Authorities in Montgomery County, Maryland, said 26-year-old Julia Birch admitted to killing her 92-year-old “roommate,” renowned sculptor Nancy Ann Frankel when she first called 911. Police didn’t provide any details about the murder or a motive for the killing but confirm that Birch’s statements to investigators “matched up with the evidence they found” at the scene.
Sculptor mysteriously snuffed
As related by as Shiera Goff, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Department of Police, Julia Birch “had been living with Frankel in her Kensington home for the past seven months.” She wasn’t just some urchin off the street, Birch was “an acquaintance of the victim’s family members.”
She moved in with the sculptor “in what the victim’s family considered a mutually beneficial living situation.” The victim’s son-in-law is shocked. “Even in our wildest imagination, no one would have ever ever ever thought this could possibly happen. We watched her grow up.”
Neighbors loved the sculptor but didn’t like the little witch one bit, calling her detached and unfriendly.
Julia Yost told the press “I only saw that girl maybe three times, but when I saw her, she seemed, like, disconnected. Here, everybody says, ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye,’ but I said, ‘Hi,’ and she just looked at me and kept going.”
Ms. Yost teared up when recalling the “daily conversations” she had with Ms. Frankel during occasional afternoon walks. The victim is described as “a gentle soul who taught art classes and was a talented sculptor.”
“She has been in the neighborhood for at least 50 years, maybe the original owner of the house, and has two kids, a girl and a boy,” neighbor Melanie Shintaku adds. “Just a very kind, very talented woman.”
I killed her
As soon as police showed up at the door of the deceased sculptor around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday morning, Julia Birch confirmed what she told the 911 operator, “I killed her.” The officers soon located Nancy Ann Frankel in the home “and notified the Homicide Section of a possible murder.”
Although there is no clear motive there isn’t any speculation of a “mercy killing.” If, say, the victim had a terminal illness and begged for relief, the police wouldn’t charge murder one.
Investigators verify that evidence “recovered in the home supported Birch’s statement.” She cooperated fully and was taken into custody.
After they took her to Montgomery County Police Headquarters for an interview, she apparently spilled her guts. Police aren’t saying a word but a few unconfirmed details have leaked about how the sculptor met her demise.
Police have already confirmed the roommate relationship with the sculptor and have told the local press that during her interview, “Birch admitted to killing Frankel, and then calling 911 to report the death.”
What they didn’t say but managed to crawl out of police HQ through the cracks is that “Birch suffocated Frankel while she was in bed.” She’s being held without bond.