Westmoreland County Prosecutors To Seek Death Penalty For Man Accused Of Beating Boy To Death
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) - Westmoreland County prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man charged with beating a boy to death.
The Westmoreland County district attorney said Keith Lilly Jr. qualifies for the death penalty because of the aggravating circumstances and the severity of the case.
Lilly is charged in the murder of 3-year-old Mikel Fetterman.
Police say Fetterman was found unresponsive on March 26 inside a home on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington. He was taken to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was on life support until his death.
Investigators say Keith Lilly Jr. attacked the child, leaving him with a fractured skull, a brain bleed, significant bruising, bodily injuries to the eyes and mouth, other fractures in the process of healing and indications of past sexual abuse.
Police say an autopsy revealed the baby's cause of the death was blunt force trauma to the head.
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Police arrested Lilly on charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. He was later charged with criminal homicide and deviate sexual intercourse with a child with serious bodily harm after Fetterman died in April.
His mother, Teresa Fetterman, has also been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault and drug-related charges.