Gruesome details have emerged about the death of 3-year-old Scott McMillan. Last week he was found unresponsive in his family’s trailer, covered in cuts, bruises and puncture wounds.
McMillian’s mother Jillian Tait, her boyfriend Gary Fellenbaum and his wife Amber Fellenbaum were arrested in connection with the death. Jillian and Gary have been charged with murdering McMillian and Amber was charged with child endangerment.
“Little Scotty McMillan is dead. Over a three day period … he was systematically tortured and beaten to death. He was punched in the face and in the stomach.
He was scourged with a homemade whip. He was lashed with a metal rod. He was tied to a chair and beaten. He was tied upside down by his feet and beaten. His head was smashed through a wall,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.
Authorities said they’d never seen a child abuse murder like this.The brutal torture and murder of Scott McMillan began when he refused to eat his breakfast.
Gary and Jillian confessed to the murder during police questioning. They beat the boy to death using a homemade whip, a curtain rod, and an aluminum strip. Scott was hit with both sharp and blunt objects, taped to a chair with electrical tape and beaten, hung up by his feet and beaten, which led to his death.
Scott’s life was a short and violent one, according to his mother. Scott and his 6-year-old brother, who is now safely in the custody of a family member, were routinely beaten with closed fists. On one occasion, Gary tied the boys up by their feet and beat them while Jillian and his wife Amber laughed as they watched.
Hogan announced that the district attorney’s office will be seeking the death penalty for Jillian and Gary.
