After Westmoreland County Judge Meghan Bilik-DeFazio rejected Melissa Fox-Beacom’s request to set aside her conviction in the shooting death of her mother, the 52-year-old New Florence woman on Thursday filed an appeal with State Superior Court. Her co-defendant, 20-year-old Matthew Bates, filed his appeal on Wednesday.
Fox-Beacom claims the evidence presented against her at her February trial did not support a guilty verdict in the December 2023 murder of Alice Robson, but Judge Bilik-DeFazio wrote in her opinion last week that her “words and actions unequivocally demonstrated that she intended for the victim’s murder to occur…” and Fox-Beacom’s absence when the shooting occurred “does not shield her from liability for (the) murder.”
A third defendant, 20-year-old Robert Jack, testified against Fox-Beacom and Bates. Jack has admitted pulling the trigger. He’s scheduled for a hearing before Bilik-Defazio next month to determine whether or not he is capable of pleading guilty but mentally ill.
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