Jury convicts two men of felony murder charges in deadly home invasion

NORRISTOWN » Moments after a jury convicted him of a felony murder charge in connection with a deadly home invasion robbery in Norristown, a Philadelphia man defiantly expressed no remorse to the victim’s family members who were in the courtroom.

“No remorse, things happen,” Henry Diaz-Ayala said as he turned to address relatives of murder victim Ralph Williams who were in the Montgomery County courtroom on Thursday.

Diaz-Ayala then turned to his co-defendant in the murder case, Justin M. Mitchell, who testified during the trial and implicated Diaz-Ayala in the crime, and called him “a rat.”

A jury of six men and six women deliberated 2½ hours before convicting Diaz-Ayala, 42, of the 200 block of East Rockland Street, Philadelphia, and Mitchell, 43, of the 700 block of East Elm Street, Norristown, of charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and robbery in connection with the Jan. 23, 2019, home invasion robbery that ended with the gunshot slaying of Williams, 66, inside his home in the 500 block of Cherry Street.

The charge of second-degree murder, a killing committed during the course of another felony such as robbery, carries a mandatory life prison term and DiazAyala asked Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy to immediately impose the punishment, which she did. Testimony revealed that at the time of the home invasion, Diaz-Ayala was on parole for a third-degree murder conviction out of Philadelphia.

“He’s a danger to the community, beyond measure,” Demchick-Alloy said as she imposed the sentence.

As he was led from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies Diaz-Ayala said, “No remorse” again as he re