Great question! It’s something I think about because we worked on Leo’s case for four years. We had so much material because we basically did two investigations. And even though Bone Valley has 9 episodes totalling around 10 hours, there’s so much that didn’t make it into the podcast. I really liked the idea of doing a parallel narrative with Leo and Jeremy, which I think could work in a written narrative, but there were challenges to making it work with an audio narrative.
There were so many moments during interviews, especially with Jeremy, where you could hear him swallowing and his voice cracking as he struggled with the horror of his memories on the night he ran into Michelle. The power of those words and sounds wouldn’t have the same effect in quotes in a book.
I believe in the power of storytelling, whether written or audio, and I’m encouraged by the response to Bone Valley. There are people in Florida who are extremely disturbed by Leo’s case and they have told me they want to help correct this injustice.

-G.K.

Absolutely. There’s a US Supreme Court case, Berger v. United States 295 U.S. 78 (1935) where the opinion states that it is not the duty of the prosecutor to simply win cases, but to pursue justice. Unfortunately, prosecutors are humans with egos and career goals and many seem to be guided by their pursuit of personal gain, instead of their obligation to seek justice for victims. In most wrongful conviction cases I look at, you can clearly identify moments where the prosecutor is misrepresenting evidence, or concealing evidence from the defense because they are trying to win the case, rather than seek justice.

-G.K. & K.D.

You’re right that we didn’t talk much about this in the podcast. We addressed it briefly – this would be the testimony of the Laffoons, another couple that lived in Leo and Michelle’s neighborhood. Basically, once you really look at the content of statements and testimony given by Randy and Mary Laffoon, it just doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Or at least, it didn’t hold up for Gilbert and I. The Laffoons couldn’t give a particular day or time for when they saw these vehicles. They couldn’t identify anyone they supposedly saw out at the scene. And they couldn’t agree on which vehicles they saw. Additionally, they didn’t give these statements until nearly a year and a half after Michelle’s murder. By that time, they’d already previously spoken to police, but told the detectives they hadn’t seen anything. It was only at the direction of Alice Scott – and again, nearly a year and a half later – that they told Prosecutor John Aguero about the vehicle sightings. Most of the details that get told about the testimony of the Laffoons come from John Aguero and the State Attorney’s Office, instead of from the testimony itself. The State has distorted the couple’s testimony to fit their theory of the crime, and this has been repeated again and again to support Leo’s conviction.

-K.D.

After Judge Scott Cupp handed me his business card, stating that Leo Schofield was an innocent man, I began talking to him more and more about the case, and he pointed me to the trial transcript. It was very clear to me that without the testimony of Alice Scott, the State had no case against Leo. And it was also clear to me that Alice Scott’s testimony was completely contradicted by her next door neighbor and sister-in-law, Linda Sells, the State’s own witness. Linda clearly recalled her and Alice having a conversation in the driveway and seeing Leo carrying something heavy out of his trailer. But it was a week or two before Michelle went missing. Alice admitted on the witness stand that she wasn’t good with dates. I spoke to Linda Sells. She didn’t want to be interviewed, but she said that she stands by her statements that Alice was wrong about what she witnessed.
Sadly, wrongful convictions based on faulty witness testimony are very common. What made this case so interesting to me was that nearly two decades later, Jeremy Scott’s fingerprints from inside the Mazda were finally identified. And unlike the State, we were very interested in doing a thorough investigation into Jeremy Scott, and ultimately interviewing him in prison.

-G.K.

Hi Mike! Tell your parents Gilbert and I say hello! They were one of our very favorite interviews. To answer your question, yes, Jeremy is left-handed. We’ve asked a few experts about this but it seems that, unless the exact position of the suspect in relation to the victim’s body is known, it’s really difficult to use this as evidence. Basically, we don’t know exactly how Jeremy was standing or kneeling while this crime took place, so we don’t know whether the hand he used is evident in the autopsy.

- K.D.

Thank you. I think the most difficult part of Leo’s case is parsing through all the pseudo-evidence and innuendo that the State relies on. Because it was a circumstantial case, meaning that there was no physical or direct evidence linking Leo to Michelle’s murder, the State introduces information that’s designed to arouse suspicion with the jury, like…Leo didn’t help plan Michelle’s funeral, Leo couldn’t remember the year Michelle was born, Leo was dating too soon after Michelle’s death, Leo said he hoped they didn’t find Michelle in water, etc., etc. When we talked to Leo about these things, he had perfectly reasonable explanations.
Leo’s lawyer, Jack Edmund missed so many opportunities to counter the State’s narrative because he was so unprepared at trial. Reading the trial transcript is an eye-opening experience.
Here are two recent Florida cases that resulted in exonerations following the work of Conviction Review Units: Robert DuBoise was released from prison when DNA evidence cleared him. And Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams were also exonerated after a Conviction Integrity Review Unit investigation by the 4th Circuit. You can find more Florida exonerations here.

- G.K.

Many questions here, I will try my best to answer them all.
On the blood: So here’s what we know – a large quantity of Michelle Schofield’s blood was found in the dirt near the canal. Likely, the majority of the blood she lost. Looking at crime scene photos, it seems likely that this would’ve been right beside where the Mazda was parked. Gilbert and I really hate speculating about this publicly, but of course we’ve had these conversations privately. It’s definitely a valid question to wonder about the lack of blood in the Mazda. We’re not experts in forensics, so of course take this with a grain of salt, but our guess is that Jeremy threatened Michelle. This probably began in the car, but quickly moved outside of the vehicle. I believe (again, not an expert) it is possible the first stab could’ve happened within the Mazda, Michelle opened the door and got/fell out, and then the rest of the crime happened on the ground outside the vehicle, where most of her blood was found. This is primarily speculation, but it is of course based on our years-long, very thorough review of ALL the evidence, and of all of Jeremy Scott’s statements. I really hate speculating about the final moments of Michelle’s life, but I understand why it’s a lingering question.
On the car being locked: The car was not locked entirely, the hatchback was still unlocked when it was found. I don’t really have many other thoughts on this.
On Michelle’s purse: Michelle was known to carry money loose in her pocket, or use a money clip. The clerk at the gas station she stopped at the night she was killed distinctly remembers Michelle pulling out a money clip. Initially, Leo mentioned the purse to police because he thought it’d been stolen, before realizing it was still at home in their trailer.
On Leo’s father: It is our understanding that Leo Sr was thoroughly investigated, but the most damning evidence against him was just his weird statement about a vision. To clarify, these statements were made only after he found Michelle’s body. No one has ever claimed that Leo Sr told them about this vision before Michelle’s body had been found. We think it was his way of explaining the deeply traumatic experience of finding his daughter-in-law and the senseless crime she’d suffered. Mark McCoy on Twitter said, “an innocent man has been in jail for 30 years because his dad is the type of guy who says, ‘God helped me find my car keys.’” Gilbert and I couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
As for other cases, stay tuned!

- K.D.

The Florida Department of Corrections has cracked down on sending stamps, so unfortunately that is no longer possible. But he is able to receive letters and books, when mailed directly from Amazon or the publisher. You can find more info on how to do that here and here.

-K.D.

Conviction Integrity Review Units are able to reinvestigate cases with compelling claims of innocence, and they aren’t bound by appellate deadlines, or issues that may have already been settled in court. They can basically start from scratch and consider all the evidence, new and old. Pretty much what we did in our investigation. Because the State Attorney’s office is so heavily invested in protecting the conviction of Leo Schofield, we think it’s necessary to get an independent, unbiased review of his case. Unfortunately, the 10th Circuit’s State Attorney’s Office does not have a Conviction Integrity Review Unit.

-G.K.

No. Leo’s only options for release at this point are clemency and parole. Unless there’s a discovery of new evidence; but given what’s already been uncovered, that’s highly unlikely.

-K

Yes, the investigation at the canal where Michelle’s body was found was deeply flawed. Joe Zarbo was at the scene that day, but he doesn’t remember much about the investigation. His role was primarily to protect the crime scene as the investigative work was done by other members of the Sheriff’s Office. Failing to collect evidence – such as the Marlboro box near the bloodstains, and the plastic tarps by the canal – was a mistake. This could have produced evidence that placed Jeremy Scott at the crime scene. At this point, Leo wasn’t a suspect, so you can’t even accuse the Sheriff’s Office of tunnel vision. It was just sloppy police work.

- K.D. & G.K.

Absolutely. We have tried to be extremely respectful and sensitive, especially when reaching out to Michelle’s friends and family. Not everyone we reached out to was eager to revisit this painful period in their lives, and we’ve always respected that. Even still, we’re aware that this story being back in the media might be upsetting. It’s a tough thing to balance.

- K.D. & G.K.

Answering questions as they come! Make sure you're scrolling down to the bottom. Some take a bit of time to explain, as this case is so complicated. Thanks for your patience!

You can sign this petition! Leo’s attorneys have been keeping us up to date on their efforts, and if anything else comes from that, we’ll certainly be posting about it on twitter (@ lavaforgood, @ gilbert_king, @ kelseykdecker)

- K.D.

The State Attorney’s office has consistently argued that Jeremy Scott’s confession cannot be believed, since he previously claimed his fingerprints were found in the car only because he’d stolen the stereo equipment. They pushed this claim heavily at the 2017 evidentiary hearing and ultimately the judge agreed that Jeremy’s confession was not credible. From the start, the SAO has always maintained that they had enough evidence to convict Leo, and that Jeremy Scott just stumbled onto the car.

- K.D. & G.K.

Jeremy has told us that he did not recognize Michelle, but that Michelle said she recognized him, seeing him at a party, or somewhere around Lakeland. Which, to us, makes sense, because according to her friends, she would not likely let a total stranger into her car.
As to the second question, the Sheriff’s office and the State Attorney’s office usually work together on these kinds of cases. They are usually on the same page.

- G.K.

Thank you. Yes, I have tried to stay in touch with Jeremy, but it has been difficult because he is frequently disciplined and placed in Close Management (solitary confinement) for long periods of time. He’s also transferred a lot to different institutions, and he loses privileges, like access to inmate email services. But I did receive a letter from him last week, telling me he was back in Close Management.

- G.K.