What About Scotty?

[00:00:02] You have no doubt noticed that Scotty has sort of disappeared from our narrative. [00:00:10] Yeah, you know, the adults in the room have taken over. Not that he's been forgotten. In fact, he's still at the center of things, but in that odd, he's just a child sort of way. [00:00:24] And with that said, I. I will add this. At this point in our story, Scotty is a mess. [00:00:33] One of the people who talked to him, examined him, is a guy named Dr. Barry Mendelson. He's a psychiatrist, and he'd examined Scotty previously during the divorce. [00:00:50] Now fast forward post his mother's death. [00:00:54] Here's what he says. A major source of anxiety for Scotty is in relation to the loss of his mother. He has a strong sense of loss and a magical expectation that his mother will return. [00:01:10] He has a desire to join his mother. [00:01:17] Mendelssohn continued. [00:01:19] He played in the playroom that we had set up with a castle and he knocked everything down. He said things are bombed and on fire. [00:01:31] Let me repeat that. Things are bombed and on fire. [00:01:36] Mendelssohn says a child of this age describes causation to himself. Scotty listens for his name on TV and feels a great sense of responsibility. [00:01:47] The. The absence of his father is seen as something I did speaking of himself. [00:01:54] Children of this age mirror what is going on around them. [00:02:00] Scotty is a confused child. [00:02:14] Mendelson felt compelled to add some qualifiers, as in statements by Scotty not always a reflection of the way Scotty feels. He's open to what people say to him. He's searching for stability. [00:02:27] There are discrepancies in terms of his behavior. [00:02:32] And then the one I love. We're into the area of what people do to confuse small children. These things he's saying are feelings of Neil McKay. Neil McKay is egocentric. He has clear ideas about people. [00:02:50] And then there was this said because Dr. Mendelson had seen Scotty before, had seen him during the divorce, before the murder. [00:02:59] He hasn't always been this way. I first met him in 1974. His health was good initially. [00:03:06] His health was good before his mother's death. [00:03:15] Let's put that statement in the context. We're going back to Mendelssohn about Scotty. [00:03:22] He has a strong sense of loss and a magical expectation that his mother will return. [00:03:29] He has a desire to join his mother. [00:04:07] So the elephant is in the room. [00:04:12] Let's talk about the death thing. [00:04:15] Okay. [00:04:17] And a reminder here. At the time of his mother's death, Scotty, only three and a half years old. [00:04:24] He could Barely speak for himself. And even if he did, what would it mean? And we have to ask that question because if for no other reason, it comes in as a formal ask by Neil McKay. Does Scotty know that his mother is dead? [00:04:45] And we do know this, that Scotty's maternal aunt, Marianne File, had in fact told him of his mother's death, told him only days after it occurred. [00:04:56] And we know Scotty heard his aunt say this. He repeated it back as an acknowledgment. [00:05:03] But does that mean he knew she was dead? Knew as in understood what death is, what it means? [00:05:11] Probably not. [00:05:13] As it turns out, our understanding of death, and I put quotes around that word changes as we age. [00:05:21] And there's multiple studies that look at that, and here's the money quote from one of them. [00:05:28] The findings we have reviewed here suggest several ways in which younger children's understanding of death differs from that of older children and adults. [00:05:40] Under at least some circumstances, young children think death is reversible. [00:05:46] They attribute various life defining functions to dead things. And then they think that certain individuals, often including themselves, will not die. [00:05:58] The good news, if that's what you'd call it, is that we have additional real world testimony about the state of Scotty's inner world. [00:06:08] For example, we have the testimony of his paternal aunt, Carolina Willis, who at several points had temporary custody of Scotty. [00:06:18] Custody while the adults in the room tried to decide what to do with him. [00:06:23] Note too, that Carolina Willis, McKay's sister, was chosen for temporary custody because a judge felt it necessary to find a third party to take Scotty while custody arrangements were being argued. And yes, you can take that argue statement literally. [00:06:44] And this is her speaking in Court on May 25, 1977. [00:06:52] She and her husband have moved out of Anchorage. And actually they were forced out by Neil McKay. [00:06:58] That's another story. But it was bitter. [00:07:01] And they're managing an apartment building in Eagle river just north of of Anchorage. [00:07:09] And here's what she said. When he went to Eagle river, do you realize how much that child screamed? I told one of the tenants, the contractor, I said, if I were on the other side of that wall listening to that child scream, I would report you or report myself or the individual on the other side of the wall for child abuse. [00:07:30] And then there is this again from Carolina Willis. [00:07:36] We went to a cafe in Eagle river that first Saturday night after we moved his room in its entirety. He got on the floor like a little animal and screamed, don't touch me. Don't come near me. [00:07:49] And he just Laid there and screamed on the floor. And that is, there's witnesses to that fact. [00:07:54] My husband picked him up by his coat and carried him out. And I was sitting there crying, telling them we never laid a hand on this child. [00:08:03] And I had to tell them who he was. That's another thing. I can only use the services of Mrs. File. This child's picture is in the paper. The night the paper came out, we had four phone calls. I take the phone off the hook in court, she had to add that scene in the restaurant by Scotty. [00:08:24] I do not suggest his father beats him. [00:08:58] Doctor Dean Ralph Ackley, another psychiatrist, confirmed much of what Carolina said. [00:09:10] He said Mrs. Willis described seriously disturbed behavior on Scotty's part. [00:09:18] He was unable to sleep without someone there. He was terrified if he was left alone. [00:09:23] Scotty said, I want to be with my daddy. [00:09:27] He asked a lot about his mother. [00:09:31] Dr. Mendelson confirmed that he had night terrors. [00:09:38] Now, Carolina was not the only one to have temporary custody of Scotty while things were worked out in court. The first one, in fact, was a guy named Robert C. Irwin. [00:09:51] He happened to be Chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. [00:09:58] And one of the reasons, and there's several reasons he was chosen was first of all, he lived right across the street from Scotty's daycare. And so this would be consistent with keeping the routine. [00:10:14] Daycare, go to kindergarten, daycare, go to kindergarten, come back and you know, chief justice lived right across the street. [00:10:23] The other one of course, is this notion that they had to get a neutral third party. This, they being the judge and Scotty's lawyer. He had his own lawyer at this point. We'll get into that more detail in a little bit. But you know, he was three and a half. He kind of needed a lawyer and so he had a lawyer. And of course Bob File agreed. [00:10:53] So here's, here's what Irwin had to say about Scotty and his dad. [00:11:04] Scott got sick only two weeks after coming to their house and they called his dad, told him he was free to come and visit in their home. But McKay couldn't trust himself, according to Irwin. [00:11:25] And then when McKay did come over, he always came with Alfred, his brother in law or his nephew. He was dressed in cowboy clothes and he had difficulty getting up the driveway and onto the porch. He would support himself by holding onto the fence. [00:11:47] In the wintertime they, the Irwins were trying to have Scotty ready to go when he arrived. [00:11:57] And several times McKay asked the child to wear the coat he brought him. [00:12:08] Irwin was questioned on Cross exam. He said McKay had difficulty walking even when there was no ice. [00:12:19] And then he remembered the phone call from Neil McKay. The time when McKay berated him, called him names, said his conduct was questionable, accused him of trying to steal his child. [00:12:34] Everyone said, I listened. [00:12:38] Then he accused him of being in it just for the money. [00:12:43] Her would was pretty adamant about that one. We take no money for foster children in our home. [00:12:52] And Irwin was adamant about that when we accepted no money for foster children in our home. [00:13:01] And then there was this one. At one point, visitation was about to happen. [00:13:11] Looking for Scotty. He's wandering down the street. [00:13:16] Think about it. [00:13:18] The house he lived in with his mother was only 150ft away. [00:13:24] Urban went out, brought him home. [00:13:29] Asked to sort of summarize his feelings about this adventure, Irwin said, We did McKay a favor. He's not the most popular man in the area. He was knocking on doors, looking in windows. It was a guest looking for the babysitter's house. [00:13:49] And then about two weeks later, there were strange things at my house. Things breaking surveillance. Great deal of. [00:13:59] I have a great deal of trouble understanding deal. [00:14:03] Okay. [00:14:26] Another psychiatrist who saw Scotty and his father was Dr. Norman Chancer. [00:14:35] He was aware, of course, of Neil McKay's dependency on drugs, his addiction, whether it was in the past or current. [00:14:51] McKay was always clear to say, it's in the past. I'm not. [00:14:57] But the concern, of course at this juncture was what if he relapses? Just being Neil McKay. [00:15:07] Nothing's going to happen until he hits rock bottom and then they won't have the energy to invest in Scotty. [00:15:16] He also said he's too much concerned with himself self. [00:15:22] He doesn't know how to put the brakes on with Scotty. [00:15:27] Said things like, I don't want to lose his love. He's afraid, according to Chancer, feels as long as there is Scotty, he'll be looked after. [00:15:40] He will not act above suspicion. [00:15:45] The other thing that Chancer says he tested McKay's ability to compromise. [00:15:51] They talked for several minutes and McKay would not compromise. [00:15:55] Has ultimately a very negative view of his relationship with Scott. He thought he would squash Scotty's voice, take all measures to force him to his wishes. [00:16:10] This is probably his most poignant statement. When Scotty's a teenager, he McKay can't use force to exercise his will or squash him. [00:16:25] It's not good. [00:16:29] Became aware of Neil McKay's ability to use other people and thought about the way he used them. [00:16:40] Even Talked about Neil McKay reaching for his Wallet. [00:16:45] Trying to influence his assessment, reaching for his wallet. [00:16:56] Chancer had several other insights. [00:17:00] For instance, his sense that McKay used work as an evasion or excuse not to deal with the problems which were still there. [00:17:12] It didn't seem like he had the energy or the time to be an effective parent. [00:17:19] And then there was this aside, kind of, that he thought McKay's first wife wanted to adopt children. That would be Barbara. [00:17:33] And that he never really wanted children, this McKay, and let it go until Muriel got pregnant. Like children were not part of his life. [00:18:19] Change directions slightly here in the second part of this episode. [00:18:26] You'll see how it ties in, though, to what we just heard. [00:18:32] And I'll start by saying that Muriel file left Neil McKay immediately after Scotty was born. She moved out, found her own apartment, and of course, the next thing up was a bitter and expensive divorce. [00:18:57] A divorce that, by the way, was partially unresolved on the day Mural was murdered. [00:19:06] And in her mind, all of this was focused on Neil McKay and his obvious deficiencies. [00:19:18] And we learn of some of those, of how Muriel felt really by something that her brother said, Robert File said. [00:19:31] And he. He expresses in the deposition after her murder, August 1977. [00:19:42] And this is what he said. [00:19:44] After my sister was fortunate, fortunate enough to get her divorce, she came to me and said she was drawing up a new will. [00:19:53] And she discussed the terms that she was going to. [00:19:56] Wanted to include in her will the provisions. [00:19:59] She asked me, number one, if I would function as the executor of her estate, as administrator, and number two, if I would be the guardian of her child if something happened to her. [00:20:12] To all these questions, I answered, yes, I would. [00:20:17] And she went on to further discuss with me what she wanted me to do in case anything ever happened to her. [00:20:24] And she told me in so many words before other persons that if anything ever happened to her, I should expend the entire estate that she left behind for her son down to the last nickel, to protect her son from Neil McKay. Because she said, and here Rapha File is quoting his sister. [00:20:47] That boy can grow up without money and be a valuable person on this earth, but he can have all the money in the world and be destroyed by a man that doesn't know love or how to exist within the society we function in. [00:21:04] And Robert F. Continues. So her advice to me was to spend the last nickel of that boy's estate to protect him. [00:21:13] That is what I'm doing. And speaking of the money, let's not forget about that because it's another piece of the question what about Scotty? And it's revealed in the terms of his mother's will and point four, bullet point four, that Scotty McKay is the sole beneficiary under the terms of his mother's will and the value of her estate approximates $1 million. And he is therefore financially independent in his own right, a millionaire at age three and a half. [00:21:46] That'll get people twisted. [00:21:49] And of course, remember, that's something Carolina referred to as. Well, okay, there's that. [00:22:00] It was not, however, simply the promise that Robert File made to Muriel that motivated him, that drove him. [00:22:16] Statement in October 1976 addresses the other portion of that, and he says this. He makes a statement in response to something Neil McKay had made about the greed and all that, getting the money, getting the kids money, because that was a central sort of factor. [00:22:43] And his response was, based on his personal observations and the diagnosis of Dr. Barbara Ure, who was a psychologist who examined McKay during the divorce, is that the petitioner is a drug abuser and has psychological characteristics indicative of a child abuser. [00:23:09] Also, petitioner's denial of times past that he in fact was the natural father of the child, which is the subject of this action, and the petitioners, by that meaning McKay, his incapacity by reason of excessive ingestion of drugs. So no love lost essentially between these two men. And if, if we go with sort of what Mendelson said, that Neil McKay is manipulative, very opinionated. [00:23:43] You can see Scotty is kind of in this. [00:23:46] In this vice. [00:23:49] Yeah. Okay. [00:23:51] It's, it's. It's a tough place to be. That's. I wouldn't want to be there, you know. [00:24:28] Now, let's contrast this with what Neil McKay was saying about this very same situation. [00:24:39] And he makes a motion to the court and he says this is a very serious situation, but makes it absolutely mandatory that this matter be brought to the court's attention. [00:24:51] I am being denied all access to my minor son, Neil P. McCabe, here and after referred to as Scotty. [00:25:01] It serves no purpose to dwell on tragedy, but it must be recited herein that the mother of Scotty met with death on Thursday, September 30, 1976. McKay goes on to say, On Monday, October 4, 1976, I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Pease, that would be Muriel's attorney, and asking him if he could find out how the File family wanted to handle the matter relative to Scotty. [00:25:34] I, I told Mr. Pease I would appreciate the information before I met with the two psychiatrists. [00:25:40] On Tuesday, around 3:55pm the next day, I called Mr. Pease, but he was not in. And then at approximately 4:10pm Mr. Pe returned my call and advised me that it was the intention of the file family that they were going to keep Scotty. [00:26:03] I inquired about my visitation rights and Mr. Bailey advised me there would be none. Mr. Bailey being, of course, the other attorney who's on the case. [00:26:20] He ends this missive with the statement that is absolutely inconclusively important that I be permitted to have the full care, custody and control of Scotty. [00:26:32] Expense is of no concern and time is working against Scotty. Something must be done now, and the personal feelings and attitudes of adults must immediately become secondary. [00:26:48] Well, there's truth to that. [00:26:51] There is. [00:27:07] See you next time.