Defendant pleads in killing
Eight individuals charged in death of man last seen in Ebensburg
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From Mirror staff reports
One of eight people charged in the 2022 kidnapping and killing of Hayden Garreffa has entered a plea of guilty but mentally ill, Indiana County District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. announced Friday.
Taylyn Edwards, 20, of Johnstown, entered the plea to the charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, graded as a felony of the first degree.
According to a post on the District Attorney's Facebook page, a defendant may enter a plea of guilty but mentally ill to any criminal charge when, at the time of the commission of the offense, the defendant was not legally insane, intended the commission of the crime but was suffering from mental illness. The court accepted the plea of guilty but mentally ill after Edwards' attorney presented sufficient evidence that the then 18-year-old was suffering from mental illness at the time of the offense.
Edwards faces a life sentence without the opportunity for parole, according to mandatory sentencing guidelines, Manzi stated on the post. She will undergo psychiatric and/or psychological treatment while incarcerated.
Edwards' sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 19.
According to court documents, Edwards allegedly conspired with seven others to kidnap and kill the 19-year-old Garreffa in the fall of 2022.
At the time of his disappearance, police reported Garreffa was last seen in Ebensburg Borough, Cambria County. His body was found in October 2022 in a remote, wooded area in Brush Valley Township.
Court documents state he had been stabbed and stomped on prior to his death.
It is alleged that Isaac Buchkoski, Garreffa's cousin, assaulted Garreffa by striking him in his head, face and torso, according to court documents. The report states that Edwards admitted that she and Summer Settlemyer stabbed Garreffa.
All of the individuals charged in the case, including Harmony Hayward, a 14-year-old who was charged as an adult, admitted to planning to kidnap and kill Garreffa, court documents state.
It's alleged that Desean Alvarez, Mia Catalfano, Thomas Rivera and Jesse Wadsworth all were present during the killing.
Online court records show the cases for the seven co-defendants are pending in court.