A Johnstown woman who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2022 kidnapping and killing of a 19-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Taylyn Edwards, 20, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping in May was sentenced Wednesday in the death of Hayden Garreffa, 19, stated Indiana County District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. in a Facebook post.

Edwards reportedly stabbed Garreffa several times, court documents state.

Manzi said Edwards was sentenced to a mandatory term of life in state prison without the possibility for parole on the charge of first-degree murder. She was also sentenced to serve no less than five years and no more than 10 years in a state correctional facility on the charge of kidnapping.

A plea of guilty but mentally ill does not change the grading of an offense nor does it change the sentencing guidelines or mandatory sentences, Manzi stated.

According to a post on Manzi’s Facebook page in May, the court accepted Edwards’ plea of guilty but mentally ill after her attorney presented sufficient evidence that the then-18-year-old was suffering from mental illness at the time of the offense.

Edwards is to undergo psychiatric and/or psychological treatment while incarcerated.

According to court documents, Edwards allegedly conspired with seven others to kidnap and kill 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, Indiana County. Garreffa’s obituary listed him as an Ebensburg resident, formerly of Windber.

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.

The remaining seven co-defendants’ cases remain active at this time, Manzi stated.