A 14-year-old boy charged as an adult with fatally stabbing an 86-year-old Lancaster woman in her bed is scheduled to be arraigned next month on murder and burglary charges.
Tony Donnell Brown of Lancaster is accused of killing Annie Margaret Bell, whose body was discovered last Thursday evening at her home in the 44600 block of Stillwater Drive.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation that Bell was killed during the commission of a burglary, along with an allegation that the teen personally used a knife during the crime.
Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty against Brown because of his age. He would face a potential life prison term without the possibility of parole if convicted.
He is also charged with two counts of first-degree burglary with a person present.
The youth allegedly broke into the woman’s home Thursday and stabbed her multiple times while she laid in bed, according to Steven Frankland, head deputy of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Antelope Valley branch.
Neighbors told detectives that a person matching the description of the suspect was possibly hiding in some bushes, leading to his arrest, sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Rouzan said.
Brown — who was being held in lieu of $1 million bail — is due in a Lancaster courtroom July 23 for arraignment.
— City News Service
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