Death Penalty Off The Table In Perkiomen Slaying

PERKIOMEN TOWNSHIP, PA -- Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a Perkiomen woman accused of killing her mother.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office does not believe the required "aggravating" factors necessary to pursue the death penalty are present in this case, the Times Herald reports.

Elena C. House-Hay 21, has been charged with first degree and third degree murder, in addition to voluntary manslaughter and related counts in connection with the incident, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Elena's mother, Annette E. House, 54, of Perkiomen Township, was the victim, police said.

Authorities arrived on the scene of the House home on Abby Lane at 3:18 a.m. Friday. House-Hay had blood on her clothing and a bloody bandage on her hand when police arrived, according to the criminal complaint.

Annette House was found unresponsive on the second-floor bedroom with a wooden-handled kitchen knife in her chest, authorities said. An autopsy performed on Friday revealed the cause of death as homicide, the coroner said.

According to the criminal complaint, House-Hay sent a Facebook message on July 20 saying "Haha, I hate my family."
House-Hay told police at first that she awoke to her mother screaming and saw a person wearing a gray sweatshirt leave the house. She later said she had taken the knife from the kitchen before entering her mother's bedroom, and that she attempted to break the front door's window with a flashlight, presumably to make it seem as though there had been forced entry, according to police.

Patch file photo