A man charged in the 2023 murder of a Jamestown woman has pleaded guilty to the crime and will be sentenced in March.
According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, 37-year-old Michael Burham pled guilty to a first-degree murder count in the shooting death of Kala Hodgkin on May 11, 2023. Investigators say Hodgkin accused Burham of raping her two months before, and was charged with that crime but not yet arrested when the murder occurred.
He then fled on a multi-state manhunt, kidnapping an elderly couple and forcing them to transport him to South Carolina. He was arrested there in May 2023 and sentenced for the kidnapping charge. He escaped from the Warren County, PA jail in July 2023, and after a 10-day manhunt was captured in Conewango Township.
According to the Chautauqua County DA, Burham’s plea occurred during a final conference held one week before jury selection was scheduled to begin on his murder trial.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 2. Burham is expected to receive a sentence of 25 years to life.