Ten-year old Tristen Kurilla was charged with homicide after allegedly admitting to killing a 90-year old woman.
The case is to be filed in a regular adult court, as stated by the laws of Pennsylvania. Kurilla is now being held without bail at the Wayne County Correctional Facility until the court hearing on Oct. 22.
Kurilla's defense attorney, Bernie Brown, is petitioning the court to get his client out of jail, and he can also petition the case to be transferred to juvenile court.
"Tristen really kind of doesn't have an idea of what is going on," Brown told WBRE station, as reported by CNN. Further, he said, "Jail is still jail, no matter what part of the facility you are in."
However, Wayne County district attorney Janine Edwards told the same station that a kid charged with homicide will not be accepted in a juvenile detention center, and that all homicide cases are filed directly in adult courts regardless of the defendant's age, as mandated by state laws.
CNN quotes Edwards as saying: "It is not a choice I made. It's not a choice the warden made. It's not a choice Pennsylvania State Police made."
According to reports, the fifth grader was visiting his grandfather, Anthony Virbitsky, who was the victim's caretaker. 90-year old Helen Novak allegedly yelled at the boy, who reacted by pinning her down on the bed by the throat using a walking stick. He also allegedly punched her numerous times. Autopsy reports reveal "blunt force trauma to Novak's neck," and the DA's statement said that her death was ruled as homicide.
Court records have Kurilla's admission to the crime, having said, "I killed that lady." But he also admitted to not having done it intentionally, and that he was only trying to hurt the woman.
Moreoever, Kurilla's mother, Martha Virbitsky, said in an affidavit that her son "has some mental difficulties."
Edwards told WBRE that the age of the defendant is rather unusual. She said, "That's not something I've seen. I'm not sure how many times that's been seen in Pennsylvania or not."
