Chester County

* April 24, 1970: Terry Bowers, a sixth-grader at Blessed Virgin Mary school in Darby Borough, goes camping with Boy Scout Troop 275 on the property of St. Basil the Great Church in East Pikeland Township, Chester County. * April 26, 1970: Bowers' body is found about 7:30 a.m. as the Scouts awoke. Police believe he had been stabbed about an hour earlier. The autopsy reveals no signs of sexual abuse or drugs in his system. * July 1970: Boy Scouts post $5,000 reward for information leading to those responsible for the "dastardly crime.

We've heard plenty about the repopulation of big-city downtowns by postcollege singles, empty-nesters, and determined young families, all eager to live in neighborhoods where they can walk to work, restaurants, and culture. What hasn't gotten much attention - yet - is how compact small towns are starting to sample from the same demographic pot. The Philadelphia region is peppered with towns that resemble mini versions of the city (save for the skyline, of course), but surely one of the most dynamic is West Chester, in Chester County.

SEAN O'NEILL JR. has gotten into a lifetime's worth of legal trouble in his 23 years, and now authorities confirm that he's skipped probation and fled to the Emerald Isle to join his dear deported dad. The younger O'Neill first made headlines in 2006, when he killed his friend while drunkenly playing with a gun at age 17. Then his father, a Northern Ireland native, was found guilty of citizenship, firearms and tax crimes, and deported to...

A 23-year-old Chester County man previously adjudicated delinquent for fatally shooting a friend has been declared a fugitive after violating the terms of his parole on a drunken-driving conviction. Sean O'Neill tested positive for alcohol and illegal drugs before absconding, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said Monday. In 2006, O'Neill shot and killed Scott Sheridan at O'Neill's family home in Willistown. He was charged as an adult but his case was transferred to Juvenile Court.

A volunteer firefighter died after battling a house blaze in Chester County, authorities said Wednesday. Capt. Chris Good of the Good Will Fire Company in West Chester reportedly died of a heart attack at home Wednesday. He had responded to a fire Tuesday in West Goshen. Good was a volunteer at Good Will since 2002, according to the fire company's website. It listed his nickname as "Goody. " - Robert Moran

A husband and wife from Wilmington were killed Sunday when the car they were in pulled into the path of a tractor-trailer in Kennett Township, Chester County, police said. Matthew Petke, 39, and Brenda Petke, 45, were leaving Taqueria Moroleon Mexican Restaurant on Route 41, near the Delaware State line when the crash occurred. Matthew Petke was driving a Toyota Highlander when he turned south out of the parking lot around 6:30 p.m. and was struck by the northbound truck, police said.

H. William Sellers, 71, of Pocopson, a leader of efforts to preserve the rolling beauty of rural Chester County, died Friday, Nov. 9, at a hospice in West Chester. Mr. Sellers, who battled several serious illnesses over a decade, died of congestive heart failure, his son, Ethan Taylor, said. As director of the Environmental Management Center of the Brandywine Conservancy from 1975 to 1998, Mr. Sellers helped pioneer a movement to ask owners of rural estates to sell or give away development rights - put their land in trust - so property would remain in its natural state.

8:13 a.m. Region: The floodgates reopen today (pardon the pun) at area shopping malls after a day that saw virtually every major indoor mall in the Philadelphia region close ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Here's early word of a batch of mall reopenings planned for later today, as well as one closure, along with opening times: Opening at Noon: Cumberland Mall Exton Square Mall Moorestown Mall Voorhees Town Center Willow Grove Park Opening at 1 p.m.: Cherry Hill Mall Plymouth Meeting Mall Springfield Mall Closed: The Gallery at Market East King of Prussia Mall will open at 1 p.m., though Bloomingdale's will remain closed for a second day, according to a top mall official.

A CHESTER COUNTY man who admitted that he got so frustrated with his colicky newborn Saturday night, he intentionally burned her with scalding water, has been charged with aggravated assault and related offenses. Jorge Colon, 20, of Oxford, was bathing his 1-month-old daughter, Kiara, in the kitchen sink about 10 p.m. when she began crying, according to a spokesperson from District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan's office. Colon told police that he became frustrated and turned the water to its hottest, removing Kiara after she began screaming, Hogan said.