CINCINNATI — Amber Caudell's kept her eyes down and her voice steady Wednesday as she read her final statement to the man convicted of fatally shooting her 9-year-old daughter, Alexandrea Thompson.
"You didn’t care about your own daughter, and you certainly didn’t care about mine," Caudell said of the January night then-19-year-old Ke'Von Smith entered the girl's Mount Auburn home. After a shaking breath, she continued: "Because you shot her in the back. Killed her."
Smith, now 21, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for the crime. He had pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and having weapons while under disability; even after his release, he will remain registered as a violent offender for the rest of his life.
According to prosecutors, Smith and a group of associates entered the home Jan. 18, 2017, and attacked Thompson's father, Alex Thompson, injuring the girl in the process. Although Alex survived his injuries, Alexandrea died at Children's Hospital hours later.
Smith as well as two people suspected of helping him — Azuriah Hoskins Jr., 20, and Chyanne Daniels, 21 — were arrested and charged with murder in 2018. Smith later pleaded down to voluntary manslaughter.
In the wake of her death, Thompson’s family and friends eulogized her as a bright child with a caring heart.
“Alexandrea was an exceptional student,” Mount Auburn International Academy’s then-interim director Claudia Ehrle said in 2017. “She was a pleasant student. She had a smile that was infectious. She was one of the student leaders at the school — a model student.”
Caudell kept her statement Wednesday trained on Smith.
"As your daughter goes through her life, I hope she chooses a role model better than her father, as I am sure you do, too," she said. "Know that you're a loser and a coward."
