Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark says a Bronx man has been sentenced for killing his ex-girlfriend in front of their young children.

Shaheene Ahmad will serve 25 years to life behind bars for stabbing 23-year-old Zariah Hayes 17 times at the end of a birthday celebration for their 2-year-old son at 2552 Holland Ave. on Sept. 23, 2023.

Ahmad, 38, carried out the violent attack in front of the 2-year-old, as well as his 5-year-old son.

Prosecutors say Hayes suffered 16 of those stab wounds to her face and neck. Paramedics rushed her to Jacobi Hospital, where she died.

News 12 spoke to Hayes' family, who said she moved back home just days before the attack to avoid her toxic seven-year relationship with Ahmad.

"Now that she was finally leaving and she put her foot down, and she was here with us, with her family...he felt like if he couldn't have her, we couldn't have her anymore either," said her sister, Zaniyah Hayes.

They said Zariah was one of three sisters and that she planned to create a family of her own with Ahmad.

"She was a great mom, a loving person and always made sure she reached out to everybody," said Zaniyah Hayes.

Ahmad was arrested a short time after the attack and later convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was sentenced Tuesday.