Nancy Ann Frankel was an artist. Credit: Ulf Wallin Photography.
A Kensington woman has pleaded guilty to killing her 92-year-old roommate in 2021, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office (MCSAO).
Julia Birch, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Nancy Ann Frankel on Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court, per MCSAO.
Frankel was a sculptor. Birch faces up to 40 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced June 29.
According to police at the time, on the morning of July 28, 2021, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) officers and fire/rescue personnel responded to a home on Spruell Drive in Kensington for a death investigation.
Birch, who was 26 at the time, told officers she suffocated and killed Frankel, who was found dead in her bedroom, per MCSAO. Birch staged Frankel’s body to “look more presentable,” and put perfume on her after initially trying to put Frankel’s body into her bed.
Julia Birch pleaded guilty Monday. Credit: Montgomery County Police.
Birch admitted to killing Frankel by trying to put a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her, according to MCSAO, and then strangling her to death on the ground after Frankel poked a hole in the bag.
Evidence and autopsy confirmed the manner of death. In 2021, police said that Birch admitted to killing Frankel and calling 911 to report her death. Police said the cause of death was asphyxiation.
According to MCSAO, a state doctor diagnosed Birch with schizoaffective disorder, finding she was having psychotic symptoms at the time of the murder. The doctor also found Birch “still understood murder was wrong and could control her conduct to conform to law,” per MCSAO.
