Woman sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and murder of Indiana County teenager

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

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

At a hearing on Wednesday, the Indiana County district attorney said Edwards received 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 of 2022. 

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

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

The Indiana County district attorney explained that a guilty but mentally ill plea doesn't change the grading of an offense nor the sentencing guidelines, but it means the defendant will be provided psychiatric or psychological treatment by the Department of Corrections. 

The seven other co-defendants' cases are still active at this time, the Indiana County district attorney said.