17-year-old charged with stabbing mom multiple times in South Union Twp.
A 17-year-old South Union Township boy was charged as an adult for allegedly stabbing his mother multiple times Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Joseph Pantalo of Redstone Furnace Road is on medication for unspecified mental health problems, according to court documents.
His mother, Jenney Pantalo, was found lying in a pool of blood at their residence with multiple stab wounds to both her legs and her right forearm. She was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, court documents said.
She told police her son stabbed her, and advised them about his mental health condition. She directed them to the knife, which police described as a six-inch knife with a smooth blade.
State police traveled to a neighbor’s house after hearing the teen was in their yard. Police found the boy’s aunt and a neighbor holding him on the ground. Police took him into custody.
The aunt, Sandra Pantalo, told police she was sitting on her porch when she received a call from her sister, Jenney Pantalo, saying her son stabbed her and he was walking to her house. She said he made an expletive-filled admission to the stabbing. She said she grabbed the boy and held him on the ground in her yard until police arrived, according to court paperwork.
Jenney Pantalo told police she did not know why her son became enraged and stabbed her.
He is charged with criminal attempt to commit homicide, aggravated assault and simple assault.
He was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge Wendy Dennis, who set bail at $50,000.
Pantalo is lodged in Fayette County Prison in lieu of bond. His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 16 before Dennis.