PALATKA, Fla. — Tykidra Leonard was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Thursday after entering a no-contest plea to Second-Degree Murder with a Weapon in Palatka.
The incident occurred on May 20, 2022, when the Palatka Police Department responded to a report of a stabbing at a home on South 14th Street. Officers found Leonard kneeling over her boyfriend, who later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Leonard, 23, initially told detectives she believed her boyfriend was an intruder and stabbed him with a kitchen knife. However, surveillance video showed Leonard and the victim walking in and out of the home together shortly before the incident.
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During a second interview, Leonard changed her story, claiming they were arguing and she stabbed him after he grabbed her by the neck.
This account was inconsistent with the evidence. The medical examiner found the victim was stabbed once in the upper chest and once in the back, with additional scratches and a bite mark on his forearm.
“Domestic violence always has the potential to turn deadly,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “The defendant’s statement at sentencing illustrated that she refused to accept responsibility for killing her boyfriend. She will have 50 years to reflect on the damage she inflicted on our victim and his family.”
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