Brykalski fights parole for 1 of her parents’ murderers
Although the three killers — David Leon Scarbrough, Thomas Paul Gagne Jr. and
Harley Watts — ultimately were caught and convicted, having confessed, the couple is facing a second parole hearing for Scarbrough Thursday, Dec. 9.
Watts was paroled in 2001. He had received a plea bargain by agreeing to testify against Scarbrough and Gagne, who also remains incarcerated, in exchange for being tried in juvenile court.
Scarbrough, currently incarcerated in Morgan County Regional Correctional Facility, was denied parole in 2015, thanks in part
to the Brykalskis, who are taking on the task
yet again.
“I am very concerned if he is released. What if he wants retaliation?” said Jeanne Brykalski, who has an online petition dedicated to keeping Scarbrough jailed, which has more than 2,000 signatures. “I have testified against him and fought against his release for years.
“Also, he is young and healthy and could still do a lot of damage if he were released,” she added. “I don’t want anyone to go through the nightmare we have over these last 26 years.”
Jeanne described Scarbrough and Gagne as “already well on their way to becoming violent career criminals on the night they viciously murdered two kind, loving, innocent people.”
The convicted pair, along with Watts, who was 13 at the time and served as a lookout, were seeking homes to rob and found the Dotts’ home empty, as the couple had gone out to dinner.
Unfortunately, they came home to find Scarbrough and Gagne inside, and both were shot and killed.
Down through the years, the Brykalskis said they have encountered harassment from the killers’ family members, and a counter online petition Scarbrough’s family has started, which champions his defense, “is filled with false information,” Jeanne Brykalski said.
“Some of the felons’ friends and family posted comments on the 2015 change.org petition I created for his first parole hearing, and recently on Facebook (they condemned) me for fighting Scarbrough’s parole and told me I ‘had’ to forgive him, and to ‘quit picking on him,’” she added.
“One stated that (Scarbrough) was a ‘child’ when he made a ‘grave mistake.’ (He) was 17 days away from being 19 years of age — he was an adult.”
Looking to clarify, “A mistake is knocking over a glass of milk, forgetting to give someone a phone message or breaking your grandmother’s favorite plate,” Jeanne Brykalski said. “What the offender and his accomplice did was a deliberate choice.”
To sign the online petition, visit https://www.change.org/justiceforlesandcaroldottsdenydavidscarbroughparole2021 before Dec. 6.
Parole protest letters also can be sent to victim.witness@tn.gov in addition to the petition.
As part of the request, the Brykalskis are asking parole not be considered again for Scarbrough for at least six more years.
“David Leon Scarbrough has never shown any remorse for destroying my family, for murdering two people who worked hard all their lives, were actively involved in their community and who lived their lives by presenting a positive example, not only for me, their daughter, but for my friends as I grew up and became an adult,” Jeanne Brykalski said.
“I do not have to accept their murders and just ‘move
on.’ … Some things in life are not excusable or forgivable — like murder.”
