Mendocino County teen pleads guilty in fatal Laytonville stabbing attack on friend’s family

A troubled Laytonville teen has pleaded guilty to multiple first-degree murder and attempted murder charges in connection with a bloody rampage with a knife that killed two members of a family he was living with and left two others seriously wounded.

Talen Barton, 19, also pleaded guilty on Wednesday to imprisoning two teen girls during the July 19 attack, preventing them from initially phoning 911.

Barton, a former foster child, will be sentenced to 71 years to life in prison as a result of the plea agreement, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office. He potentially faced a death sentence had the case gone to trial.

The plea represented an about-face from an Aug. 4 court hearing in which Barton pleaded not guilty to the same set of charges. A spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office could not be reached Wednesday to elaborate on the circumstances that led to the plea deal.

Barton, who was taken in by the family he attacked, was accused of getting a foot-long knife from the kitchen of the house in the middle of the night, going into the room where his 17-year-old friend, Teo Palmieri, slept, and stabbing him to death. Palmieri’s father, Coleman Palmieri, 52, was killed when he came to his son’s defense. Teo Palmieri’s mother, Cindy Norvell, 54, a local physician, and her brother, Theodore Norvell, 52, who was visiting from Newfoundland, were critically wounded.

Cindy Norvell and her daughter reportedly have since left the area for an extended stay with family in Newfoundland.

The killings shocked the small town of Laytonville in northeastern Mendocino County, where Norvell was one of just two physicians working at the health clinic. She’s taken a yearlong leave of absence from the job, according to clinic officials.

Her son, Teo Palmieri, was described by friends and associates as a brilliant, funny and talented boy who was headed toward a bright future. His father was an electrician and builder who taught juggling to children and had started a juggling club.

Barton, described as a talented musician, smart and sweet, also was said by those who knew him best to have a dark side.

Members of his former foster family said they believed he was damaged by emotional and physical abuse he’d suffered as a child. He left the foster home after allegedly threatening and attempting to assault his foster mother, Denise Shields, she said.

After that, Teo Palmieri convinced his parents to take in his friend. They did, treating him like a son, friends said.

A motive for the killings has still not been revealed. But Mendocino County sheriff’s officials said Barton had told at least one person that he wanted to kill someone. Sheriff’s officials said he admitted to heavy marijuana use, including at the time of the killings, but did not say they considered it a factor.

His former foster mother’s daughter, Kristal Rose, said at his Aug. 4 arraignment that when she visited him in jail before the proceeding, he told her he had been feeling suicidal. Barton said he’d told several people about his feelings but they didn’t take him seriously.

Barton is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6. He will be at least 89 years old before he can be considered for parole.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.