Investigators spent nearly a year testing Vincent Scoggins’ account before obtaining the indictment that led to his murder conviction.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A 911 call reporting a woman dead inside a Portland apartment became the starting point for an investigation built from surveillance video, traffic cameras, phone records, interviews, DNA testing and bloodstain analysis.
Nearly four years later, that evidence had carried the case through indictment, trial and sentencing. Vincent Scoggins, 62, was sentenced July 27, 2026, to life in prison after a Multnomah County jury convicted him of second-degree murder constituting domestic violence in the death of his girlfriend, Penelope “Penny” Fegan. He must serve at least 25 years before he can be considered for parole. Jurors also convicted him of unlawful use of a weapon constituting domestic violence, resulting in a concurrent 30-month sentence.
The investigation began with Scoggins’ own account. At about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 8, 2022, he called 911 and said he had arrived home at the Beverly Grove Apartments and found Fegan dead inside their residence, according to prosecutors. First responders determined she had been dead for some time. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Fegan died from blunt-force trauma to the head and classified the death as a homicide. Evidence later presented at trial established that she had been struck repeatedly with a hammer. Scoggins denied being responsible.
Detectives were therefore faced with two immediate tasks: reconstruct what had happened to Fegan and test the story told by the person who reported finding her. Prosecutors said investigators began piecing together the days before her death through surveillance recordings and traffic-camera footage. Phone records added another source for tracing movements and communications. Detectives also interviewed Fegan’s family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers, gathering information about her activities, the relationship and the period leading up to her death.
The investigation eventually led authorities to challenge important parts of Scoggins’ account. The district attorney’s office said detectives found that he had lied about multiple significant subjects and had tried to cover up his involvement in Fegan’s death. Prosecutors did not publish a complete list of the allegedly false statements in their sentencing announcement. Those details were instead part of the evidence available to jurors, who were responsible for deciding whether the state had proved that Scoggins was the killer rather than a boyfriend who returned home and discovered the crime.
Scientific testing gave investigators another way to evaluate the scene. The Oregon State Police Crime Lab performed DNA testing and bloodstain-pattern analysis. Prosecutors later described the resulting evidence as crucial to establishing Scoggins’ guilt. The public summary issued after sentencing did not reproduce the full laboratory findings or explain every sample, comparison or expert conclusion. Even so, officials made clear that the forensic evidence was not treated in isolation. It was considered with the electronic records, witness accounts and timeline developed through the broader investigation.
The relationship between Scoggins and Fegan supplied additional context. Prosecutors said it had been marked by domestic violence and repeated conflict over Scoggins’ methamphetamine use. During earlier arguments, he had threatened to kill Fegan if she left him, according to evidence presented at trial. Detectives learned that Scoggins returned to methamphetamine use during the weekend before the killing. Prosecutors said Fegan then told him that she was ending the relationship and began actively planning to move away from their shared apartment.
That timeline allowed prosecutors to connect the prior threat with a major change in Fegan’s circumstances immediately before her death. It did not eliminate the need for physical and circumstantial evidence, and investigators continued gathering records for months. The district attorney’s description of the case indicates that the state ultimately relied on a combination of factors: what Scoggins had said before the killing, what Fegan was planning, where records placed him, what witnesses told detectives and what forensic testing showed about the apartment.
Authorities also knew about earlier allegations involving the couple. News reports citing court documents said Scoggins had been arrested after an alleged confrontation with Fegan in 2021 and faced assault, menacing and resisting-arrest accusations. The case was dismissed in 2022 and did not result in a conviction. Reports also described an arrest in early August 2022 for an alleged violation of a no-contact order involving Fegan. That case was dismissed as well. Those outcomes meant the murder investigation could not simply rely on the existence of prior accusations and instead required new evidence tied specifically to Fegan’s death.
Investigators worked for nearly a year before the homicide case produced formal charges. Deputy District Attorney Devin Franklin presented the evidence to a Multnomah County grand jury, which returned a secret indictment filed July 17, 2023. Scoggins was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, with each offense designated as constituting domestic violence. A warrant was issued following the indictment, and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Scoggins on July 19. He was arraigned the next day and entered a not-guilty plea.
That plea meant the evidence collected during the investigation would eventually have to survive scrutiny in court. Nearly three years later, jurors heard close to two weeks of testimony and exhibits. Prosecutors presented the investigative timeline, the circumstances surrounding Fegan’s decision to leave, Scoggins’ statements, the records used to trace movements and the forensic analysis. Scoggins continued to deny that he killed Fegan. On July 23, 2026, jurors found him guilty of both crimes.
The sentencing hearing followed four days later. The court imposed life imprisonment for second-degree murder with a minimum of 25 years before parole eligibility. The 30-month term for unlawful use of a weapon runs at the same time rather than extending the sentence beyond the life term. Prosecutors credited Portland homicide Detective Eric McDaniel, other Portland police personnel and the Oregon State Police Crime Lab for the work that transformed the initial death report into a case capable of being tried.
Franklin and Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero prosecuted the case. Afterward, Franklin described Fegan as a good person with a “bright and colorful personality” and said she had been loved by her family, friends and co-workers. His statement shifted the focus from the technical evidence back to the woman whose death had prompted the long investigation.
Scoggins is now serving the life sentence that followed the jury’s verdict. The case that began with his statement that he had found Fegan dead ultimately turned on investigators’ ability to test that statement against electronic records, interviews and physical evidence. Under the sentence announced by prosecutors, the next major legal threshold is parole consideration after Scoggins has served at least 25 years.
Author note: Last updated August 29, 2026.