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Court Papers: Boy Said “I Killed That Lady”

DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP — A boy just 10 years old sits in jail charged with homicide. State police in Wayne County say 10-year-old Tristin Kurilla is a killer. ...

DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP -- A boy just 10 years old sits in jail charged with homicide.

State police in Wayne County say 10-year-old Tristin Kurilla is a killer.

The boy was arrested Monday night and is still behind bars charged with criminal homicide after investigators say he attacked a 90-year-old woman.

We know Tristin Kurilla will spend a second night at the Wayne County correctional facility.

The boy is one of the youngest alleged murderers this state or country has ever seen.

His arrest and the charge of criminal homicide have many people in this community in disbelief.

Tristin Kurilla is accused of killing an elderly woman over the weekend in a fit of rage.

Prosecutors say on Saturday Kurilla was visiting his grandfather at his home in the Damascus area when he took the life of 90-year-old Helen Novak.

"It was clear that criminal homicide was the charge to be filed in this case," said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards.

During a news conference at the Wayne County Courthouse, district attorney Janine Edwards says the way the laws for juveniles and homicide are written, she had no other option than to charge the boy as an adult.

Instead of being in the fifth grade at the Damascus School, Kurilla is at the Wayne County Correctional Facility near Honesdale, separate from the rest of the inmates, given recreation and TV and round-the-clock monitoring.

"It's not a choice I made. It's not a choice the warden made, not a choice PSP made," Edwards said.

Kurilla's attorney Bernie Brown is asking the court for bail so the boy can be with his father.

"The family is really broken up, obviously. Their child was taken from them yesterday and sent to prison on homicide charges," said Brown.

According to court papers, Kurilla told troopers Novak yelled at him so he grabbed a walking stick, pushed it into her throat, then hit her in the throat several times.

A pathologist ruled that one of those blows killed her.

The boy's mother went to state police and investigators say Kurilla said, "I killed that lady."

"It's devastating, obviously. Maybe he has some issues and needs help. Maybe he'll get the help he needs," said Lauri Box of Honesdale.

According to court papers, Kurilla's mother told state police he has a history of mental issues and has been violent.

A hearing on whether the boy can be bailed out is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Then, his attorney says he will ask the court to have Kurilla examined by a psychiatrist.

As for whether he'll continue to face the criminal homicide charge as an adult, it's up to the defense to try to convince a judge it should be sent down to the juvenile system.

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