Defense wants homicide charge dismissed against New Kensington man accused of fatally beating child

Attorneys representing a New Kensington man facing the death penalty on charges of fatally beating a child claim there isn’t enough evidence to support a homicide charge against him, and they are seeking help from a medical expert.

They also want to have separate trials on the homicide charges and drug counts filed in the same case against Keith Dale Lilly Jr., 33.

The drug charges stem from items police said they found in Lilly’s home at Valley Royal Court and are not directly connected to the April 24, 2020, death of 2-year-old Mikel Fetterman, according to pretrial motions filed this week.

“Other cases allow drug charges in homicide cases where their admission is related to the motive to commit the homicide,” attorneys Valerie Veltri and Tim Dawson wrote in the motion. “This is not the case here.”

According to court records, police responded to a call March 26, 2020, of a child in cardiac arrest at Lilly’s home. They found him attempting to resuscitate the unresponsive toddler as the boy’s mother, Lilly’s live-in girlfriend, wept nearby.

Police said Lilly claimed the boy fell off a couch.

The child later died at a Pittsburgh hospital.

Lilly denies involvement in the child’s death. His defense attorneys have suggested the boy was in the custody of other people leading up to the incident.

His attorneys filed pretrial motions this week seeking a review of the evidence from a preliminary hearing held July 9, 2020.

They also want to hire a forensic pathology specialist to be paid $5,000 in public funds to review medical, hospital and other records. Attorneys said the expert they seek to hire is qualified in radiology and child forensic pathology.

Judge Scott Mears previously approved the hiring of other experts with public funds, but attorneys in the pretrial motions indicated those experts have conflicts.

Lilly appeared in court Friday, and attorneys agreed to reschedule his trial. A trial readiness conference is set for May 9.

“Obviously, it’s a capital case,” Dawson said. “We have a long way to go.”

The child’s mother, Teresa Lynn Fetterman, 25, of Aliquippa, is awaiting trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and other offenses in connection with her son’s death.

Prosecutors said Fetterman left her child alone with Lilly and the boy had been beaten on previous occasions. On the night the boy received his fatal injuries, Fetterman was in the home and asleep in another room, according to prosecutors.