Jeremy Scott, a key figure in the “Bone Valley” podcast series about a 1987 Lakeland murder, has died in prison, the podcast’s author and host, Gilbert King, announced at Florida Southern College on Thursday night. Scott was 56.
The Florida Department of Corrections said the cause of death was heart failure, King reported in a one-minute podcast episode posted on Friday. Scott died alone in his cell last Saturday, King said in the podcast.
King discussed the 1987 murder of Michelle Schofield in his talk at Branscomb Auditorium before an audience of more than 500.
Season one of “Bone Valley” presses the case that Schofield was killed by Scott, who confessed to the murder, not her husband, Leo Schofield, who served 36 years in Florida prisons for the murder but has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
Schofield, who has been paroled, joined King on stage to discuss the case and his life after parole.
King’s research also links Scott to two other murders, those of Jewel Johnson and Joseph Lavair.
The second season of Bone Valley explores the details of Scott’s violent youth, the ramifications across generations and Scott’s own search for a kind of redemption.
In response to a question from an audience member, King said that Scott’s body would be claimed by his son, Justin, for burial next to his grandmother. Scott learned about his son through King’s reporting, and father and son began a process of connecting via phone calls.
Scott was serving a life sentence for another murder, and before learning of his son told King he feared that when he died he would end up buried in an unmarked prison grave because he had lost contact with the rest of his family.
King’s talk, part of FSC’s Florida Lecture Series, comes in advance of the Oct. 8 release of his book, “Bone Valley,” which expands on the two-season podcast series.
Listen to Friday’s podcast episode about Scott:
Watch King’s Thursday night presentation and discussion with Schofield:
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