A man pleads guilty to murdering his ex-girlfriend in her Boston apartment

A 42-year-old man pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering his ex-girlfriend in her Boston apartment in 2022, prosecutors announced.

Christopher Howard was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Terkeisha Boykins, 40. He will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities said Howard was in the bedroom with Boykins at her Mattapan apartment shortly before 9:40 p.m. on May 10, 2022, when witnesses heard a commotion coming from the room. Witnesses opened the bedroom door and saw Howard standing over Boykins, a mother of six, stabbing her, prosecutors said.

Howard fled the apartment and was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, seven days later, according to prosecutors.

Howard and Boykins had two daughters together, and prosecutors said the woman’s four children made victim impact statements in court Tuesday.

“It’s not fair that my sisters and I lost our loving, kind, caring and warm-hearted mother at a young age,” her 16-year-old daughter told the court. “I pray that my mom gets justice and that she continues to watch over all of us every day. I miss her more than words can explain.”

“She was the kindest person I’ve ever known and had the biggest heart I’ve ever seen,” Boykins’ daughter, 25, said in a statement. “You have to have a big heart to spread your love among six children so that no one feels left out. She made each of us feel special in our own way.”

Jury selection for the case is expected to begin later this month, the prosecutor’s office said.

“The daughters of Terkeisha Boykins could not have been more eloquent in expressing their memories of their mother who so clearly loved them and who was so clearly loved in return,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “I thank them for their wonderful tribute and thank everyone who worked so hard to bring to justice the person responsible for Terkeisha’s tragic death.”