Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt discusses sentencing of Michael Burham for killing Kala Hodgkin (March 2, 2026)
The Jamestown man who raped and killed a Jamestown woman has been sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
37-year old Michael Burham was sentenced Monday morning by Judge David Foley in Chautauqua County Court after he pled guilty to First Degree Murder on January 13, 2026 to the shooting death of Kala Hodgkin on May 11, 2023.
Hodgkin accused Burham of forcibly raping her two months before her death and was shot dead in her home by him after he was charged but before he was arrested.
Burham led police on two manhunts during the summer of 2023. The first one was after he was being sought in the death of Kala Hodgkin. He kidnapped an elderly couple in Pennsylvania and made them drive him to South Carolina, where he was later captured. Burham then escaped from the Warren County Jail, leading police on a nine-day manhunt.
Burham previously pled guilty to charges of kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, theft and burglary in Pennsylvania. He also pleaded guilty to a single count of escape.
Burham was sentenced to 25 years, two months to 50 years in Pennsylvania.
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