Penelope “Penny” Fegan was actively preparing to move before her 2022 killing, evidence later presented against Vincent Scoggins showed.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Penelope “Penny” Fegan had decided to end her relationship with Vincent Scoggins and was making plans to move when she was killed inside the Portland apartment they shared, according to evidence presented at his murder trial.
Fegan’s preparations became one of the central facts in a case that ended four years later with Scoggins, 62, sentenced to life in prison. A Multnomah County jury convicted him July 23, 2026, of second-degree murder constituting domestic violence and unlawful use of a weapon constituting domestic violence. He was sentenced four days later and must serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for parole consideration. Prosecutors said the significance of Fegan’s decision to leave was heightened by threats Scoggins had made during earlier arguments about what would happen if she ended the relationship.
After the verdict, Deputy District Attorney Devin Franklin described Fegan as a good person with a “bright and colorful personality” who had been loved by her family, friends and co-workers. He said the loss continued to affect those who knew her. The comments offered a personal description of a woman whose name had otherwise appeared in public records largely because of her death, the investigation and the criminal prosecution that followed.
Prosecutors said Fegan and Scoggins had a relationship marked by domestic violence and recurring conflict over his methamphetamine use. Evidence at trial showed that Scoggins had threatened Fegan during previous arguments and had told her he would kill her if she left him. Detectives learned that he returned to methamphetamine use during the weekend before her death, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Fegan then told him that she was leaving and began actively arranging to move from their shared residence.
The existence of a prior threat did not by itself establish who killed Fegan, and prosecutors built the case with additional evidence. Still, her decision to leave gave the threat a new relevance in the chronology presented to jurors. Investigators examined what happened after that decision, where Scoggins had been and whether his later statements matched video, phone records and other information. That approach allowed the state to present Fegan’s plans as one component of a larger case rather than as a stand-alone theory about motive or responsibility.
There had been earlier allegations of violence in the relationship. News reports citing court documents said Fegan told police in 2021 that Scoggins returned to their apartment intoxicated and angry and threw household objects during a confrontation. She also accused him of threatening her. Police documented bruising on her arms, according to those reports. Scoggins was arrested and faced assault, menacing and resisting-arrest accusations, but the prosecution was later dismissed. The allegations therefore did not result in findings of guilt and remained legally separate from the murder case.
Reports also described another arrest involving Scoggins shortly before Fegan was killed. In early August 2022, he was accused of violating a no-contact order involving her. That case was also dismissed. The public accounts do not fully explain why either earlier case failed to proceed. Their existence showed prior law-enforcement contact involving the relationship but did not resolve what happened to Fegan days later. Detectives investigating her death still had to build an independent evidentiary record capable of supporting a homicide charge.
Fegan was found dead Aug. 8, 2022, after Scoggins called 911 at approximately 1:30 a.m. He told authorities he had arrived home at the Beverly Grove Apartments and discovered her inside the residence. First responders determined that she had been dead for some time. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that Fegan died from blunt-force trauma to the head and classified the death as a homicide. Evidence presented at trial established that she had been struck repeatedly with a hammer. Scoggins denied killing her.
Detectives spent months examining his claim that he had simply returned home and found Fegan dead. Prosecutors said investigators used video surveillance, traffic-camera recordings and phone records to reconstruct Scoggins’ movements and Fegan’s last days. They interviewed people in several parts of Fegan’s life, including relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. The district attorney’s office said the information showed that Scoggins had lied about multiple significant issues and had tried to conceal his involvement in the killing.
Scientific testing added another layer to the investigation. The Oregon State Police Crime Lab conducted DNA testing and bloodstain-pattern analysis connected to the residence. Prosecutors said the testing generated evidence that became crucial to establishing Scoggins’ guilt. Officials did not publish the complete laboratory record in their sentencing announcement, so the technical details of every finding are not available in that summary. Jurors nevertheless heard the forensic evidence as part of the wider case assembled by detectives and prosecutors.
The investigation continued for nearly a year before authorities obtained an indictment. In July 2023, Franklin presented the case to a Multnomah County grand jury. The grand jury returned a secret indictment charging Scoggins with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, both constituting domestic violence. The indictment was filed July 17, and a warrant followed. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Scoggins July 19. He appeared in court the next day, pleaded not guilty and remained legally presumed innocent while the case moved toward trial.
The trial came three years later and lasted nearly two weeks. The prosecution presented jurors with evidence about the relationship and Fegan’s plans to leave, but also with the investigative work conducted after her death. The records tracing Scoggins’ movements, information from witnesses and forensic findings allowed jurors to consider whether his claim of discovering Fegan dead was consistent with the rest of the evidence. Scoggins continued to deny responsibility, making the jury’s assessment of the competing accounts central to the outcome.
Jurors returned guilty verdicts July 23 on both counts. The court then imposed life imprisonment for second-degree murder with a minimum 25-year term before parole consideration. The unlawful-use-of-a-weapon conviction resulted in a separate 30-month sentence, but it runs concurrently with the life term. Franklin and Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero prosecuted the case. Authorities also credited Portland homicide Detective Eric McDaniel and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for their roles in developing the evidence.
The verdict gave legal finality to the central allegation that had remained unresolved from the time of the 2023 indictment: whether Scoggins was criminally responsible for Fegan’s death. The earlier cases involving the couple had ended without convictions, but the murder charge was tested before jurors and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The distinction separates the prior accusations from the conduct for which Scoggins is now imprisoned.
The case now ends, at the trial-court level, where it began in personal terms: with Fegan and the life she was attempting to change. Prosecutors said she had decided to leave and had begun preparing to move when she was killed. Scoggins is serving the resulting life sentence and cannot be considered for parole until he has completed the 25-year minimum required by the judgment.
Author note: Last updated August 29, 2026.