JAMESTOWN, NY (WKBW) — With Michael Burham now in custody, people in Jamestown can breathe a "sigh of relief." He is a suspect in the murder of Kala Hodgkin who lived in Jamestown.
Burham was captured early Saturday evening in Warren.
The 34-year-old mother of three was found shot to death on May 11 at William Street home about 20 miles from Warren, Pennsylvania where Burham escaped from the Warren County Jail setting off panic among Jamestown residents that feared he might return to their community.
“Because there are parents out there that can't even probably sleep — knowing that he could probably just be banging on your door one minute trying to break in and everything like that,” reacted Xena Potter, Jamestown resident.
Potter tells me how relieved she was Burham was captured over the weekend.
“To know that he's been captured, yet again, it's very relieving not just for me and my daughter, but for everyone that has kids out there,” Potter remarked.
“Kind of a bad headline. We don't need that. we have a beautiful area. we have a lot to offer. we just don't need that,” responded Nancy Jones, Falconer resident.
But the headline now changed. Just take a look at this newspaper box outside the Post-Journal newspaper in Jamestown stating “Capture Ends ‘Crisis'.”
“It’s very upsetting and we say why? We thought, of course, that he should have been watched more carefully. I don't know what to say about that situation down there. But we were kind of angry that they didn't watch him better knowing that he was suspected of being a murderer,” Jones stated.
“What were your thoughts and feelings on Saturday when we all heard he was captured?” Buckley asked.
“I was very relieved that they were able to finally track him down and find him because now everyone here has a sense of relief that he's been yet captured again, and hopefully can stay captured and do the time that he needs to,” replied Potter.
Potter tells me she didn't know Hodgkin personally but would often see her outside her home with her kids.
“I see that she's a happy mom with her kids just enjoying — being in Jamestown and from the looks of it. She just seemed like an everyday mom, just doing what she can to get by, raising her kids. And then to find out that out of nowhere, she gets murdered in her own home,” Potter commented.
Fresh flowers placed in front of a tree outside Hodgkin’s home after her death are now gone, but a tiny batch of artificial flowers is now in their place, a big reminder of her life cut short.
