Accused killer spared death penalty
NORRISTOWN » A Perkiomen woman will not face the death penalty if she is convicted of firstdegree murder in the alleged stabbing death of her mother, according to prosecutors.
“There are certain statutory aggravating factors that you need to have in order to seek the death penalty and her conduct, although it is egregious as a murder and was committed under brutal circumstances, it does
not fall into those categories of aggravating factors,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Benjamin McKenna explained after accused killer Elena C. House-Hay had her formal arraignment in county court.
State law provides only about 18 specific aggravating factors that prosecutors can use to seek a death penalty. In order to seek the death penalty, prosecutors must show that aggravating factors, things that make a crime more heinous, existed at the time of a killing and that they outweigh any mitigating factors, those things in favor of a defendant.
House-Hay, 22, formerly of the 400 block of Abbey Lane, waived her formal arraignment in county court on charges of first- and third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon in connection with the alleged July 21 stabbing death of her mother, 54-year-old Annette E. House, inside the Abbey Lane home they shared. Not guilty pleas to the charges were entered on House-Hay’s behalf.
Judge William R. Carpenter set House-Hay’s trial for Jan. 29. That trial is expected to last about a week.
With the death penalty off the table, if House-Hay is convicted of first-degree murder, an intentional killing, she faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
Voluntary manslaughter, punishable of 10 to 20 years in prison, is a killing without lawful justification while under sudden and intense passion.
House-Hay, who is represented by defense lawyer James R. Freeman, remains in the county jail without bail pending trial.
Court records indicate the judge previously granted a request for House-Hay to receive counseling services by psychiatrists or psychologists while confined at the jail.
An investigation began about 3:18 a.m. July 21 when House-Hay called 911 to report her mother was stabbed in the chest, according to a criminal complaint. House-Hay made the call from a nearby residence on Tanglewood Drive in Limerick.
Police discovered Annette House unresponsive in a bed on the second-floor of the home with a wooden-handled kitchen knife inserted in her chest that state troopers said “appeared to be consistent with knives located inside a knife block in the kitchen,” according to the criminal complaint filed by state police Trooper Jerrold R. Hatfield and county Detective Lieutenant James McGowan.
An autopsy determined Annette House died as a result of multiple stab wounds and officials noted the presence of defensive wounds on her arms, according to the arrest affidavit.
House-Hay initially told police she was asleep when she heard her mother scream. House-Hay claimed she saw a male in a grey hoodie leaving the house but could not provide further details, according to the criminal complaint.
State troopers located a bloodstained gardeningstyle glove attached to the side glass panel of the front door, blood smears on the surrounding window panel and a black flashlight on a table inside the entrance foyer of the house, according to court papers.
“Investigation revealed no signs of a struggle, theft or burglary within the residence,” Hatfield and McGowan wrote in the criminal complaint.
During the investigation, House-Hay gave conflicting accounts to various police officers about what occurred prior to her mother being stabbed, according to court documents. One of the state troopers who interviewed her observed what appeared to be blood on House-Hay’s clothing in the areas of her left chest, and left thigh, arms and hands, court papers state.
The trooper also stated he observed a laceration on House-Hay’s left hand that was wrapped in a bloodsoaked bandage.
When a trooper asked her what happened to her hand, House-Hay responded, “I tried to help her, she tried to grab me,” according to the arrest affidavit.
But as troopers continued to interview her, House-Hay admitted she had a fight with her mother earlier in the night regarding House-Hay’s treatment for bipolar disorder, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
House-Hay subsequently told authorities she obtained a right hand glove while downstairs and a knife from the kitchen prior to entering her mother’s bedroom. House-Hay told state troopers that her blood would be present on the blade portion of the knife that she took into her mother’s room.
House-Hay also said that prior to leaving the residence she obtained a large flashlight and attempted to break the front door window of the home, according to the criminal complaint.