PALATKA, Fla. — A 23-year-old woman from Palatka received a 50-year prison sentence on Thursday. This follows her no contest plea in September regarding the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in May 2022, as detailed in a statement from Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit.

On September 22, Tykidra Leonard submitted a no contest plea to charges of second-degree murder with a weapon, according to court records.

Prosecutors shared that in the early hours of May 20, 2022, the Palatka Police Department was called to a stabbing incident at a residence on South 14th Street.

Upon arrival, officers discovered Leonard kneeling beside her boyfriend in a front room of the house, as stated by the prosecution.

According to the release, Leonard died from his injuries at a local hospital.

The release states that Leonard told detectives in an interview that she thought her boyfriend was an intruder and stabbed him with a knife from the kitchen when he entered the front door.

However, surveillance video showed Leonard and her boyfriend walking in and out of the home together about 30 minutes before officers arrived, the release states.

“Leonard changed her story during a second interview with detectives,” the release says. “She said they were arguing, and she stabbed her boyfriend after he grabbed her by the neck.”

However, prosecutors say that story was also inconsistent with the evidence. The medical examiner found that Leonard’s boyfriend was stabbed once in the upper chest and once in the back. There were also scratches on his back and a bite mark on his forearm, according to prosecutors.

The release states that officers did not observe any significant injuries to Leonard during her initial interview.

“Domestic violence always has the potential to turn deadly,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in the release. “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.”