On Monday, Chautauqua County Court Judge David Foley sentenced 37-year-old Michael Burham to 25 years to life in prison.

In January Burham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, arising from 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 a warrant was issued for his arrest, but before he was taken into custody.

Burham is currently serving time behind bars in the kidnapping of an elderly Pennsylvania couple.

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt speaks during the sentencing of Michael Burham Monday in Chautauqua County Court. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

After Hodgkin was shot to death with her three children in her home, Burham started a vehicle on fire and fled to Pennsylvania.

While there, he kidnapped a Sheffield couple and they went to South Carolina, where Burham was eventually captured.

He was brought back to Warren County, where he escaped and was captured after a 10-day manhunt. For the Pennsylvania crimes, Burham was sentenced to 25 years, two months to 50 years in Pennsylvania after he pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, theft and burglary.

As part of Burham’s guilty plea, he was informed by the court that his sentence for the murder of Hodgkin would run at the same time as his sentence for the kidnapping.

Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said in January he supported that move. After Burham was sentenced Monday by Judge David Foley in Chautauqua County Court, Schmidt said Burham will go back to Pennsylvania to serve his time, then will be transferred to New York state to enter its prison system. Schmidt is hopeful that the state parole board will deny all future applications.

“It’s our intention that, if he is still alive after completing his Pennsylvania obligations, that he be incarcerated for the rest of his natural life here in New York state,” Schmidt said.

In 2024 Schmidt held a press conference where he announced that he would be charging Burham with first- and second-degree murder as well as third-degree arson.

It was the first time that Schmidt had ever charged a suspect with first-degree murder, during his time in the District Attorney’s Office, either as the DA or an assistant DA.

Schmidt explained back in 2024 that if a person kills a witness to prevent that person from testifying about a crime, the suspect can be charged with first-degree murder.

Schmidt noted that Hodgkin had come to Jamestown Police about a month prior looking for help, as a domestic violence victim.

Schmidt said previously that because Hodgkin was murdered, the rape and unlawful imprisonment charges were dropped, something he said is required by law.

After serving a minimum of 25 years in Pennsylvania, Schmidt said he will be subject to parole review.

“It has always been our goal that Mr. Burham die in prison, and that he never be released again,” Schmidt said. “He deserves to be punished. Society deserves to be safe. The world needs to know that from a deterrent standpoint that law enforcement will not tolerate this type of behavior.”

Schmidt was unhappy with Judge Foley’s sentencing commitment.

“The judge felt that it was appropriate under the circumstances the judge placed on the record,” Schmidt said.

Victim impact statements were heard at sentencing, but Schmidt added that if a trial was held, the statements had no part in the courtroom, and the statements would not have been part of the evidentiary presentation to which the jurors would have been exposed.

The statements, Schmidt added, deal with the after effects.

“It (the statements) doesn’t deal with the issues of guilt(y) or not guit(y). That was resolved when Mr. Burham entered his plea of guilty to Murder One,” Schmidt said.

After working with police, charges were filed against Burham for first-degree rape and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. A warrant was issued but Burham was not taken into custody before Hodgkin was murdered.