Leo Schofield (left) was convicted of murdering his spouse Michelle in 1987 whereas proof linking Jeremy Scott (proper) to the crime was ignored. Now, Scott has confessed to Michelle's homicide -- and a second killing that very same yr -- on a podcast.
Michelle Saum Schofield had simply completed her shift at a burger drive-in, wrapping up an uneventful wet night time in Lakeland, Florida. The outgoing 18-year-old hopped in her Mazda to select up her husband Leo as deliberate, however when she by no means arrived, he began to fret.
Three days later, on Feb. 27, 1987, Michelle’s physique was found in a close-by drainage canal. She had been stabbed 26 instances.
Regardless of unwavering denials and no bodily proof linking him to the scene, Leo Schofield, 21, was later arrested, convicted of first-degree homicide and sentenced to life in jail in 1989. Prosecutors relied on witnesses who portrayed the younger guitarist as an abusive partner who frequently argued along with his spouse.
Leo maintained his innocence whereas his attorneys pointed to unidentified fingerprints present in Michelle’s automotive — in addition to a purported confession from one other man, Jeremy Lynn Scott. However appellate courts denied Leo a brand new trial yr after yr.
Flash-forward to 2018. Pulitzer Prize-winning creator Gilbert King realized about Leo’s case that summer time from a Florida choose and began probing the “clear miscarriage” of justice.
“The extra I regarded into the case, the extra I got here to appreciate that Leo was wrongfully convicted, and I grew to become increasingly satisfied that Jeremy was by no means correctly investigated by the State of Florida,” King, 60, of Brooklyn, advised The Submit.
“So, I got down to reply this one query: Why is Leo Schofield nonetheless in jail, when the person who's forensically linked to the crime scene has confessed to the homicide?”
In 2004, the Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement revealed that the fingerprints in Michelle’s purple Mazda belonged to Scott. Scott, often known as “Bam Bam” on the streets, is at present serving life for robbing and strangling Donald Moorehead, 37, with a cellphone twine in a Lakeland trailer in 1988.
King tracked down each Leo Schofield and Jeremy Scott, and turned his quest for the reality right into a true-crime podcast, “Bone Valley.” Scott, now 53, provides an in depth confession about Michelle’s slaying within the ninth and remaining episode, which airs Wednesday,
Within the episode, Scott reveals it was darkish and raining when he noticed the teenager at a fuel station.
“I used to be sitting there whereas she was on the cellphone speaking to any person,” Scott advised King from Martin Correctional Establishment in Indiantown, Fla. “And when she acquired off, she requested [if] I wanted the cellphone, I stated no. She stated, ‘Why you all moist,’ you recognize, trigger it’s raining, you recognize? And I stated, I acquired no journey. You already know? So she gave me a journey. And that’s once I guess I misplaced it then.”
Michelle gave Scott a fast raise to an remoted lake, the place he deliberate to steal her automotive, however “panicked” when she began screaming after his looking knife fell out his pocket.
Scott stated he then repeatedly plunged the knife into Michelle’s physique.
“It simply occurred so quick. As soon as it occurred, it simply occurred quick.”
Then, Scott stated, he discovered some plastic close by and wrapped her physique in it to “defend her from being eaten by the gators, snakes or no matter” and “slid her down into the water.”
Scott stated he regretted killing a girl who had proven him kindness.
“She gave me a journey and all that,” Scott advised King. “That’s why it hurts me extra. Ladies like that, they don’t decide up folks.”
Practically 36 years later, Scott stated he nonetheless relives the day of her homicide.
“I dream, I get up, I flip over, I see a lifeless physique sleeping subsequent to me,” Scott stated. “I sleep with lifeless our bodies each night time once I go to mattress. That’s my punishment.”
In the identical episode, Scott additionally admits to gunning down a cab driver in Intercession Metropolis, Florida, on April 10, 1987, about six weeks after killing Michelle. That murder had stymied investigators and went chilly for many years after an preliminary suspect went free on a mistrial.
“That occurred proper after Schofield,” Scott advised King. “I broke right into a home and stole the gun.”
Scott insisted that Leo Schofield had nothing to do along with his spouse Michelle’s barbaric loss of life — a declare backed by Leo’s attorneys who're nonetheless combating to get him out of jail.
“The person has been in jail 33 years, he must be out,” Scott stated. “That man ain’t do nothing. He’s harmless.”
Scott even penned a letter admitting to his guilt, writing,“Leo didn’t kill his spouse. I did.”
King despatched that letter to Leo Schofield, now 56, at Hardee Correctional Establishment in Bowling Inexperienced, Florida, roughly 100 miles away from Scott’s jail. With out his cherished guitar to play, Leo finds solace within the letter, which he carries with him day by day.
“He will get chills each time he reads Jeremy’s phrases,” King advised The Submit. “Leo will get very emotional listening to these phrases and listening to Jeremy’s confession to me. He advised me, ‘It’s like, what number of instances does he should say it?’”
Scott initially claimed to have stolen the stereo from Michelle’s Mazda when his fingerprints had been recognized, however later confessed to stabbing Michelle in 2016, court docket data present. He then contradicted himself a yr later — testifying at an October 2017 listening to that he killed Michelle earlier than saying “I didn’t do this” upon seeing crime-scene images.
Court docket data reviewed by The Submit point out Scott did preserve his confession when questioned once more, flatly saying, “I killed her.” However a choose denied Leo Schofield’s movement for a brand new trial, a ruling that was upheld by an appellate court docket in Could 2020, data present.
Leo, in the meantime, stated his spouse’s confessed killer isn’t the villain he all the time imagined — however fairly a “pathetic human being” who made poor decisions amid a tough upbringing.
“He’s nothing like I used to be anticipating,” Schofield stated on the podcast. “He’s had a very tough go as I’m certain you’re conscious of — even within the jail. And I do imagine he’s sorry. But it surely simply exhibits you that he has a coronary heart, he does have a coronary heart, you recognize, that he’s not a monster … I thank him for the reality.”
Scott additionally sheds gentle on the still-unsolved 1987 murder of Joseph Broward Lavair, 25, confessing to killing the cab driver with a .357 Magnum revolver he stole from a cop’s home in Winter Haven.
Scott stated he referred to as the Yellow Cab Firm, which dispatched Lavair to a shopping mall in Kissimmee. He stated he meant to rob the cabbie for “extra cash,” however as a substitute shot him 3 times and dumped him on the facet of a highway in Intercession Metropolis.
Scott acquired behind the wheel and sped off, however crashed a number of miles later. He then ran away whereas warning these close by that the taxi was “gonna blow” as he ducked right into a dilapidated residence and made off undetected, he stated.
Daniel Otte, then 19, was charged in Lavair’s slaying, however was finally acquitted by a jury in October 1987 following a mistrial. Witnesses recognized the landscaper as the person working from the totaled taxi, however Otte maintained he had been with pals all night time.
“I acquired fortunate as a result of they accused any person else of it,” Scott stated. “However no person else been charged with it.”
As soon as behind bars for strangling Moorehead in 1989, Scott advised his cellmate he additionally killed Jewel Johnson, 75, in 1985 when he was 15, stated King. The younger Scott pled not responsible on the time, and was acquitted for the crime. In complete, Scott has confessed to killing 4 folks, King stated.
However prosecutors have shot down Scott’s claims relating to Michelle Schofield, saying he’s “waffled between denials and confessions” in that case since 2016.
“Jeremy Scott can't and shouldn't be believed,” Chief Assistant State Legal professional Jacob Orr stated in a press release. “He's merely not credible.”
Orr additionally famous Leo Schofield failed a polygraph when requested if he stabbed Michelle as a part of the preliminary probe, in addition to a choose ruling that Scott “couldn't recount info precisely” throughout a 2018 listening to.
“This difficulty has been litigated extensively,” Orr continued. “It has been dominated by a number of judges. It appears that is an try to advertise a podcast.”
King stays undeterred although, promising to maintain combating for Leo’s exoneration. The creator believes Scott offered him particulars solely Michelle’s true killer would know, together with a pack of Marlboros discovered close to bloodstains simply toes away from the canal the place her physique was recovered.
Scott, who smoked Marlboros on the time, stated he additionally stole $10 from Michelle after stabbing her — or the identical quantity she made throughout her shift minus $3 she spent on fuel, King stated.
“I'm assured that Bone Valley corrects the State of Florida’s false narrative that Leo Schofield is responsible of killing his spouse, Michelle,” King advised The Submit. “I do imagine that if the Schofield case is turned over to any Conviction Integrity Unit within the state, they may attain the identical conclusions that I’ve reached: Jeremy Scott killed Michelle Schofield, and Leo Schofield is an harmless man.”
Leo might be paroled as quickly as Could, officers for Florida Fee on Offender Evaluate confirmed. However he’s unlikely to be freed since he’ll “refuse to apologize for against the law he didn't commit,” King stated.
Nonetheless, Leo’s authorized staff, led by lawyer J. Andrew Crawford and the Innocence Challenge of Florida, stay undaunted of their campaign for vindication.
“Forensic and testimonial proof ties Jeremy Scott to the crime, but Leo Schofield stays locked up,” Innocence Challenge of Florida Govt Director Seth Miller advised The Submit. “That’s the type of tunnel imaginative and prescient that results in wrongful convictions. We’re reviewing the revelations within the podcast to find out the easiest way ahead.”
Regulation enforcement sources, in the meantime, stated they won't be pursuing King for the homicide of cab driver Lavair both.
“We acknowledge Mr. Otte was acquitted of the crime in a second trial based mostly on a technicality,” Osceola County Sheriff’s Workplace advised The Submit in a press release. “Nevertheless, his acquittal in court docket doesn't show precise innocence. At the moment, there isn't a credible proof linking Mr. Scott to this crime.”
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