According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable John Maloney sentenced defendant, Julia Birch, 28, of Kensington, to 40 years in prison suspend all but 23 years to serve and five years of supervised probation upon release. She must also complete 240 hours of community service upon probation. Judge Maloney recommended the defendant be admitted to the Patuxent Eligible Persons Program while incarcerated.
On March 20th, 2023, Birch pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for taking the life of her family friend, the woman whom she was living with, 92-year-old Nancy Ann Frankel. Assistant State’s Attorneys Dermot Garrett and Frank Lazzaro prosecuted this case. The State recommended 40 years of incarceration which is the maximum penalty under the law for second-degree murder. Nancy Frankel’s adult children offer the following quote:
“We are still coming to terms with our mothers tragic death and prefer to maintain our privacy at this moment. Thank you for your understanding. We have no further comments at this time.”
This stems from an incident on July 28, 2021. Montgomery County Police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue personnel responded to a residence on Spruell Drive in Kensington, Maryland for a death investigation. Upon their arrival, the complainant, 26-year-old Julia Birch, told officers that she had suffocated and killed her 92-year-old roommate, identified as Nancy Ann Frankel, who was found deceased in her bedroom. Birch had staged the body to look more presentable, laying the victim on a pillow, folding her arms over her chest, and putting perfume on her. This was after initially unsuccessfully trying to get the body back into her bed. Birch was taken into custody and transported to Montgomery County Police Headquarters to be interviewed. She admitted to killing Nancy Ann Frankel by trying to place a plastic bag over Frankel’s head to suffocate her, and when the victim poked a hole in the bag, Birch took her to the ground and strangled her to death. Physical evidence and autopsy confirmed the method of death. Birch admitted to then calling 911 to report the death.
Birch was evaluated by a State doctor who found that she was experiencing psychotic symptoms at the time of the murder and diagnosed her with schizoaffective disorder, but found she still understood murder was wrong and could control her conduct to conform to law.”
Photo of Nancy Ann Frankel courtesy of Ulf Wallin Photography.