A podcast about Schofield’s conviction for murdering his 18-year-old wife in 1987 is set to become a scripted TV series.
Author Archives: Suzie Schottelkotte
Suzie Schottelkotte has been a journalist in Polk County since 1981, having worked for The Tampa Tribune and The Ledger. She is currently a free-lance reporter for LkldNow.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Jury Votes 11-1 for Death Penalty in Brutal Stabbing of Prominent Lakeland Couple
Jurors recommended that Marcelle Jerrill Waldon, 39, be put to death for murdering David and Edie Henderson in 2020.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Waldon Won’t Let Lawyers Mount Defense Against the Death Penalty
David and Edie Henderson’s killer waived his right to present evidence that might spare his life.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Podcast Fails to Win Leo Schofield’s Release – For Now
Parole board orders convicted murderer to spend 12 months in ‘transition program’ with possible release in June 2024
Posted inNeighborhoods
Residents Raise Concerns About Side Street Traffic on South Florida Avenue
The South Florida Avenue road diet is shoving traffic into nearby neighborhoods, residents said Monday night.
Posted inNeighborhoods, Transportation
Residents Raise Concerns About Side Street Traffic at South Florida Avenue Meeting
Residents in the Dixieland and Lake Morton neighborhoods expressed a common theme during Monday night’s informational meeting regarding changes to South Florida Avenue: Temporary improvements may be helping South Florida, but the problems are shifting to nearby residential streets.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Bryan Riley Plans Insanity Defense in Deaths of North Lakeland Family
Lawyers for quadruple murder defendant Bryan James Riley intend to argue that he was insane when he killed four people, including a 3-month-old infant, during a home-invasion attack in north Lakeland last September.
Posted inCrime / Justice
Michael Dunn Sentenced to 3 Years in Death of Shoplifter
Former Lakeland City Commissioner Michael Dunn was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for the October 2018 shooting death of Cristóbal Lopez, a suspected shoplifter who died of a gunshot wound in his back just outside the door to Dunn’s Army-Navy Surplus store.
Posted inActivism, People
United Way Awards Celebrate Volunteerism, Philanthropy
A lawyer, a logistics advisor, a tax advisor and a Lakeland couple who raised more than $100,000 for the United Way of Central Florida’s early education programs were honored Thursday during the agency’s annual meeting.
Posted inPeople
Noted Author Taking Up the Cause of Convicted Murderer from Lakeland
Editor’s note: This article has been updated on September 4, 2025 with a correction below. A Pulitzer Prize-winning author is taking up the cause of Leo Schofield Jr., who has spent the last 34 years of his life in prison for the 1987 stabbing death of his wife, whose body was found in a water-logged […]