Judge: New Florence woman competent to stand trial in mother's killing

A New Florence woman charged along with two men in connection with her mother’s homicide last year is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled.

Police say Melissa Fox-Beacom, 50, enlisted two 18-year-old men, including her daughter’s boyfriend, to kill her mother on Dec. 11. According to police, 71-year-old Alice Robson was shot in the head twoce and left buried under the porch at her New Florence home.

A county judge in January ordered that Fox-Beacom undergo a mental health evaluation. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio on Friday ruled Fox-Beacom was competent to stand trial.

According to court records, Robson was killed in the living room of her Furnace Road home following what police described as an ongoing dispute between Fox-Beacom and her mother over the custody of Robson’s grandson, who needs 24-hour supervision. Robson and her husband were granted custody of the boy in August 2019, according to court records. Prosecutors said Beacom asked Matthew Bates of Ligonier Township — her daughter’s boyfriend — and Robert Jack to kill Robson.

Police said both Bates and Jack accused each other of firing the shots that killed Robson, who investigators said was slain in a chair next to where her grandson was lying.

Both men said Fox-Beacom took custody of the suspected murder weapon as the men re-entered to the home to clean up after the shooting, police said.

Jack told police he threw the gun in Donegal Lake after keeping it in a trash bag in his vehicle for several days, according to court records.

Fox-Beacom, Jack and Bates are charged with criminal homicide, first-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses. They are being held in jail without bond.

The judge on Friday rejected Fox-Beacom’s request for bail.