ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP, PA — A Pennsylvania woman and a co-defendant are on trial after prosecutors said they conspired with a teenager to fatally shoot the woman’s 71-year-old mother during a heated custody dispute involving her special-needs son.

Melissa Fox-Beacom, 51, and Matthew Jason Bates, 20, face homicide-related charges in the December 2023 killing of Alice Robson. Prosecutors say the pair enlisted an 18-year-old man to carry out the shooting inside Robson’s home in St. Clair Township, a suburb southeast of Pittsburgh. Authorities allege the plan stemmed from an escalating conflict over custody of Fox-Beacom’s son, who required around-the-clock care and was living with Robson.

Jurors heard that tensions between mother and daughter had built over time as Robson acted as the child’s primary caregiver. Prosecutors say Fox-Beacom repeatedly expressed hostility toward her mother and eventually asked others to help kill her. According to testimony referenced in court, Fox-Beacom allegedly told a young man involved in the case, “We need you to put a fat cow down,” referring to Robson. Defense attorneys say their clients did not commit the shooting and argue prosecutors are relying heavily on the testimony of the admitted gunman.

Authorities say the killing occurred on Dec. 11, 2023, when two young men went to Robson’s home on Furnace Lane. Investigators believe one of them shot the victim twice in the head inside the residence. Prosecutors allege Bates helped supply the firearm used in the shooting. Afterward, the men allegedly moved Robson’s body to a crawl space beneath the home’s back porch and attempted to clean the scene.

The case first drew attention when a school official contacted police two days later after caregivers discovered Fox-Beacom’s special-needs son alone at the house. Officers responding to the home found Robson missing. Detectives returned the next day with search teams and bloodhounds. Within minutes of searching the property, investigators located her body hidden beneath the porch.

Testimony during the trial has described a strained relationship between Fox-Beacom and her mother. Witnesses said Fox-Beacom often spoke angrily about Robson and blamed her for preventing her from regaining custody of her son. One witness told jurors the defendant spoke frequently about wanting her mother dead but that some people initially believed she was venting frustration rather than making a real plan.

Investigators said evidence collected inside the home showed signs of violence and attempts to clean the area. Detectives described bloodstains, footprints and other traces found in several rooms and leading toward the porch. Authorities later recovered a handgun they believe was used in the shooting after learning it had been discarded in a nearby lake.

Prosecutors say the alleged gunman is expected to testify for the state as the trial continues. Defense attorneys have argued that the man who admitted firing the shots is responsible for Robson’s death and that the state has not proven their clients orchestrated the killing.

The homicide trial, being held in Westmoreland County court, is expected to continue with additional witnesses and forensic testimony. Prosecutors say the case centers on whether Fox-Beacom and Bates played a direct role in planning the fatal shooting.

For now, Fox-Beacom and Bates remain jailed as the proceedings unfold, while jurors hear evidence about the events leading up to Robson’s death and the investigation that followed.