Roxbury woman pleads guilty in 2023 quadruple stabbing

BOSTON, March 13, 2025 – A judge yesterday sentenced a Roxbury woman to 8-11 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to stabbing four strangers in a Boston hotel in 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

KOURTNEY GODFREY, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of carrying a dangerous weapon (knife).

Judge Anthony Campo sentenced Godfrey to 8–11 years in state prison with three years of probation to follow.

On December 17, 2023, Boston police responded to the Doubletree Hotel at 240 Mount Vernon Street in Dorchester for a stabbing incident. Upon arrival, officers located four victims, all suffering from stab wounds.

Assistant District Attorney Brandon DeAvilla said that as the first victim and her two daughters were in the café area of the hotel, they observed Godfrey squatting in the corner and making crying noises. Godfrey said “you guys see me crying and you don’t help?” before sprinting toward the first victim with a large hunting-style knife and stabbed her in the back. Godfrey then raised the knife up in the air toward the first victim’s face when one of her daughters grabbed the victim and pulled her away.

Godfrey then lifted the knife and shoved it down into the neck area of the second victim, a female, and the forehead of the third victim, also a female. After stabbing the third victim, Godfrey ran toward the fourth victim, a male, and took multiple swings at his chest. The fourth victim blocked the blade with his forearms until he lost balance and fell. The third victim yelled out for the fourth victim, which caused Godfrey to turn around and begin to run toward her. The fourth victim grabbed an ice cream freezer and pushed it into Godfrey’s path. The third victim pushed the freezer into Godfrey, causing her to fall.

The fourth victim tried to subdue Godfrey and take the knife from her hands with the assistance of two hotel employees. The three men wrested the knife from Godfrey and gave it to responding officers. 

All four victims, including the first victim’s daughters, delivered impact statements at yesterday’s sentencing.

The first victim, a former police officer in Puerto Rico and Air Force veteran, sustained a punctured lung which detached from her chest wall, as well as a fractured rib which became displaced and caused additional injury to her lung.

The three other victims, all siblings, were in Boston for their grandmother’s funeral the day prior.

The second victim suffered from a stab wound to the right side of her neck with a C5 facet fracture.

The third victim suffered a superficial cut to her forehead.

The fourth victim suffered from lacerations to the left forearm and right hand and a dislocated left shoulder.

“The full horror of this incident is made perfectly clear by the words of the victims, who suffered physical wounds that day and continue to suffer from those wounds and deeper psychological wounds to this day. Our office will continue to stand by them as they continue their recoveries,” Hayden said.

Assistant District Attorney Brandon DeAvilla prosecuted the case and Rae Ann Cardosa was the victim witness advocate.

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications