A Boston man has entered a guilty plea in connection to the 2022 stabbing death of his former girlfriend, said Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden. Christopher Howard, age 42, will serve a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years following his admission of guilt for second-degree murder. The fatal attack on Terkeisha Boykins, which occurred on May 10, 2022, ended with her being found dead in her Mattapan apartment.
As reported by the Suffolk County District Attorney, Judge Mary Ames handed down the sentence after abandoning the jury selection process for Howard's trial, which was to quickly have begun later in the month. Witnesses testified that they came upon Howard assaulting Boykins with a knife after hearing disturbances from within the room. Howard fled the scene, eventually being apprehended in Jacksonville, Florida, over a week later and more than 1,000 miles from the crime.
Boykins, a mother of six daughters, two of whom she had with Howard. One of her 18-year-old daughters shared, "My mom was one of the most generous people that I had the blessing to call my mother, she was the most loving and caring person who would put anybody above herself no matter what, even if that means giving her last. She is the reason I am who I am today, and I miss her every day," according to the Suffolk County District Attorney.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden praised Terkeisha Boykins’s daughters for their heartfelt tributes, stating, "Terkeisha Boykins’s daughters couldn’t have been more eloquent in expressing memories of their mother, who very clearly loved them and who was very clearly loved in return. I thank them for their beautiful tributes and I thank everyone who worked so hard to bring the person responsible for Terkeisha’s tragic death to justice." Authorities encourage anyone experiencing abuse to seek help. Resources include SafeLink (877-785-2020), the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-4673), and The Network/La Red for LGBTQ+ individuals (617-742-4911 or 800-832-1901), as stated by the Suffolk County District Attorney.
