Woman sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, murder of Indiana County teen

INDIANA, Pa. (KDKA) — A 20-year-old woman who was one of several young adults charged in the kidnapping and murder of a teenager in Indiana County was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty but was mentally ill.

Taylyn Edwards of Johnston pleaded guilty but suffers from mental illness to the charges of first-degree murder and felony kidnapping last month in the death of 19-year-old Hayden Garreffa.

At a hearing Wednesday, the Indiana County prosecutor said Edwards was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder, and five to 10 years for the kidnapping charge.

Edwards was one of eight people charged in connection with Garreffa's death in October 2022.

The police said Hayden Garreffa's body was found in Brush Valley Township two days after he was reported missing from his grandmother's home in East Wheatfield Township.

Investigators said eight suspects showed up at Garreffa's home and forced him into a van. He was stabbed to death A few minutes later, police said.

The Indiana County prosecutor explained that a plea of ​​guilty but of mental illness does not change the characterization of an offense or the sentencing guidelines, but it does mean the defendant will receive treatment psychiatric or psychological by the Department of Corrections.

The cases of the other seven co-defendants are still active at this time, the Indiana County prosecutor said.