Key West The Newspaper - February 1, 2002

Mother Of Battered Woman Says She Warned Her About McCoy

by Kip Blevin

The mother of the 22-year-old woman allegedly battered early Tuesday morning by the son of two prominent elected officials here said she had warned her daughter about the man.

"She had been seeing Sean McCoy for several months," said Stella Rylander, a well-known local businesswoman. "I feel sorry for him. He needs help. But I warned her to be careful."

Rylander's daughter, Jan, said she went to McCoy's mobile home on Stock Island shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday to get her car keys. They argued and McCoy allegedly threw her on the bed and choked her. "Then he threw me to the floor and punched me in the left eye," she told Sheriff's Department Deputy Paul Sholtz.

"She had a black eye," her mother said.

Jan Rylander told Sholtz that McCoy stopped choking her only after she bit him on the arm. He then reportedly ran out of the trailer and threw her keys up onto the top of a nearby building.

McCoy, 39, is the son of Monroe County Mayor Sonny McCoy and Key West City Commissioner Merili McCoy.

Mayor McCoy told Key West The Newspaper Tuesday that all he knew about the case was what he had been told by Attorney Ed Horan, who is representing the younger McCoy. "I understand Sean was sleeping and someone came in and started tearing up his trailer," he said.

Ironically, on the day before the arrest, Sean McCoy had been on trial in Plantation Key for allegedly battering another woman. Circuit Judge Reagan Ptomey declared a mistrial Tuesday after McCoy was seen talking to one of the jurors Monday evening.