Essex County Prom Queen Murderer Gets 24 Years In Jail

The murderer of 17-year-old Aquilla Flood - the East Orange prom queen shot dead a week before she was due to be crowned - has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

On Wednesday, a Newark judge handed down the punishment to Al-Muqqadin Means, who apologized to Flood’s family and maintained that he “loved and missed” his ex-girlfriend, NJ.com reported.

A verbal fight reportedly broke out in court between Flood’s and Mean’s families prior to the sentencing, with Flood’s family members expressing emotional wounds and Mean’s family members asking for understanding and leniency.

Means must serve more than 20 years in prison before he is eligible for parole, NJ.com stated.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Flood broke up with Means about a month before the shooting. In the weeks leading up to the prom, Means began to threaten the queen-to-be after she refused to go to the prom with him.

The high school senior was found dead in her East Orange home from a single gunshot wound on June 5, 2013.

Means had entered a guilty plea to aggravated manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon in June.

Pictured above: Aquilla Flood