Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Police dept. receives DA’s Commendation
Police were awarded for the investigation, arrest and conviction of two people for the murder of three-yearold Scotty McMillian
West Caln Police Department received the Chester County District Attorney’s Commendation on Wednesday.
WEST CALN » Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan thought 2014 could be a year without any homicides, but then something out of a “horror show” happened.
West Caln Police Department received the Chester County District Attorney’s Commendation on Wednesday night for the investigation, arrest and conviction of Jillian Tait and Gary Fellenbaum for the murder of Scotty McMillian on Nov. 4, 2014. Scotty, a three-yearold, was beaten to death by his mom and her boyfriend. Hogan deliberately did not say the names of the killers or any details about what happened.
“It was a horror show,” Hogan said about the mom and boyfriend explaining how they abused Scotty overtime, and tortured Scotty over the course of three days. “It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”
The couple was arrested shortly after the murder. They pleaded guilty by September 2017 and will spend the rest of their lives in jail. Hogan described it as a “disturbing case” and said that some of the investigators received counseling.
The last time First Assistant District Attorney Michael Noone was in West Caln Township, he was at the murder scene, a trailer park on Hope Lane.
“When truly evil people touch your community, touch your life, touch the things that you hold dear, you need strong men and women to answer the call; brave men and women who are willing to risk their lives to protect innocent people,” Noone said. “And you don’t get more inno-
cent than a three-year-old little boy or his six-year-old brother.”
First-responders were called to the residence on Nov. 4, 2014 for a report of an unresponsive child. Noone said when the police and first-responders went to the home, they were able to save Scotty’s older brother, who was later adopted, but unfortunately it was too late to save Scotty. He commended the first-responders and prosecutors for their efforts to bring justice to Scotty.
“Over the course of the next three years, we were all able to work together,” Noone said, “because law enforcement is the ultimate team-effort, to make sure that justice was served for Scotty and for his brother.”
Noone noted that the older brother has been able to start living a normal life with a loving family and he did not have to relive what happened in court.
West Caln Police Chief Curt Martinez thanked the DA’s office and Chester County Detectives for their help, as well as officers from Coatesville, West Sadsbury and Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department (WEGO), for attending the award ceremony and supporting them.
Visit Daily Local News staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar’s blog about journalism and volunteering as a firefighter at FirefighterGinger.blogspot.com.