Teen Who Bound, Beat Chesco Woman Gets 20 To 80 Years In Prison

WEST CHESTER, PA — The Delaware County teenager who bound and beat a 72-year-old Chester County woman for days in February 2017 will spend up to 80 years in prison, authorities said.

Khemmathat Fariss, 19, of Media, was sentenced to 20 to 80 years in prison for attempted murder, burglary, and related charges, the Chester County District Attorney's Office announced.

Fariss was charged when he was 17 years old, but was tried as an adult.

The decision to try Fariss as an adult came from Chester County Judge John Hall, who argued that Fariss' background with burglaries and escaping supervised facilities makes him a danger to the public.

Fariss escaped Devereux Brandywine, a behavioral health facility, on Feb. 22, 2017, and headed to an East Brandywine Township home on the 100 block of Creek Road, police said. The resident, a 72-year-old woman, was not at home between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and that's when the suspect burglarized the home, stealing credit cards, officials said.

Later that night at around 7:30 p.m., as the woman walked back into her home, the 17-year-old attacked her from behind, the DA said. He strangled her as she fought back and said, "You'll be with Jesus soon." The woman eventually passed out.

He then covered her head with a shopping bag,and tied her arms behind her back with zip ties, duct tape, and cloth, the DA said. Then he tossed her into a storage space underneath the steps.

That was Wednesday night. She stayed there, without food and water, until she was discovered on Sunday morning, Feb. 26, when a family member checked in on her.

Authorities said the woman was rushed to Paoli Hospital, where she was treated for dehydration, malnourishment, and blunt force injuries sustained in the assault. She is going to survive, police said.

Police were able to trace the suspect because he used the victim's stolen credit cards in Maryland. Store footage shows his face as he makes the purchase. Further evidence ties a pair of boots in his possession to distinctive footprints left at the scene.

He was arrested on March 1.

Fariss had previously been ordered to attend Glen Mills School for delinquent juveniles and was placed on the Delaware County GPS system, but he fled those programs on Oct. 30. He was later found walking on Interstate 95 near the Delaware-Maryland border with drug paraphernalia and items stolen from a burglary.

After that, he was sent to Devereux Brandywine campus where he was living when the most recent incident occurred.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Max Bennett