Pennsylvania 10-year-old charged in beating death of 90-year-old woman

A Pennsylvania boy is facing criminal homicide charges after he confessed to strangling a 90-year-old woman with a cane and beating her to death, according to prosecutors and a criminal complaint.

The 10-year-old attacked Helen Novak inside his grandfather’s home around 10 a.m. on Oct. 11, according to a criminal complaint filed in Wayne County, Pa.

The boy, who was staying at his grandfather’s home in Damascus Township while his mother went to work, told police that he walked into Novak’s room and became infuriated when she yelled at him to get out.

He left the room, grabbed a wooden cane and pushed it against Novak’s throat for “four or five seconds,” according to the complaint. The child then punched her in the throat and stomach five times each, according to court filings.

“I killed that lady,” the boy told a Pennsylvania state trooper on Saturday, according to the complaint.

The suspect’s mother told investigators the boy often lies, has been violent in the past and may have mental health issues. While the boy’s name has been made public and is included in public court documents, the Los Angeles Times does not routinely identify juvenile suspects.

An autopsy later confirmed Novak died of blunt force trauma to the neck, and the boy was charged with criminal homicide late Saturday.

The boy is being charged as an adult because Pennsylvania’s criminal code mandates that homicide charges cannot be filed against a juvenile, Wayne County Dist. Atty. Janine Edwards said in a statement released on Tuesday.

However, Edwards also said on Tuesday that the case could be transferred back to juvenile court at a later date. The child is being held at the Wayne County Correctional Facility without bail, though he has been separated from adult offenders, Edwards said.

The criminal prosecution will be handled by the state attorney general’s office, according to Edwards, who said a member of her staff is related to the defendant.

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