Woman who 'fantasized about committing a murder' sentenced for fatally stabbing elderly neighbor

NEW YORK (TCD) -- A 29-year-old woman will spend 20 years to life in state prison for stabbing her elderly neighbor to death in her apartment in 2018.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. announced the sentencing against Anya Johnston this week. A jury found Johnston guilty in March of the second-degree murder of 70-year-old Susan Trott.

According to prosecutors, Johnston and Trott resided in the same building in the Upper West Side, and they were "acquainted as neighbors." Johnston allegedly struggled with mental health issues and "fantasized about committing a murder."

According to the district attorney's office, on the afternoon of Oct. 17, 2018, Johnston went to run some errands and closed her bank account. Upon her return, prosecutors said Johnston went to Trott's apartment, pulled out an M48 Cyclone knife from her backpack, and proceeded to stab the victim in her lower back and neck. After killing her, the district attorney's office said Johnston went back to her home and hid the backpack in a stairwell.

Police conducted a welfare check on Trott on Oct. 21, 2018, after her business partner was unable to reach her. Officers responded and found Trott's body.

According to the district attorney's office, officials performed a search and found evidence in Johnston's home, including some clothes and shoes the defendant wore on the day Trott was killed. Investigators discovered Trott's blood on the clothes, and officials initially arrested Johnston on Oct. 31, 2018.

In a statement, Bragg said, "Anya Johnston callously took the life of her neighbor Susan Trott, a lifelong New Yorker with a kind-hearted, generous spirit."

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