Nov 15, 2017 2 min read

BELLE VERNON – The Belle Vernon Area High School teacher who took his own life Monday did so a day before he was to be suspended from his job, said the attorney who was about to represent him.

Former BVA math and music teacher David Mills was under investigation by the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families after a student complained to another teacher that Mills had inappropriate contact with her last summer in Elizabeth, said Jefferson Hills attorney Charles Lopresti.

“He denied the allegations,” Lopresti said Wednesday.

He said a school administrator pulled Mills out of his last class Monday to tell him about the allegations that resulted him being suspended with pay.

Mills, 51, was later pronounced dead at 11 p.m. in the garage at his residence on Williamsport Road in Forward Township, according to the medical examiner’s office in Allegheny County.

The female student made the disclosure to another district teacher, who was required to report such allegations. Rostraver Township police were notified about the matter, and the department turned the information over to police in Elizabeth, Lopresti said.

Lopresti said most allegations of that nature end up being withdrawn before a preliminary hearing.

Mills was married to District Judge Beth Scagline Mills of Forward. He also taught piano lessons and was well-respected by his students, Lopresti said.

“They loved him,” he said.