Allentown man pleads guilty in dad’s beating death

Victim ‘went to sleep, and he never woke up’

After a day of drinking together, Devon Scholl and his father argued over broken taillights in the family car. Scholl, 29, of Allentown, punched 52-year-old Todd Scholl in the head several times during the fight, before they angrily went their separate ways.

Todd Scholl visited a family member’s house after the April 12 altercation with his son, and told others that he had a headache and needed to rest.

“He lied down and went to sleep, and he never woke up,” said Lehigh County First Assistant District Attorney Steve Luksa.

Devon Scholl now faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter. He’ll be sentenced next month, following a presentence investigation.

The fight began in a parked car in front of the Scholls’ North

Eighth Street home around 8 p.m. Two other people were in the vehicle, and a witness later told police that Devon Scholl became angry when his father refused to drive him to Souderton because the car had a broken brake light.

The witness saw Devon Scholl punch his father about six times in the body and another four times in the head, court records say.

Video from a nearby surveillance camera captured the assault. The footage showed Todd Scholl in the driver seat of a vehicle. Devon Scholl got out of the front passenger seat and approached his father, the video showed, hitting him in the head before walking away.

Todd Scholl then got out of the vehicle and Devon Scholl charged at him, hitting him in the head several times and knocking him back into the car. The video captured Devon Scholl assaulting his father, on and off, for another six minutes, court records say.

Family members later found Todd Scholl vomiting blood while sleeping. He was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar

Crest, where he was pronounced dead early Aug. 13. An autopsy determined that he died from blunt force head trauma, which caused bleeding on his brain.

In a Zoom court hearing Wednesday, Devon Scholl told Lehigh County Judge Douglas G. Reichley that he’s being treated for several mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. He said his father suffered from alcoholism and other ailments that frequently caused him to get nosebleeds.

Scholl’s attorney, Kathryn Smith, said more information about Scholl’s mental health will be presented at sentencing.

The judge asked Scholl why he and his father were intoxicated on the day of the assault.

“Me and my father, that’s how we bonded. Over alcohol,” Scholl replied.

Scholl remains free on $10,000 bail while awaiting sentencing.