The on-again, off-again girlfriend of the Northwestern student-athlete who was stabbed to death in 2024 accepted responsibility for the killing in court on Monday morning.
Speaking softly, Jahara Malik, now 18, pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal stabbing of Yahkeim Lollar, a beloved football player at Miami Northwestern Senior High. He was 17 and a junior in high school.
Miami Northwestern Senior High student athlete Yahkeim Lollar was stabbed to death in the garage of his apartment complex in December. The Lollar family
Malik’s change of plea wasn’t the result of an agreement with prosecutors. Pointing out the lack of a plea deal, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez warned Malik that there will be “no guarantees” regarding her sentence.
Judge Christine Hernandez, center, makes clear that Jahara Malik, left, understands the consequence of pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge in connection with the 2024 stabbing death of Yahkeim Lollar, a Northwestern student-athlete, in Courtroom 2-8 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Malik, who was 17 at the time, was charged as an adult with manslaughter. Malik told police she and Yahkeim were “horseplaying” late one night in a garage of his Little Haiti apartment complex when she stabbed him a few days before Christmas in 2024.
READ MORE: Family of Northwestern student athlete stabbed to death angry over trial delay
Malik’s sentencing is scheduled for May 5.
Jahara Malik enters the courtroom before pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge in connection with the 2024 stabbing death of Yahkeim Lollar, a Northwestern student-athlete, in front of Judge Christine Hernandez in Courtroom 2-8 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
She faces up to 30 years behind bars, although her attorneys will likely seek to have her sentenced as a youthful offender. Such a sentence is limited to four years in prison and is available for defendants under 21 charged as adults.
After the hearing, attorney Larry Handfield told reporters Malik pleaded guilty to accept responsibility for Yahkeim’s stabbing even though it was an “unintended consequence.”
Malik, the attorney said, is remorseful — and has been since the day of the stabbing. She called 911, he said, and tried to render aid to Yahkeim.
“It says a whole lot about her,” Handfield said. “She still wanted to accept responsibility.”
Victim’s mother wants maximum sentence
Yahkeim’s mother Nathalie Jean said she doesn’t believe Malik is remorseful because it took Malik a year and two months since being charged to accept responsibility for her son’s killing.
Jean was joined by about a dozen of Yahkeim’s loved ones and classmates who packed the courtroom on Monday. Many wore shirts bearing photos of Yahkeim.
Standing with friends and family members, Nathalie Jean, center, the mother of Northwestern student-athlete Yahkeim Lollar, who was stabbed to death in December 2024, speaks to reporters Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Courtroom 2-8 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in Miami, Florida. Yahkeim’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Jahara Malik pleaded guilty Monday, March 16, in his stabbing. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
“I feel like she just don’t have any options left….” Jean said. “I don’t think her guilty [plea] is genuine because if it was genuine she would have taken accountability the day it happened.”
Jean said she wants Malik to receive the maximum amount of prison time allowed under the law.
“She took my son’s life for no reason,” Jean said. “She took my son’s life because he was honest with her, that he didn’t want to be with her…”
Attorney Melba Pearson, who is representing Yahkeim’s family, told reporters that she is “pleased that the process is moving forward” — and that the family can soon get closure and properly grieve.
Friends, family, and supporters of Northwestern student-athlete Yahkeim Lollar sit in court as Jahara Malik pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in connection with the 2024 stabbing death of Yahkeim Lollar, a Northwestern student-athlete, in front of Judge Christine Hernandez in Courtroom 2-8 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com Stabbing of Northwestern football player
Just after 11 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2024, Malik called 911 saying Yahkeim had been stabbed in the third-floor garage of his apartment complex at Northwest Sixth Court and 61st Street. Paramedics found him with a knife wound to his chest.
Yahkeim died an hour later, despite efforts by paramedics and medical professionals.
Surveillance video showed Malik and a friend getting out of a vehicle in the parking garage, Yahkeim bleeding from his chest and Malik dropping a knife, according to police.
Malik said she grabbed the knife because she couldn’t find the pepper spray she usually takes as a safety measure when using a ride share.
The teen girl said “she was horse playing with the victim,” and police let her go. They arrested her in January 2025, after the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office said Yahkeim was murdered.
Jahara Malik, center, embraces supporters as she leaves the courtroom after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge in connection with the 2024 stabbing death of Yahkeim Lollar, a Northwestern student-athlete, in front of Judge Christine Hernandez in Courtroom 2-8 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 12:28 PM.
Miami Herald
Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.