An Albury magistrate has cited "elder abuse" in dealing with a young woman who threatened to kill her foster grandmother while armed with a retractable utility knife.
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The incident unfolded at the victim's North Albury home on Monday afternoon and led to her having to flee in fear for her life.
"This is really serious. Any (matter) of elder abuse is very, very serious," magistrate Richard Funston told Tayla Denae Walton, who appeared cheerful in court as she pleaded guilty.
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She had earlier thanked Mr Funston from the public gallery of the court when he allowed her case to take precedence because she and her partner had brought along their young child.
Mr Funston said it appeared that Walton, 25, who had not long moved from Melbourne, did not appreciate the gravity of her predicament.
"It's a lot more serious than you think you are seeing at the moment," Mr Funston said in adjourning sentencing to April 14 on ordering a sentencing assessment report.
Police told the court that Walton and her partner, with their 18-month-old son, had not long moved into the victim's rented unit in Tamarind Street.
They said Walton was the victim's granddaughter and had looked after her since birth.
The victim, police said, had returned to her home on Monday just before 3pm.
At the time, Walton and her partner were in their bedroom with the door closed.
The victim went to the clothes line and removed a sheet that was used on the bed used by the couple.
She walked into the bedroom and put the sheet on the bed, which prompted Walton to tell her: "I'm going to wrap your body in (this) sheet."
The woman then asked Walton about her missing cat. Walton, holding the knife, approached the victim and warned: "I'm going to kill you."
The victim ran from the unit and contacted police.
As a result of the incident, "the victim is fearful for her safety and felt that at the time of being threatened with the knife she was going to be stabbed".