An Aliquippa woman, identified as Valerie McDermott, faces charges after allegedly threatening to kill her disabled 8-year-old son during a live stream on Facebook, according to police. WPXI reported that multiple calls were received yesterday afternoon alerting authorities to the disturbing video, leading them to review the footage and assess McDermott's threats as "multiple very specific threats."
After a response to the scene, police confronted McDermott at her home on McMinn Street, where her arrest was made. McDermott was then remanded to Beaver County Jail—police were forced to take action upon her refusal to grant entry into the residence, and the interior of the home was also described as having deplorable conditions. A subsequent search revealed the conditions as such. WTAE notes that the 8-year-old child is now cared for by his grandmother, and Children and Youth Services was notified about the incident.
The charges McDermott is facing include felony endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanor terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another. There's a preliminary hearing scheduled at the end of the month for McDermott as the process of legal accountability begins to unfold.
