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A 14-year-old boy was charged as an adult on Monday in connection to the brutal murder of an 86-year-old woman in her Lancaster home last week.
Tony Donnell Brown is accused of breaking into Annie Margaret Bell's home located in the 44600 block of Stillwater Drive on June 18 and stabbing her multiple times with a knife while she was in her bed, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies went to Bell's home after they received an anonymous call that one of her windows was open, CBS Los Angeles reports. Deputies found Bell naked in her bedroom with stab wounds to her upper body at around 6:30 p.m. There were items from her purse scattered across her backyard.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors told investigators that they saw a boy hiding in bushes not too far away from the scene of the crime, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Eddie Hernandez told the L.A. Times. After questioning the teen, they arrested and booked him on suspicion of murder.
Brown was charged with one count of murder and two counts of first-degree burglary, person present. His bail is set at $1 million. If he's convicted, he could face the maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Neighbors said Bell lived alone, and sometimes used a motorized wheelchair. They described her to CBS Los Angeles as a friendly woman who baked cakes and did community service.
