A Pennsylvania community is reeling from shock after a 10-year-old boy was charged in the brutal death of a 90-year-old woman over the weekend, the Associated Press reported. Since the young boy has confessed to the crime, he will be tried as an adult in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Tristen Kurilla of Damascus has been charged with aggravated assault and criminal homicide after a forensic pathologist confirmed Helen Novak's death to have been intentional. The young boy was brought in to the state police barracks at Honesdale by his mother after he confessed beating the woman to death, District Attorney Janine Edwards said in a statement.
On Oct. 11, Tristen was visiting his grandfather at his home in Tyler Hill when county emergency responders received a call reporting Novak's death, prosecutors in Wayne County said. As the boy's grandfather had been the caretaker of Novak, she was living at his residence with him, WNEP reported.
At some point of the day, the young boy and Novak got into a dispute after he entered her room. When she started to yell at him, Tristen allegedly proceeded to attack her.
The boy told his mother that "he got mad, lost his temper and grabbed a cane and put it around Novak's throat," police said. For five seconds, he reportedly pulled back the cane into her throat, and then moved aside to land multiple punches to her stomach.
He "pulled Novak down on the bed and held the cane on her throat and then punched her numerous times," authorities said quoting the boy's statement to a trooper after being advised of his rights.
Initially, Tristen informed his grandfather that the woman was "bleeding from her mouth," but later admitted to having punched and harmed Novak, state police said. The same afternoon, he was brought in by his mother after confessing to her.
When he was interviewed by authorities, Tristen reportedly told a trooper, "I killed that lady," and claimed that he was "only trying to hurt her."
Meanwhile, Novak's autopsy indicated blunt force trauma to the victim's neck, with Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale ruling her death as a homicide, police said. Dr. Gary Ross also confirmed that the boy's account to police "was consistent with the injuries he observed."
Since the charge of homicide "is specifically excluded from the juvenile act," Tristen will be charged as an adult, prosecutor's office noted.
Currently, the 10-year-old boy is being held in Wayne County Prison without bail. Although he is scheduled to appear for an Oct. 22 preliminary hearing, a representative attorney has not been listed on the court documents yet, according to The Morning Call.
