Montco Woman Pleads Guilty In Mother's Slaying

PERKIOMEN TOWNSHIP, PA — A Perkiomen Township woman has pleaded guilty in the killing of her mother inside their home last summer, although she says she was suffering from mental illness at the time of the incident, according to court documents.

Elena House-Hay, 22, pleaded guilty to third degree murder charges in making her statement. CBS Philadelphia reports that House-Hay was told her plea could carry a prison sentence of 20 to 40 years.

House-Hay's lawyers had previously filed a notice that they were planning a mental infirmity defense prior to appearing in court Wednesday morning. A jury trial had been scheduled to begin on Jan. 29.

Charges of first degree murder had been on the table, but were apparently removed as part of the plea deal.

Last July, House-Hay was heading into her senior year at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of the Arts and Sciences, where she was studying Earth and Planetary Sciences.

On July 21, however, her life changed forever.

Authorities arrived on the scene of the House home at around 3:18 a.m. that Friday morning. 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.

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.

According to the criminal complaint, House-Hay sent a Facebook message on July 20 saying "Haha, I hate my family."

Assistant District Attorney Benjamin D. McKenna led the prosecution.

Details on sentencing are forthcoming.

Image via Shutterstock