"Penn. couple charged in death of boy hung by feet, beaten" Associated Press November 07, 2014
NEW YORK — A Pennsylvania couple went car shopping, bought pizza, and engaged in sexual activity as the woman’s unresponsive 3-year-old son lay dying after weeks of escalating abuse that ended in three days of systematic torture, officials said Thursday.
Jillian Tait, 31, and Gary Lee Fellenbaum, 23, were charged Thursday with murder in the death of Tait’s son, Scott McMillan, and aggravated assault in the beating of his older brother. They are accused of laughing as Scott was hung upside down and whipped, striking him repeatedly with a frying pan, and eventually beating him to death.
Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan called the case ‘‘an American horror story.’’ Noting that investigators found no evidence that drugs or alcohol use, he said: ‘‘This is just evilness.’’
The couple last month moved in together, along with Fellenbaum’s estranged wife and three children — Tait’s 6- and 3-year-old sons and the Fellenbaums’ 11-month-old daughter. The six lived outside Coatesville, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
The prosecutor said what started as spankings became ‘‘concentrated, repeated, escalating abuse.’’ Then, ‘‘over three days he was systematically tortured and beaten to death,’’ Hogan said.
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Speaking of torture:
"Penn. guards fired, charged with cuffing inmate to shower" Associated Press November 21, 2014
PITTSBURGH — Two Pennsylvania county jail guards have been fired and charged with handcuffing an inmate to a shower stall for more than 30 minutes as they threw boxes, toilet paper rolls, and rubber gloves filled with water at him.
Criminal complaints against Michael Antonio, 40, and Stephen Richard Smith, 49, indicate eight inmates and four other jail staff saw the inmate handcuffed to the shower on Oct. 19. The jail’s security cameras also captured part of the encounter.
‘‘This type of behavior for the jail guards is not something that will be tolerated,’’ Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa told the New Castle News. ‘‘We have a responsibility to treat [inmates] humanely and with dignity.”
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