Man who served 36 years for wife's murder forgives confessed killer in rare reconciliation

Fox News

01-06-2025

Leo Schofield served 36 years in prison for his wife's murder – and he forgave the man who confessed to the killing.
It was January 2025 when Schofield and his daughter Ashley were involved in a serious motorcycle accident. Schofield had been released on parole in April 2024 and had always maintained his innocence.
Gilbert King, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who had been investigating Schofield's case for his podcast, "Bone Valley," visited Schofield after the crash. He received a call from Jeremy Scott, a convicted murderer who testified in 2017 that he had killed Michelle Schofield. He's serving prison time for an unrelated crime.
Schofield agreed to speak with Scott. After some awkward small talk, King was stunned by what he heard.
"I was shocked by the fact that here I was with Leo, and Jeremy called me at the same time," King recalled to Fox News Digital. "It was not planned, but I found it sincere. Jeremy Scott is … trying to come clean.
"When we spoke to him in 2021, he said it was torture for him, because as the years have gone by, he goes to bed seeing the faces of the people he's killed," said King. "He says, 'That's my punishment.' And he said it's gotten worse over the years living with this."
Neither King nor Scott was prepared for what Schofield had to say. The conversation between the men can be heard in episode 6 of Season 2.
"Jeremy, I want to tell you something," Schofield began. "And this is coming from a long time of prayer and a lot of thought. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to thank you for telling the truth. I want you to know that I forgive you with all my heart. You have a lot of people who care about you now because you did the right thing [in confessing]. It means a lot to me. And it means a lot to my family. I thank you for that. And I thank you with all my heart, bud."
"… You gained a lot of respect from the people out here, because you were brave enough to tell the truth," he shared. "It was a big deal, Jeremy. That was a really big deal, because it changed my life. And I definitely appreciate you for it."
There was silence. Then Scott replied, "I just hated that this happened, bro."
"I'm sorry that it happened," Schofield replied. "… But now it's your turn to start doing right. You hear me? You just keep doing your part."
"Keep praying for me," said Scott.
King told Fox News Digital that over the years, Schofield turned to God to cope with the loss of his beloved spouse and the struggle he faced in getting a new trial to prove his innocence.
"I think it began to just tear away at his soul," King explained.
"He was just consumed by this anger, bitterness and confusion. Leo said, '… This was going to destroy me, and I had to rely on my faith in God to carry me through this. The only way I could stop this anger and bitterness was to let it go and find some way to forgive Jeremy.'"
During his time behind bars, Schofield became "a spiritual person." He found solace as a pastor in prison.
"He just said, 'I hope that it's my prayer to God that Jeremy finally finds love because I am supported out here,'" said King. "'I have a loving family and friends who believe in me. Jeremy has nothing.'"
"I think it's a testimony to who Leo is as a person," King added.
WATCH: FATHER OF MURDERED TEXAS TEEN OFFERS A MESSAGE OF FAITH, FORGIVENESS IN TRAGEDY
On February 24, 1987, Michelle had left her job at a restaurant in Lakeland, Florida. The 18-year-old called her husband of six months and said she would be home soon. They had been planning to go out together. Michelle was never seen alive again.
"A search went on for three days. All friends and family members were just searching for Michelle," King explained. "On the second day of searching, they found her car, which was broken down on the side of the road just outside Lakeland, Florida."
On February 27, Michelle's body was found with 26 stab wounds in a drainage canal, The New York Times reported. According to the outlet, Schofield was charged with her murder, but there was never any physical evidence linking him to the crime. It was later proven that a set of fingerprints found in Michelle's car didn't belong to him.
"Leo had been out there searching," said King. "He'd been constantly calling the police, showing up at the police station and asking whether they had found her. He filed a missing persons report. They didn't really consider Leo a suspect right away. But … they started to build a case around him."
"Some of the neighbors had said they'd seen Leo and Michelle fighting a few times," King continued. "There was a neighbor who said she had seen Leo emerge from the house carrying something heavy, putting it into the back of his car and driving off. But the problem is that Leo was accounted for at that time. I think even the police didn't really believe her. But … I think they had a really strong prosector and a very weak defense attorney."
"That was Leo's downfall," King added.
During Schofield's trial in 1989, the prosecution insisted that Schofield had been violent toward Michelle. Despite the lack of forensic evidence, Schofield was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Scott lived less than two miles from where Michelle's body was found.
"He was off the radar, but he shouldn't have been," said King. "… When they found those fingerprints in the car that didn't match anybody like Leo or Michelle, they should have gone to known suspects in the area, and they never did that. These fingerprints remained mysterious for 17 years until they finally came back to Jeremy."
Due to a lack of forensic technology at the time, the fingerprints couldn't be matched until 2004. They belonged to Scott. King said that initially, Scott denied having anything to do with Michelle's murder, claiming he had only stolen the stereo speakers from her car.
"Six years after he denied killing Michelle, he came out and wrote a letter to Leo's lawyer, saying, 'I'm the one that did this. You got the wrong guy in prison,'" said King. "That's when he started talking about it in 2016."
"He said to me, 'That man never belonged in prison. I took his life away from him,'" said King. "He felt bad about that. … I think he's one of those people who is trying to do something right with what little time he has left on Earth. He's never going to be outside the prison walls."
The New York Times reported that Scott had confessed to the murder "a number of times."
"[Scott] spoke out before and nobody believed him," said King. "They just beat him up on the stand and said he was a liar and unreliable. . . . I think that stayed with him. He's thinking, 'I'm trying to do the right thing here. I'm confessing to a murder.' And the state instead just decided to attack his credibility."
"But I reached out to him," said King. "I said, 'I'm willing to listen. I believe that you're telling the truth.' We spoke many times, and I've continued to stay in touch with him. He's never wavered from what he's told me. He's never wavered from his confession."
During his time in prison, Schofield immersed himself in faith. He mentored fellow inmates. He also found love again. He married Crissie Carter, a social worker he met while serving time, in 1995.
According to The New York Times, the state hasn't moved forward on additional murder charges against Scott.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd wrote: "The jury found Leo Schofield guilty of murdering Michelle Schofield. Multiple courts have upheld that verdict."
The outlet shared that Schofield is currently working to overturn his conviction. If denied, he could be on parole for another four to six years.
"Being on the outside, you're reminded that you're not free – that's what Leo's life is like," said King. "… He was offered two deals that would've had him out of prison in the early '90s if he would've just taken them. He refused. He said, 'It's much easier for me to serve time than it is for me to admit something I didn't do.'"
"Leo is trying to get that exoneration – that's his life today," said King. "Fortunately, there are some very powerful people in Florida who also believe him and are fighting for him, too. I have hope for him. I really think something is going to happen."