Montgomery County Woman Pleads Guilty But Mentally Ill To Killing Mother
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) - A Montgomery County woman pleads guilty but mentally ill to last summer's stabbing death of her mother inside their Perkiomen Township home.
When asked in court if she understood her guilty but mentally ill plea to third-degree murder would carry a 20- to 40-year sentence, Elena House-Hay looked at the ceiling, and through tears, she answered yes.
On July 21, 2017, House-Hay killed her mother, 54-year-old Annette House inside their home on Abbey Lane in Perkiomen Township after an argument over her mental health treatment, says prosecutor Ben McKenna.
"Things escalated to the point where she grabbed a large kitchen knife from a knife block in the kitchen, went to her mother's room and stabbed her multiple times, including the fatal wound in her chest," said McKenna.
Initially, House-Hay told police, around 3 a.m. on July 21, she heard her mother screaming, saw a man in a gray sweatshirt run out the door, then found her mother in her bed with a stab wound to her chest.
But police noticed a cut on her hand, and found messages she'd sent to a friend indicating the ongoing feud with her mother.
House-Hay had finished three years at Johns Hopkins University, and her attorney, Jim Freeman, says he hopes a 20-year sentence allows her to get treatment and continue her life.
"She could complete her education, she could further her education, I think an individual with her intelligence could be of help to other people," said Freeman.
