The daughter of a St. Clair Township woman whose body was found last week underneath her home with two gunshots in her head has been arrested along with two men in connection with her death, Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said Sunday.

The daughter, Melissa A. Beacom, 49, of New Florence, is accused of conspiring with Robert Patrick Jack, 18, of New Florence and Matthew Bates, 18, of Ligonier, in the shooting death of Alice I. Robson, 71, who was killed in her living room last Monday, according to a statement from Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.

The fatal shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Beacom and her mother over the custody of Robson’s grandson, who needs 24-hour supervision, the district attorney said. The Westmoreland County Court in August 2019 granted custody of Beacom’s minor son and daughter to her parents, Edwin L. and Alice Robson, according to court documents.

Jack and Bates were charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Robson. Beacom was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and one count of criminal solicitation.

Bates and Jack were arraigned Saturday and Beacom was arraigned Sunday morning, all before Hempfield District Judge Mark Mansour. They were placed in the Westmoreland County jail without bail. They are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Dec. 29 before Ligonier District Judge Denise Snyder Thiel.

Robson was shot twice in the head, and blood stains were found in the living room of her Furnace Road home, just outside New Florence, Ziccarelli said in a statement. The district attorney said Beacom allegedly had asked Bates on several occasions to kill Robson.

Bates, who was the boyfriend of Beacom’s daughter, was at Robson’s residence Dec. 11 to work on a vehicle. He and Beacon had left Robson’s house, then returned later, where he met with Jack, the district attorney said. They entered the house and allegedly shot Robson, moving her body to a crawl space in an effort to conceal it.

A search by law enforcement with the Greensburg Fire Department bloodhound team Dec. 14 alerted authorities to an unfinished crawl space beneath the rear porch of Robson’s residence, where the body was found. It was concealed by a panel and covered with debris, the district attorney said.

Detectives were notified Dec. 13 about an investigation into the disappearance of Robson, who had been missing since Dec. 11. A principal at a local school district notified police about Robson’s disappearance after healthcare workers found her grandson home alone, without supervision, the district attorney’s office said. The statement did not reveal which school district notified police.

Edwin Robson, the victim’s husband, said Sunday that his wife’s death was “a shock” and declined further comment.

A New Florence resident, Terry Priest, said Alice Robson’s death “was a real surprise and a shock.”

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