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Teen Admits to Attack on Elderly Woman in Wayne County

HONESDALE — A teenager admits he tried to kill an elderly woman inside her home. The guilty plea on Monday in Wayne County could result in decades in pris...

HONESDALE -- A teenager admits he tried to kill an elderly woman inside her home. The guilty plea on Monday in Wayne County could result in decades in prison.

Azaiah Williams was supposed to go to trial early next year for that violent home invasion in the Newfoundland area. Instead, the 17-year-old could be looking at up to 50 years behind bars after pleading guilty Monday in Wayne County.

Williams wouldn't say a thing on his way into the Wayne County Courthouse in Honesdale. The 17 year old has stayed quiet since his arrest last year after state police tracked him down and charged him with the attempted murder and rape of an 83-year-old woman.

Troopers discovered the woman in her home in the Newfoundland area in September of last year. She was covered in blood and had been stabbed in the neck and the back.

Prosecutors say Williams, who was 16 at the time, went to the woman's door and asked to use the phone. When she said no, he attacked her with a steak knife.

The teen's attorney tried to have the case moved to juvenile court. A judge ruled Williams should be tried as an adult, but Williams pleaded guilty to attempted homicide and sexual assault instead.

"On behalf of Wayne County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I'm very pleased he entered a plea to avoid a trial for Wayne County," said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards.

Williams' victim spent weeks in the hospital in a medically induced coma and then underwent rehab. With the plea agreement, the teen from Monroe County will have to register as a sex offender for life on top of facing as much as 50 years in prison.

"This is a specific case--in terms of what he did and what the result will be--I'll wait until after sentencing to talk about him," said Edwards.

Sentencing for Williams is scheduled for early March 2017.

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