Death penalty trial remains on hold for New Kensington man charged with toddler’s murder
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The lawyer for a New Kensington man facing a potential death sentence told a Westmoreland County judge Monday a defense-hired expert must review medical evidence before the case can proceed to trial.
Keith Dale Lilly Jr., 35, has been in jail without bond since his arrest in 2020 on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and reckless endangerment in connection with the death of Mikel Fetterman, who was weeks shy of his third birthday.
Prosecutors say Lilly caused the injuries that led to the child’s death several weeks after police found the child unresponsive in his New Kensington home. Investigators said the child suffered head injuries and other physical abuse when he was violently shaken and sexually abused.
Lilly, police said, was left alone to care for the child. The defense has suggested the child’s fatal injuries were a result of his falling or that someone other than Lilly was responsible for the alleged murder.
The boy’s mother, Theresa Fetterman, 27, of Lower Burrell was charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, child endangerment and related offenses, and, according to her lawyer, she is cooperating with authorities in Lilly’s prosecution.
Following a court hearing Monday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears ordered prosecutors to turn over autopsy pictures and medical evidence held by the county coroner and at a Pittsburgh hospital to a defense-hired pathologist.
“It’s a death penalty case, and causality is critical. You don’t have an immediate death. This child was taken to the emergency room and was a hospital patient for about a month before he died. This is a key issue in the case,” defense attorney Tim Dawson said.
A private pathologist in Missouri was hired by the defense to review medical evidence in preparation for Lilly’s trial, a case that has languished in the court system for nearly five years.
Lilly’s trial is scheduled to begin in May, but the lawyers and judge will meet this spring to determine when the case can proceed.