Bone Valley, Season 1: "Combee Critters"

Host: Gilbert King
Date: September 21, 2022
Produced by: Lava for Good Podcasts

Episode Overview

In this episode of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King dives deeper into the tragic murder of Michelle Schofield and the subsequent investigation that led to her husband, Leo Schofield, being accused of her death. The episode explores the discovery of Michelle’s body, the complexities of the investigation, perspectives from friends, family, and law enforcement, and the web of suspicion and heartbreak that enveloped the Schofields’ community in Polk County, Florida.

Note: The summary skips all promotional segments and focuses solely on the narrative content regarding Michelle Schofield’s murder, the investigation, and key figures involved.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The History and Setting of Bone Valley (01:59–08:20)

• Origins of the area: King recounts Polk County’s transformation due to phosphate mining, explaining how it became the "phosphate capital of the world." He draws connections between the region’s geology (remnants of prehistoric bones), industrial history, and its impact on local communities.
• Legacy of exploitation: The history of forced labor—Black men jailed for petty crimes and worked like slaves in the phosphate pits—sets a backdrop for systemic injustice.
• Zora Neale Hurston’s observations: The novelist documented songs and stories from Black phosphate workers, describing the bone-laden, sorrowful landscape that would become known as “Bone Valley.”
• Lasting scars: The environmental and social impacts of mining persist: “But you can still see the scars the industry left behind. The mined out areas were left to be reclaimed by nature…” (06:12)

2. The Discovery: Michelle Goes Missing (08:20–14:32)

• Timeline: Nearly 48 hours after Michelle disappears, her car—a key clue— is found abandoned off I-4.
• Leo, his father, friends, and Michelle’s family search the area. “So when we get to the car, we find the car. Obviously we didn't touch the car. I didn't want anybody to touch the car. We looked in it, we had flashlights and, you know, obviously it was mine.” – Leo Schofield (08:59)
• The car’s stereo is missing, no sign of Michelle. Leo calls the sheriff, feeling panic and frustration.
• Crime scene search: Law enforcement begins searching with helicopters at sunrise. Friends and family form search parties along highways and local roads.

3. The Body is Found (14:32–16:13)

• The search party, including Leo and Michelle’s best friend, Michelle McCluskey, converge as police activity intensifies. Leo realizes his worst fear as he sees his father distraught: “And I knew they had found her. And I didn't even stop the truck… everything was blending together and going super fast.” (13:22)
• Emotional devastation: Leo is restrained from seeing Michelle’s body: “And he kept saying, she's gone…It could not possibly end like this. I mean, it's just unreal. And it was like my whole world was just fragmenting.” – Leo Schofield (14:32)

4. Crime Scene Details & Aftermath (16:13–19:00)

• Scene specifics: “Michelle's body is floating face down in a drainage canal off State Road 33 near an old phosphate mine. There's a large piece of plywood partially covering her body…” (16:13)
• Autopsy: “She’d been stabbed 26 times and scrapes on her back were consistent with her body being dragged after she was killed.” (16:13)
• Suspicious premonitions: Leo Sr. reports to police that he had a “premonition” from God about Michelle’s location. He later describes seeing her body as “smiling at him, as if saying thank you for finding me” – an odd detail given she was found face down with plywood atop her. (17:48)
• Officer Katchadourian, who took Leo’s report, finds Leo Sr.’s behaviors and claims about the discovery highly unsettling. “In hindsight, Gilbert, what I feel he was doing was confessing.” (18:10)

5. Examining the Evidence (21:03–25:08)

• Accessing physical evidence: Gilbert and his team are shown evidence by Shane Kent, the courthouse evidence room manager. To protect the chain of custody, an armed officer supervises.
• They see the key items: plywood found atop Michelle, her blood-stained clothing, and photographs from the autopsy, which emphasize the brutality and personal nature of the crime.
• Personal impact: “We've been studying this case for months now…but in documents, the crime can feel abstract…Now she's no longer some stranger or the victim on an autopsy table. And your heart just breaks…” (24:00)

6. The Schofields in Mourning (27:12–30:48)

• Leo’s grief: Overwhelmed by sorrow and stress, Leo's father handles funeral arrangements.
• Leo recounts seeing Michelle in the casket, devastated by how unnatural she seems in death: “Michelle without life was not Michelle…I kept thinking, I gotta just figure out a way…I’ve been chasing that going back ever since.” (29:16)
• Michelle’s childhood: Friends and family remember Michelle as athletic, musical, strong, but gentle. ("She seemed to be kind of good at almost everything…very sweet and feminine…") – Michelle McCluskey & family (31:22)

7. Community Suspicion and Investigation (34:53–41:49)

• Ripple effects of loss: Friends speculate about the killer’s identity, reference other local murders, and the dangerous reputation of Cumby Road: “At the same time that this happened, just before, there was, like, five girls in the area that had been killed.” (35:28)
• Initial police work: Detectives Weeks (“Weeble”) and Putnall (“Dr. Death”), both seen as colorful, old-school cops, are assigned to investigate. Reporter Susie Shaddlecotti provides local color: “He has the personality of a dial tone…They called him Dr. Death because he was always at a crime scene.” (37:38)
• Sheriff Grady Judd: Known for his blunt, tough style and humor, Judd reflects on how overwhelmed and poorly resourced the department was in the 1980s, and on his meteoric rise from “Combee critter” to sheriff. (40:37)
  • “We didn’t have DNA, we didn’t have cell phone tracking. We didn’t have cameras.” – Sheriff Judd (42:03)

8. Turning Suspicion on Leo (43:24–50:20)

• Neighborhood testimonies: Alice Scott, neighbor and self-proclaimed busybody, becomes a pivotal witness. She claims to see Leo return home the night of Michelle’s disappearance, hear a “scream,” and later see Leo put something “large and heavy” in the Mazda, shifting investigative focus onto Leo.
  • “With that single statement, Alice Scott puts the investigation focused squarely on Leo.” (44:00)
• Patterns of suspicion: Police learn from friends and roommates about Leo and Michelle’s volatile relationship, including disturbing allegations of fights and violence.
• Isolation: The mounting suspicion causes Michelle’s father to cut off contact with Leo after detectives warn him not to talk. “That really, really hurt, because you should know me better than that. But he needed something to hang that hat on…” – Leo (46:30–47:24)
• Friend’s doubts: Michelle’s best friend, Michelle McCluskey, admits to growing concern about Leo after Michelle went missing, but found no evidence of blood or violence in the home. (48:28–49:36)

9. Tunnel Vision and Weak Evidence (53:00–58:42)

• Leo’s polygraph: Eager to prove his innocence, Leo volunteers for a lie detector test—but is told he "flunked.”
  • “He told me, ‘I think you killed your wife.’” – Leo (53:52)
• Lack of physical evidence: Clothes had no blood. No murder weapon. Two sets of fingerprints (neither Leo’s nor Michelle's) found in the car, but no follow-up from investigators.
• Crime scene doubts: The trailer showed no blood, and the carpet did not appear cleaned (contradicting neighbor Alice Scott’s claims). Most of Michelle’s blood was found at the dump site, not the home.
• Case stalls: There’s no hard evidence connecting Leo to the murder, and the state attorney hesitates to charge him.

10. Renewed Pressure – The Indictment (58:42–64:35)

• Prosecutorial focus: Assistant State Attorney John Aguero becomes convinced Leo’s father is suspicious due to his “vision from God.” Aguero personally re-interviews witnesses. Alice Scott and the Laffoons (local couple) adjust their stories to implicate Leo and his father—over a year after the murder.
• Leo indicted: In June 1988, 15 months after Michelle’s death, Leo is indicted for first-degree murder. He’s arrested in Massachusetts after considering suicide out of desperation. Leo’s father’s reaction: “If you did it, jump.” (61:15)
• Extradition: Leo waives his right to fight extradition, is brought to Florida, and confronts the prosecutor, who casually displays a tie clasp depicting “Old Sparky,” Florida’s electric chair.
  • “How do you like the car? …I said, I like it. It’s nice. I’m gonna make you drive me back in it.” – Leo to Aguero, referencing he’ll beat the charges. (63:30)
  • “...if I believe that [you’re innocent], you wouldn’t be here.” – Detective Weeks (64:09)

Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• "It had become a new form of slavery." – Gilbert King, on phosphate mining and convict labor (03:49)
• "I just want her out. I ended up just falling down and sitting against the front tire of the car. I came in the glute." – Leo Schofield, describing his mental collapse at the scene of Michelle’s body (15:50)
• "Michelle without life was not Michelle…my life has been chasing that going back ever since." – Leo Schofield, after the wake (29:16)
• "They called him Dr. Death because he was always at a crime scene." – Susie Shaddlecotti, on Detective Putnall (37:45)
• "We didn’t have DNA, we didn’t have cell phone tracking… It was tumultuous in those days." – Sheriff Grady Judd (42:03)
• "With that single statement, Alice Scott puts the investigation focused squarely on Leo." – Gilbert King (44:00)
• "It’s beyond trying to prove your innocence…There’s a sludge that covers you when you’re being questioned for such a thing…my wife, whom I love, and now I’m forced to prove that to someone I’ve never met before." – Leo Schofield (53:00)
• "If you did it, jump." – Leo’s father, urging Leo to end his life if guilty (61:15)
• "Leo catches a glimpse of something shiny on Aguero’s tie. It’s old Sparky, Florida's electric chair." – Gilbert King (64:35)

Episode Structure & Tone

• Tone: A blend of investigative journalism, true-crime storytelling, and intimate, emotional recollections. Careful attention is paid to both procedural details and the inner lives of those affected.
• Pacing: The episode moves chronologically but frequently weaves present-day interviews and personal reflections into the narrative, augmenting the facts of the case with emotional resonance.

Major Segments & Timestamps

• Historical Context / Bone Valley & Mining: 01:59–08:20
• Michelle’s Disappearance & Search: 08:20–14:32
• Discovery of the Body: 14:32–16:13
• Crime Scene & Aftermath: 16:13–21:03
• Physical Evidence Review: 21:03–25:08
• Funeral & Family Reflections: 27:12–30:48
• Community Suspicion & Police Practices: 34:53–41:49
• Shift in Focus to Leo: 43:24–50:20
• Case Weaknesses & Arrest: 53:00–61:56
• Final Arrest & Extradition: 61:56–64:35

Final Reflection

“Combee Critters” lays bare not only the pain of loss but the inertia and flaws of an overwhelmed justice system in 1980s Florida. From the bone-laden landscapes to fractured family bonds and questionable eyewitness statements, the episode paints a vivid portrait of a tragedy with no easy answers—and introduces the audience to a case haunted by uncertainties, suspicions, and heartbreak.

Next episode will further explore the evidence, trial, and continued efforts to re-examine Michelle Schofield’s murder.