A Multnomah County judge on Monday ordered 62-year-old Vincent Scoggins to spend life in prison after a jury found he killed his girlfriend in what prosecutors described as a brutal case of domestic violence. The sentence carries a 25-year minimum before he can be considered for parole. His girlfriend, 59-year-old Penelope "Penny" Fegan, was found dead inside the Beverly Grove Apartments in Northeast Portland on Aug. 8, 2022.
On July 23, jurors convicted Scoggins of murder in the second degree constituting domestic violence and unlawful use of a weapon constituting domestic violence. For the murder count, the judge imposed a life sentence with a 25-year minimum and added a concurrent 30-month term for the weapons conviction, according to KATU. The verdict came after nearly two weeks of testimony and evidence.
Portland police say officers were called around 1:33 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2022, for a reported assault in the 1800 block of Northeast 104th Avenue. They arrived to find an adult woman who was already dead. The Medical Examiner later ruled the case a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Investigators spent months working the case before a secret grand jury returned an indictment in July 2023. The U.S. Marshals Service then arrested Scoggins, and he was arraigned, the Multnomah County DA said.
How prosecutors say they built the case
At trial, prosecutors walked jurors through what they said were Fegan’s final hours, pieced together from surveillance and traffic cameras, phone records and interviews. They told the court that forensic work then tied those movements to the crime scene. DNA testing and bloodstain-pattern analysis by the Oregon State Police Crime Lab were portrayed as key evidence, and prosecutors said the findings showed Fegan had been struck about 10 to 12 times with a hammer, according to KATU. Jurors also heard that the relationship had a history of domestic violence and that Scoggins used methamphetamine.
The case was prosecuted by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office domestic violence unit. Authorities publicly credited Portland Police Homicide detectives and victim advocates for pulling the investigation together, singling out lead detective Eric McDaniel and victim advocate Kristen Stowell among those who helped bring the case to trial, according to the Portland Police Bureau. Prosecutors argued that the timeline, forensics and witness interviews undercut Scoggins’ claim that he simply came home and found Fegan already dead. With sentencing now complete, the case shifts into the post-conviction phase that typically follows major felony convictions.
Sentence and legal notes
Under Oregon law, a conviction for murder in the second degree can carry a life sentence, and in this case the judge set parole review for after 25 years. The 30-month sentence on the unlawful use of a weapon conviction will run at the same time as the life term. Scoggins will remain in state custody while any appeals or post-conviction filings move forward.
