MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A 27-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of her 92-year-old roommate in 2021.

Thee Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said that Julia Birch, who was 26 at the time her roommate died, called 911 to report a death at their home on Spruell Drive in Kensington on July 28, 2021.

After police and emergency workers arrived, Birch told officers that she suffocated and killed Nancy Ann Frankel.

Prosecutors said Birch staged Frankel’s body to “look more presentable, laying the victim on a pillow, folding her arms over her chest, and putting perfume on her” after trying unsuccessfully to get the body back into her bed.

Police took Birch into custody. During a subsequent interview, she admitted to trying to put a plastic bag over Frankel’s head to suffocate her and strangling her to death when Frankel poked a hole in the bag. She also admitted to calling 911 to report the death.

Officials said that a doctor evaluated Birch after the incident. The doctor diagnosed her with schizoaffective disorder and said she was experiencing psychotic symptoms at the time but said that “she still understood murder was wrong and could control her conduct to conform to law.”

Birch faces up to 40 years in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2023.