Chester County teen stabbed and tried to kill a woman he was ‘infatuated’ with, police say

A 15-year-old Chester County boy was arrested Thursday and charged with attempted criminal homicide after police say he repeatedly stabbed a woman he was infatuated with.

The teen was also charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, reckless endangerment, and possessing an instrument of a crime. He was charged as an adult, according to the West Goshen Police Department.

Police sought the East High School student for his role in the April 4 incident, which took place off campus and outside classroom hours.

West Goshen police responded to the 100 block of North Five Points Road around 9 p.m. that evening for reports of a woman stabbed near the parking lot of the West Goshen Town Center.

According to a criminal complaint, the suspect approached the victim, a 21-year-old woman, from behind on a walking path between the shopping center and her residence at the Goshen Manor Apartments.

Wearing a mask over his face, he stabbed her multiple times, including in her chest, left hand, arm, and mouth, according to the complaint. The attack ended when the victim kicked the suspect and he fled.

The victim’s text messages revealed that she knew her attacker, who police said was “infatuated or madly in love” with her despite a gap in age between them.

The teen’s love interest was confirmed by the victim, who told police she would not engage in a romantic relationship with him because of his age.

Several days before the attack, the victim told police, she had cut off contact with him.

After the stabbing, in a phone call with the victim that was monitored by police, the teen confessed to the crime and told her he had intended to kill her, authorities said.

Stephen Brown, principal of East High School, addressed the arrest in an email to students’ families on Thursday, saying the school was “grateful to the West Goshen Police Department who will continue to investigate and pursue any and all legal repercussions related to this incident.”

Brown said the stabbing posed no threat to East students or staff, and that counselors would be made available to support students struggling with the news.

The suspect is being held at the Chester County Youth Center. His bail is set at $275,000.