Man who escaped jail, led police on two manhunts sentenced for killing ex in 2023

BUFFALO, N.Y. (TCN) — A 37-year-old man, already incarcerated on kidnapping charges, pleaded guilty to murder and has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, police say.

At a press conference on March 2, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced the sentencing of Michael Burham for killing his ex-girlfriend Kala Hodgkin, 34, in Jamestown, New York. Spectrum Local News reports he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Jan. 7.

WIVB reports that on May 11, 2023, Burham, who had a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly raping Hodgkin two months earlier, fatally shot her in her home while she was asleep. 

The Observer reports Hodgkin had come to Jamestown police as a domestic violence victim and worked with them to file charges against Burham for first-degree rape and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. A warrant was issued but he was not taken into custody before Hodgkin was killed.

Hodgkin’s three children, ages 8, 11, and 14, were at home at the time of the shooting, WIVB reports. After Burham killed her, he set a car on fire and left the state. A multistate manhunt took place over the next nearly two weeks, and Burham was found in South Carolina on May 24, 2023.

During the manhunt, Burham kidnapped an elderly couple at gunpoint in Pennsylvania. WKBW reports the couple was found alive in a cemetery and told authorities they had been kidnapped and forced to drive Burham to South Carolina.

While he was being held in jail in Pennsylvania in July 2023, he escaped. WKBW reports authorities believe he used exercise equipment to get onto the roof of the prison and used bedsheets to climb down. He was found, apprehended, and taken back into custody nine days later.

At the time of his sentencing for Hodgkin’s murder, Burham was already serving a sentence of 25 years and two months to 50 years and four months on the kidnapping charge related to the couple in Pennsylvania, according to WIVB. The Observer reports that because Hodgkin was murdered, the rape and unlawful imprisonment charges against Burham were dropped. Schmidt said that is required by law.

According to Schmidt, once Burham finishes serving his sentence in Pennsylvania, he will be turned over to the New York state authorities. He said at the press conference that the intention is to keep Burham behind bars for life.