Chesco man held in mother's death

Relatives realized that a West Chester-area man's erratic behavior required close monitoring, but they were unable to prevent tragedy, police said yesterday.

Early Monday, Sean M. Scott, 39, allegedly suffocated his mother, police said.

West Chester police responded at 7:42 a.m. to the East Bradford Township residence on Amber Lane that Scott shared with his mother, Dolores, and his brother, Brendan, the criminal complaint said. Officers found the body of Dolores Scott in bed next to several pillows.

Sean Scott was charged with criminal homicide and related offenses. Dolores Scott was 65.

Brendan Scott told police that he had been entrusted with watching his brother, whose bipolar condition had worsened recently. He said his brother was agitated and kept trying to leave the house, saying, "I have to get out of here," the complaint said.

Brendan Scott said that after he struggled for several hours to get his brother to go to sleep, at one point rubbing his back for an hour, Sean Scott dozed off about 5:30 a.m. An hour later, Brendan Scott said, his brother tried again to leave the house, according to the complaint.

When Brendan Scott tried to get his brother to go with him to check on their mother, he "put his head in his hands and would not move," the complaint said. Brendan told police he then found his mother in bed with a pillow over her face.

West Chester Police Sgt. Louis DeShullo described Sean Scott as "upset but cooperative" during an interview in which he acknowledged that he "hurt his mother."

He also said that "he went upstairs and kissed his mother good night and that she was sleeping peacefully," the complaint said.

It was not clear, DeShullo said, whether the kiss occurred before or after Dolores Scott was killed.

Last week, Sean Scott was arrested after he threw a cinder block through the window of an occupied West Goshen Township patrol car, DeShullo said.

"It's a very sad case," he added.

A preliminary hearing for Sean Scott is scheduled April 6.