Chester County Officials: Mother, Boyfriend Beat 3-Year-Old Boy To Death
By Syma Chowdhry
WEST CALN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – With tears in his eyes and fury in his voice, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan describes the horrifying ordeal three-year-old Scotty McMillan endured by his mother and her boyfriend.
"Though the heavens may fall, justice will be done to these defendants."
Police arrested 31-year-old Jillian Tait and 23-year-old Gary Fellenbaum for savagely beating the toddler.
They are also accused of beating Scotty's brother six-year-old Ryan McMillan.
Both children are Tait's from a previous relationship.
All four moved into a trailer in West Caln Township last month, with Fellenbaum's wife and their 11-month-old daughter.
Police say both Fellenbaum and Tait abused both boys for weeks, but the violence escalated by Sunday.
DA Hogan says, "And while they were doing that they were laughing."
The couple allegedly used homemade weapons.
"They whipped Scotty. They whipped him with a curtain rod."
"You see here aluminum siding from a window. And that, of course, are the holes in the wall where heads are going through the wall."
Police say Scotty was beaten so badly Tuesday he became unresponsive, but instead of getting help Tait and Fellenbaum left him alone on this air mattress.
"They went shopping! And went out for pizza and came back and fooled around."
Fellenbaum's wife found Scotty dead and called 911.
Hogan says she knew about the beatings and never called police. She is now facing child endangerment charges.
Neighbors we spoke with say they had no idea the horrors that took place inside the trailer.
Cindy Clevenscine says, "Nothing is this park ever happened like this. It hurts everybody, it hurts me."
The DA says he plans to seek justice for Scotty.
"They killed a child under the age of 12 and torture. We will seek the death penalty in this case."
Tait and Fellenbaum are both facing first degree murder charges
Their preliminary hearing will be next week.
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