BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – A Binghamton man has received the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter by a Broome County jury.

Broome County Court Judge Joe Cawley sentenced Kout Akol today in Broome County Court for the death of Takicia Mitchell, the mother of his daughter.

The jury convicted Akol of manslaughter rather than murder because it determined he was trying to cause physical harm to Mitchell when he stabbed her repeatedly in the leg, but not kill her.

Mitchell ended up bleeding out and was declared dead at the hospital. 

Her two sons, ages 10 and 8 at the time of the crime, both witnessed the stabbing and testified during the trial. 

Cawley said, “They had to watch and see something that I’m sure will haunt them for the rest of their lives. This was not an accident. Mr. Akol, there’s only one person still alive who knows why you did what you did, it’s you.”

Akol was also convicted of criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child and tampering with evidence for discarding and hiding the knife and his bloody pants.

After the death, Akol fled to Syracuse where he was eventually apprehended by Binghamton Police with the assistance of the Onondaga County Sheriff’s office.

Senior Assistant DA Alyssa Congdon said it was very difficult asking Mitchell’s sons to testify.

“We did try to go through things in advance in terms of what the room would look like, what they could expect in terms of testifying in front of him. In my opinion, they were very scared. It was very difficult for them to come forward and to be able to do that. I only hope to aspire to that kind of bravery that these children showed in doing that.”

Akol’s attorney, Artan Serjanej, who Akol argued with throughout his defense, spoke on his client’s behalf saying he was the victim of a violent upbringing and that he still wanted to be a part of his daughter’s life.

Akol spoke briefly maintaining his innocence.

Akol still faces prosecution on an assault charge for attacking a fellow inmate at the Broome County Jail with a lunch tray.