Man Pleads Guilty in 1996 Stabbing Murder At Hudson Valley County Club

After being on the run for almost 20 years, a Jamaica man plead guilty to a 1996 stabbing murder at a Hudson Valley Country Club.

In Westchester County Court, 59-year-old Gifton (Micahel) Cousins pled guilty to 1st-degree manslaughter, a class B violent felony.

According to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, on Sept. 12, 1996 at the Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor, Cousins, who was employed as a caddy, got into a dispute with the victim, 23-year-old Jason Campbell, a fellow caddy.

At some point the argument became physical, which led to Cousins stabbing the victim once in the chest.

The defendant ran in the direction of Boston Post Road. A K-9 officer with the Pelham Manor Police Department discovered the knife while in pursuit of Cousins. DNA examination revealed that the blood on the knife belonged to the Campbell. Campbell later died at New Rochelle Hospital.

Cousins fled the country. He was located last year in Kingston, Jamaica. He was taken into custody and brought back to Westchester in October of 2015.

Cousins is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9. He face between five and 25 years in state prison.