(Justice for Max Schollenberger & Case Discussion Facebook group)
There’s no way anyone who’s heard Max’s story could forget who he is.
Maxwell Thomas Schollenberger was twelve years old when his beaten, emaciated body was found in a lightless, locked, feces-covered bedroom in May of 2020 in the Annville, Pennsylvania home of his father, Scott Fremont Schollenberger, and Scott’s fiance, Kimberly Marie Maurer.
Both were charged with Max’s murder, although Scott pleaded guilty last month to criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of children, and criminal conspiracy to endanger the welfare of children and was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Kim apparently thinks she’s got some kind of angle that can serve as a defense against allowing her stepson to starve to death in his own filth in the dark, never enrolling him in school, never taking him to a doctor, and alienating him from his loving mother by moving from place to place to avoid being located.
It appears that no photos of Max exist past the age of six or seven.
Kim’s trial began this week. Below are links to the news coverage:
Dad’s girlfriend on trial over neglect, starvation death of 12-year-old (Penn Live Patriot-News)
(Penn Live Patriot-News)
So far, the most infuriating thing I’ve seen reported is that three days after Max was found dead, Kim cleaned up his bedroom and turned it into a playroom for her three children.
A close second is the fact that when police entered Max’s bedroom the day his death was reported, they found a plate of French fries, cheese fries, and chicken tenders under the bed, surrounded by feces. Kim said she gave the food to Max the night before he died. By that time, medical experts say, Max’s stomach had atrophied to the point that he could no longer have digested food.
My heart goes out to the jurors who had to see the photos of Max the way first responders found him on May 26, 2020, as well as the first responders themselves and especially to Max’s heartbroken mama, Sara.
Click here for my previous coverage of Max’s case.
Click here for my podcast episode about Max, including my interview with his mommy, Sara.
Sources: Lebanon Daily News; Penn Live Patriot-News
I’m sorry, did I miss something. When in the intervening six years did his mother attempt to contact him, call him on his birthday or Christmas. If she had and didn’t get in touch with him she could alerted police and averted this tragedy. Unless I’m missing something it looks like she moved on with her life with a new man and a new baby.
Scott and Kim took Max and moved repeatedly to avoid being found.
Ok thanks, good to know.
His biological mother is far from a “heartbroken mama.” She never saw or even asked about her son for all those years. Never hired an attorney or even a private investigator to locate them. They did not “move all over” either, as stated in the trial, the family lived in Lebanon county for Max’s entire life and had only moved to TWO different residences. So please, spare everyone with the “heartbroken mama” sob story. She’s not even attending the trial for the woman who is accused of killing her son! UNREAL
Some people can’t afford attorneys, nor travel expenses. But by all means, don’t employ a shred of empathy, and lay blame where it doesn’t belong.
As I stated in my previous comment, they moved TWICE during the span of his entire life. All homes were in Lebanon County, so they were not “moving all over.” Have you been attending the trial and hearing the actual testimony? I do not blame Sara for Max’s death, but I do not offer her any sympathy either. As a mother myself, I would never go years without knowing ANY information about my child. And she clearly can afford an attorney, since she is currently suing everyone and their brother in wrongful death lawsuit.
As I said, go ahead and assign blame where it doesn’t belong. Kim and Scott murdered Max.
And once again, I do not blame her for his death. But she did absolutely nothing to prevent it. Is it a tragedy her son was killed? ABSOLUTELY. But you can’t say she had absolutely no means of trying to contact him, when that 100% is not true. I think it is utterly disrespectful to Max to sit here and stick up for her while using the excuse that she had no way of finding him. But not even a year after his death, she had already hired an attorney for a lawsuit for money. That does not sound like a “heartbroken mama” to me. I would highly suggest sitting in on the trial for the remainder of it, you may find yourself learning a lot of new information.
Even if they moved, wouldn’t a cell phone # have been the same? I don’t blame her for his death,but as a mother I don’t understand how you are not in contact with your young child on a weekly basis at the very least. Were there any other relatives in the area, grandparents did she have siblings?
She was blocked from phones and social media. However, she is painting a narrative that they moved all over to avoid her finding him, when that is not the truth. There was family in the area, and they actually had to been to the home, but were told that Max was with other family members. The mother could have done a lot more to try and contact her child, but as she even stated herself in an interview..she never bothered because she thought he was in good hands. Clearly she is not to blame, but it makes me sick that people pity her now when she made absolutely no attempt to locate him or check on him. And it did not take her long at all to go hire an attorney for a wrongful death lawsuit so that she can get money as a result of his death.
Totally agree that she is not to blame, but I would hope in the same situation I wouldn’t rest until someone saw him or spoke to him to make sure he was ok, after a few attempts by family members didn’t they get suspicious?
My thoughts exactly! I just can not bring myself to agree with the “heartbroken mama” comment, because it is not true. So many people could have spoken up, and many of them testified at the trial. Her own mother was fired from her job because she was a mandated reporter with the school district and never once said anything to anyone about Max. So many people let that poor little boy down, including his biological mother Sara.
I had to struggle to see my child after divorce, with joint legal custody, BUT with him having physical custody. People assume a mother without physical custody is somehow ‘off’ and do not give any credibility to things you report. You are accused of being hysterical and jealous. I paid support, had visitation on the regular and it still happened. If I was denied visits on a scheduled weekend or holiday and showed up to the door, THEY called the police and I was called crazy. The cops may sympathize, but they aren’t about to drag a child out the door on Christmas eve. Judge not, people. You have no idea what she may have been through, but I do. My children are both grown now, know the truth of what happened and my relationship with them remains healthy and strong. Their father’s and stepmom cannot make this claim.