Wayne County, PA – A 10-year-old boy charged with homicide will be staying in prison for now. A hearing was scheduled Wednesday morning, but his attorney withdrew his request for bail.
Tristen Kurilla may have been planning an escape, according to WNEP. A notebook paper with the words, “how to escape” among other things , was found in the jail where Kurilla is being held.
Kurilla’s defense attorney Bernie Brown said, “The family just doesn’t feel comfortable for numerous reasons.” and that the boy is too much to handle for his parents until he gets mental health treatment.
State police charged Kurilla with the homicide of a 90-year-old woman. Troopers say Kurilla admitted to attacking Helen Novak at his grandfather’s home on Saturday.
“As a mother, I felt something from the beginning. This is extremely unique. We have a 10-year-old child that’s committed murder,” said Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards
Prosecutors, the defense, and Kurilla’s family agree he is where he should be right now; in jail, but separate from other inmates and getting recreation time and TV.
Kurilla’s attorney said he isn’t sure the boy comprehends the enormity of the charges he is facing, and commented about the boy’s prison clothes.
“He talked about that being a Halloween costume and said he’d never wear that as a Halloween costume, because that’s what kids like him are thinking about right now,” Brown said.
Kurilla’s attorney plans to start the process of trying to have this case handled in the juvenile court system.
