkin in 2023, as reported by authorities recently.

The sentence was delivered after Burham admitted guilt to first-degree murder in January, shortly before jury selection was to begin for his trial, as indicated by his guilty plea.

“It has been two and a half years since Kala was tragically killed in her home while she and her children slept, and not a day has passed without us thinking of her and her kids. Preparing for this trial, set for next week, we’ve awaited the chance to hold this individual accountable for his despicable actions,” stated District Attorney Jason Schmidt following Burham’s plea. “Whether convicted by trial or plea, Mr. Burham’s day of reckoning was inevitable, and now we await his transfer to state prison, where he will hopefully spend his life reflecting on the innocent life he took, the family he shattered, and the trauma inflicted on Kala’s surviving children.”

According to earlier reports by Law&Crime, on March 13, 2023, Burham unlawfully entered Hodgkin’s residence on William Street in Jamestown, New York, while she and her children, aged 8, 11, and 14, were asleep.

At the time of the incident, Burham was wanted for Hodgkin’s alleged rape, with an outstanding warrant for his arrest, but he had not been apprehended.

After a warrant was issued for his arrest in Hodgkin’s murder, Burham on May 20, 2023, kidnapped an elderly couple in Warren County, Pennsylvania, at gunpoint, and drove their car to Charleston, South Carolina. Law enforcement authorities were able to locate the couple unharmed and took Burham into custody a few days later after a homeowner spotted him prowling around in their backyard.

However, while being detained at the Warren County Prison in Pennsylvania, Burham on July 6, 2023, used a rope made from several bedsheets tied together to escape the facility. He remained on the lam for 10 days until a couple’s dog alerted them to a man in their backyard who turned out to be Burham.

He pleaded guilty in that case to kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, theft and burglary.

A Pennsylvania judge sentenced Burham to 25 to 50 years in a state prison for the kidnapping, which he is currently serving. When he finishes that sentence, Burham will be transferred to New York to continue serving his sentence for Hodgkin’s murder.

Despite the kidnapping and murder sentences running concurrently, Schmidt said he did not see how Burham “would ever be paroled” after pleading to first-degree murder.

“The extensive amount of harm that has been caused that will last this family forever, and it probably will go on to the next generation, children that are still suffering because of the trauma they experienced inside that home,” the DA said. “It’s just overcoming for all of us with emotion that somebody could exact that level of harm against a family for reasons that still boggle the mind.”