Jeremy | Chapter 3 - Never Turned Her Back on Me

Summary

Bone Valley Podcast - Episode: Jeremy | Chapter 3 - "Never Turned Her Back on Me"

Host: Gilbert King
Production: Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1
Release Date: April 16, 2025

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1. Introduction

In Chapter 3 of Bone Valley, titled "Never Turned Her Back on Me," host Gilbert King delves deeper into the harrowing case of Jeremy Scott, whose confession has reopened the decades-old murder of Michelle Schofield. This episode explores the intricate web of correspondence between King and Scott, uncovering new layers of violence and deception that challenge previous convictions.

2. Renewed Correspondence with Jeremy Scott

Gilbert King recounts how his communication with Jeremy Scott evolved over time, highlighting Jeremy's isolation and the beginning of their correspondence.

"The more I talked to Justin, the more it was clear he wanted to talk to his dad."
— Gilbert King [01:43]

Jeremy expressed a desire to reconnect with his estranged father, revealing the loneliness he endured in solitary confinement.

"I just feel like at this point in time, since he's already opening up and stuff, I feel like we're both ready to talk to each other in a way."
— Jeremy Scott [01:48]

3. Jeremy's Violent Incidents in Prison

Despite his initial correspondence, Jeremy's violent tendencies resurfaced within the prison environment. King shares disturbing details of an incident where Jeremy assaulted another inmate.

"Inmate Blank was stabbed by inmate Jeremy Scott with an improvised ice pick style weapon."
— Gilbert King [05:31]

The critical incident summary reveals Jeremy's premeditated attack, emphasizing his ongoing propensity for violence even while incarcerated.

"He was just laying there with one eye open until the guy fell asleep."
— Jeremy Scott [08:57]

4. Validating Jeremy's Confession and Seeking Exoneration for Leo Scofield

King discusses the strategic conversations aimed at validating Jeremy's confession to exonerate Leo Scofield, who was wrongfully convicted for Michelle Schofield's murder.

"A Florida prosecutor once advised me that if I want this reporting to one day exonerate Leo, I need to prove that Jeremy Scott is credible."
— Gilbert King [15:00]

Through meticulous correspondence, King sought to gather corroborative evidence from Jeremy to substantiate his claims of innocence regarding Leo Scofield.

5. Introduction of Jeremy's Son, Justin, and Attempts to Reconnect

The episode introduces Justin, Jeremy's son, who reaches out to King seeking to bridge the gap between father and son. This development adds a profound emotional layer to the investigation.

"When Leo got released, some of the graduates were spread throughout the prison system to serve as pastors for other inmates."
— Oscar Smith [25:04]

Justin's involvement signifies a shift in Jeremy's isolation, offering a glimmer of hope for familial reconciliation.

6. Encounter with Oscar Smith and Insights into Jeremy's Mental State

Oscar Smith, a theological school graduate and pastor at Florida State Prison, provides firsthand insights into Jeremy's mental health and interactions within the prison.

"He's thinned. You know, anytime you're in confinement, there's a tendency of losing weight."
— Oscar Smith [27:38]

Oscar recounts a poignant encounter where Jeremy expresses his innocence regarding Michelle Schofield's murder, further complicating the narrative.

"I know who you are. He was like, okay."
— Oscar Smith [26:32]

7. Impact on Leo Scofield’s Exoneration

King reflects on the emotional turmoil of maintaining correspondence with both Jeremy and Leo Scofield, whose lives are intertwined by wrongful conviction and newfound truths.

"Now, I was talking to him every week, sometimes twice, and about all kinds of things."
— Gilbert King [10:11]

The dual communication highlights the complexities of seeking justice while navigating personal connections forged in the pursuit of truth.

8. Emotional and Ethical Dilemmas for Gilbert King

As King becomes increasingly involved in Jeremy's plight, he grapples with ethical questions about his role in potentially altering lives through his investigative efforts.

"It made me a little sick. Just what am I doing? Why do I stay in touch with him?"
— Gilbert King [10:11]

These internal conflicts underscore the moral weight of investigative journalism, especially when it intersects with personal relationships.

9. Ongoing Investigation and New Evidence

The episode concludes with King intensifying his efforts to gather irrefutable evidence to confirm Jeremy's confessions and further exonerate Leo Scofield. He describes his pursuit of physical evidence and the challenges inherent in dismantling entrenched wrongful convictions.

"He'd been locked up for 35 years. The state don't want people to really know."
— Jeremy Scott [15:02]

King's relentless pursuit highlights the persistent obstacles faced by those seeking justice and the profound impact of uncovering hidden truths.

Conclusion

Chapter 3 of Bone Valley presents a gripping continuation of Gilbert King's investigation into Jeremy Scott's confessions and the quest to exonerate the wrongfully convicted Leo Scofield. Through poignant interactions and the unveiling of new evidence, the episode navigates the intricate dynamics of justice, redemption, and the human capacity for change.

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Notable Quotes

• "The monster in me is coming alive one last time."
  — Jeremy Scott [01:56]

• "You have asked me about my family. I just don't understand why they stopped writing me."
  — Jeremy Scott [30:00]

• "Books have a way of building empathy. They let you step into someone else's life for a little while."
  — Gilbert King [19:02]

---

Additional Information

Bone Valley is the brainchild of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King, known for his profound investigative journalism. This episode, along with others in the series, offers a meticulously crafted narrative that challenges perceptions of justice and explores the depths of human emotion and resilience.

Follow Bone Valley on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at @lavaforgood for more updates and behind-the-scenes content.

---

Transcript

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[Stassi Schroeder]

Let's do this. Ciao. It's Stassi. Of course. Lisa brought in her favorite to be resident chaperone of the castle.

[Gilbert King]

Darcy is an icon.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

She's my eyes and ears.

[Stassi Schroeder]

I love this.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Get ready for the luxury and drama that awaits us in Italy.

[Carrie Champion]

Cheers to all the toxic couples in the castle.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Season two of Vanderpump Villa premieres April 24th.

[Stassi Schroeder]

Streaming on Hulu.

[Target Representative]

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[Gilbert King]

The more I talked to Justin, the more it was clear he wanted to talk to his dad.

[Jeremy Scott]

I just feel like at this point in time, since he's already opening up and stuff, I feel like we're both ready to talk to each other in a way.

[Gilbert King]

Well, I would honestly say it's true. I mean, he does talk a lot about his family and how I explained to Justin that Jeremy was on lockdown. We've been corresponding with him. I'll just tell you right now, he's in sort of in like solitary confinement right now. And Jeremy's life was still marked by chaos and violence, even in prison. At the time, I was the only one writing and talking to him. He does feel kind of lonely. It's been only recently people are talking. Yeah. He was no longer getting any letters from anyone in his family. He would say to me, you're the only person I talk to. The only person. Jeremy said that to me multiple times.

[Jeremy Scott]

When he said that, no one wrote him.

[Gilbert King]

I was like, damn.

[Jeremy Scott]

Because I ain't gonna lie. I got a letter from him before. I don't Remember what it says. I don't have it. But I never put the effort in. I always told my best friend I.

[Gilbert King]

Found myself in an unusual position. The bridge between a multiple murderer and the 35 year old son he'd never met. I never thought I'd end up here. So I want to tell you the story of how I did. Do you my madness Laughter hides my fears Sorrow depths are endless in this valley of tears I wanna see a revelation I wanna know who you are I'm out in desperation to the one who's holding the star to the one who's holding the star to the one who's holding the star to the one Bone Valley Season two Jeremy Chapter three Never turned her back on me. Well before Justin reached out to me, I got a midnight email from Jeremy. Mr. King, I have no hard feelings towards you or to society. I'll make this short. This will be my last time writing to you. The monster in me is coming alive one last time. Hope everything works out for you. Goodbye. After I got that cryptic message, I didn't hear from him again for a while. I had no idea where he was. Finally, I learned he'd been transferred to a different prison. And that's when we found out that he'd gotten into some kind of trouble. This is Inspector Padgett regarding an aggravated battery that occurred. I was able to get the report on the incident from the Florida Department of Corrections and a recording of the interview with the victim. Who is this inmate? Okay, so you woke up to him stabbing you. Where. Where was he stabbing you at?

[Carrie Champion]

Okay, so he, he stabbed you multiple times.

[Gilbert King]

Okay. The critical incident summary from the corrections officer on duty that night is also heavily redacted. It says after reviewing camera footage, inmate Scott could be seen entering the bathroom and retrieving the weapon and approaching inmate Blank's bunk as he slept and proceeded to carry out the assault by stabbing inmate Blank numerous times. Inmate Blank was stabbed by inmate Jeremy Scott with an improvised ice pick style weapon. The inmate that he stabbed survived and was transported to a hospital and Jeremy was put in immediate confinement. It was months later, after I found out Jeremy had been transferred to a different prison, that I got this letter. Dear Mr. King, I hope you are doing well. As for myself, I'm still alive. He's got the exclamation point there. He says, I had some trouble. It's all fucked up. I don't have shit, not even deodorant. I get one free letter once a month. Please get back to me as soon as you can. Thanks. Jeremy L. Scott. Jeremy was in solitary confinement at Florida State Prison. And at first he could only receive letters. But after a few months, he was allowed two free telephone calls a week. One for five minutes and one for 30.

[Justin]

Hello?

[Gilbert King]

This is a prepaid call from an inmate at a Florida Department of Corrections institution. Jeremy was living alone in a cell, sharing a floor with other inmates who were also in disciplinary confinement. They call it close management, or cm. An officer brings the phone to him in his cell.

[Justin]

Hey, can you hear me?

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah.

[Gilbert King]

And at first we just talked about how he was holding up in solitary.

[Justin]

Okay. Sorry about that. Yeah, good. I just couldn't.

[Gilbert King]

He started calling me almost every week.

[Justin]

Yeah. I also wanted to let you know I looked into the tablet too. Have you heard anything?

[Gilbert King]

And after a while, I asked him to tell me about the stabbing incident.

[Justin]

He wrote me a note and said that they might lock you up for a while.

[Jeremy Scott]

When I told you that, that. Because that stabbing I did or they hit on me and I found out about it.

[Gilbert King]

He said he'd gotten into trouble with some inmates, found out someone had put a hit on him and that he was in immediate danger.

[Justin]

How'd you find out that he was coming after you?

[Jeremy Scott]

Work gets round, you know, and all they gotta do is send cold. They can send through. They can.

[Gilbert King]

Inmates at different prisons send coded messages to each other.

[Jeremy Scott]

People got cell phones in prison.

[Gilbert King]

Jeremy claims that another inmate in his dorm with a contraband phone had seen a code, numbers or an emoji or something with Jeremy's picture. And Jeremy said he'd been in prison long enough to know what that meant. He was a marked man.

[Jeremy Scott]

They knew when I was coming. They knew who I was, what I looked like and everything.

[Gilbert King]

Jeremy said he knew the guy that was supposed to come after him.

[Jeremy Scott]

And I know who his dude was, right? And when I heard what he was gonna do, right, I just. I just snapped.

[Gilbert King]

He said he was just laying there with one eye open until the guy fell asleep.

[Jeremy Scott]

I know he wait for me to go to sleep, right? I was wide awake, so I know something's going to happen. It was going down, you know, by me being in prison all these years. I ain't stupid.

[Gilbert King]

This is Jeremy's side of the story. Anyway, there's video of Jeremy getting up from his bunk and going into the bathroom. He grabbed the weapon, went over to the bunk where his would be attacker had fallen asleep and he started stabbing him. The feeling I got from Jeremy about this is that he wasn't proud of what he did and he wasn't ashamed of it. He was telling me I had to do this to survive in here. And he said, I stabbed him. But I didn't kill him.

[Jeremy Scott]

I could actually killed him. I could have. Could have put it right in his heart.

[Gilbert King]

When I got that note from Jeremy that the monster was coming alive one more time, it was terrifying. And then to learn that he actually waited in the dark in his prison dorm for someone to fall asleep so he could stab him, it made me a little sick. Just what am I doing? Why do I stay in touch with him? Up to this point, most of my communication with Jeremy had been pragmatic. I wrote to him with questions and sent him a few stamps. He wrote me back with information that helped confirm he was the man who murdered Leo Scofield. Now I was talking to him every week, sometimes twice, and about all kinds of things. It used to be that the only phone calls I got from prison were from Leo. Leo was the person at the center of this story. Leo was the guy I kept in touch with. Now I started to worry. What would Leo think of my recent telephone calls with the man who confessed to murdering Michelle?

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Hello, darlings. Pack your suitcase for a new season of the Hulu original reality series Vanderpump Villa.

[Stassi Schroeder]

Let's do this. Ciao. It's Stassi. Of course. Lisa brought in her favorite to be resident chaperone of the castle.

[Gilbert King]

Darcy is an icon.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

She's my eyes and ears.

[Stassi Schroeder]

I love this.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Get ready for the luxury and drama that awaits us in Italy.

[Carrie Champion]

Cheers to all the toxic couples in the castle.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Season two of Vanderpump Villa premieres April 24th.

[Stassi Schroeder]

Streaming on Hulu.

[Target Representative]

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[Carrie Champion]

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[Gilbert King]

The first time I talked to Leo about the fact that I was continuing a dialogue with Jeremy Scott, I wasn't really sure how Leo would feel. But Leo told me, gilbert, I'm proud of you.

[Oscar Smith]

We're out the truth, you know, and he's the one that supplied the truth. But I would really like him to know and feel that myself and those who represent me are, you know, concerned for his well being as well.

[Gilbert King]

Jeremy continued to help me corroborate that his account of what he'd done to Michelle was the truth, that Leo was innocent. In one of my letters to him, I wrote, you've been so helpful to me in my investigation and I think you could help me understand a few more things that I'm still not very clear on. In our calls, he would answer most of my questions. You know what?

[Justin]

I want to ask you something. Jamie said that you. She used to hang out behind the mall. The Lakeland Mall.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah, Little place we created what was.

[Justin]

Back there, like benches or something. Like where'd you hang out in?

[Jeremy Scott]

Around our cars. You know, Jamie had a car.

[Gilbert King]

A Florida prosecutor once advised me that if I want this reporting to one day exonerate Leo, I need to prove that Jeremy Scott is credible. So that's one reason I wanted to keep my conversations with Jeremy going about Michelle and about another murder he told me he committed.

[Jeremy Scott]

You know, we'd be out here listening to music, you know, and we got beer or something, you know, and is.

[Justin]

That Jeremy, is that the same place that you hid the gun?

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah.

[Gilbert King]

And Jeremy was giving me good information. I was able to source it and corroborate it with records I had.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah, that's where I ate that gun at.

[Gilbert King]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Scott]

And she went, she went looking for it, couldn't find it. When I saw her looking until she left, I went and got it, moved it. And I knew somebody, somebody had saw Me put it there.

[Gilbert King]

In one of his letters to me, it's clear Jeremy was still thinking about Michelle. He wrote, they know Leo didn't do it. Hell, he'd been locked up for 35 years. The state don't want people to really know. During the course of my conversations with Jeremy, Leo was finally able to get out of prison. He wasn't exonerated. He was still a convicted felon in the eyes of the state, but he was paroled and he was now in a halfway house in Tampa. The So I told Jeremy about it and told him. Leo believes that a big part of why he's out is because of you and your willingness to be honest about what you'd done. Jeremy didn't say much, but I could tell he felt like he'd done something good. It was a strange place for me to be in between these two guys, both of them caring about each other. In a way, it's what gave me permission to continue the conversations, even when they weren't explicitly about the cases I was investigating.

[Justin]

Hello?

[Jeremy Scott]

Hello? Hey.

[Justin]

Oh, Jeremy, you're there.

[Gilbert King]

Yeah, he always seemed to call when I was at the office. So I'd see it pop up on my phone saying, rayford, hey, good to hear from you. I always picked it up. If I saw it, I just say, all right, half hour time for Jeremy.

[Justin]

You don't have any glasses right now.

[Jeremy Scott]

No, I'll borrow my next door neighbor's glasses.

[Justin]

Okay. We gotta get you some new glasses.

[Jeremy Scott]

These guys hurt my eyes.

[Justin]

Oh, yeah, that's no good. You gotta get the right ones.

[Gilbert King]

From the very start, I was excited to get his calls.

[Justin]

All right, can you hear me?

[Gilbert King]

Like, wow. All right, this is gonna be interesting.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah.

[Justin]

What's the name of that author again? Just spell it out again.

[Jeremy Scott]

All right.

[Gilbert King]

He talked a lot about how in solitary reading is the only thing I can do if I don't have any books. All I can do is sit here and think. And I know those were really dark moments for him. So he would tell me what he likes to read.

[Jeremy Scott]

Alright, Mark, his last name is G R E A N E Y.

[Gilbert King]

So I started sending him paperbacks.

[Justin]

Okay, great. Okay, good.

[Gilbert King]

And. And he likes James Patterson and Stephen King. He likes some western writers. I sent him Game of Thrones.

[Jeremy Scott]

It don't make no sense how they kill all them kids off like that.

[Justin]

I know.

[Jeremy Scott]

And now only one left is the two girls and that one little boy. Yeah, and the cripple in the cripple kid, which he's gonna become something else.

[Justin]

Yeah. He. He's a. He becomes a really big part of it later.

[Gilbert King]

I was mostly sending things that my kids had read because Jeremy had only gone through the fourth grade in school. I didn't want to just keep sending him the same authors, so I sent him the Hunger Games to mix things up for him.

[Jeremy Scott]

Remember that series you sent me? Yeah, that was pretty. That was a pretty good series too.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Scott]

Somebody told me they got it on. On tv, too.

[Justin]

Oh, really? I didn't even know that. I'll check it out.

[Gilbert King]

Yeah, books have a way of building empathy. They let you step into someone else's life for a little while. And I wanted Jeremy to experience that, too, to escape the reality of being locked in a prison cell. Even for a moment, I could see how reading relaxed him, how it opened him up. Our conversations became more honest. And as I got to know this side of Jeremy, I started to see him differently. The more we talked, the more I understood. He didn't want to be the violent person he'd been in the past. He wanted to be better. And maybe just by talking with him, I could help him do that.

[Jeremy Scott]

Looks pretty good. I still want to read the rest of them Will of Time series, but, man, that's a lot. That's a lot of books there. They got 18 books in that. In that series.

[Justin]

Really?

[Jeremy Scott]

I think I only read five of them so far. I think I read book 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

[Justin]

Okay, so you're going in order then? Okay.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah. Ever since I came back over here, seem like everything's been going wrong for me. I get gas for real. No reason. They sprayed me that pepper spray. I ain't do nothing.

[Gilbert King]

Sometimes Jeremy was in a really, really dark place. And when I'd pick up the phone, I'd recognize that today would just be a listening day.

[Jeremy Scott]

Now, my stolen. And. And it got to be something. Something going on. Some kind of something's going on here. I don't understand this. I gotta go to medical. I gotta get. I gotta get a test run on me because I gotta. I got a knot in my stomach.

[Gilbert King]

He was having some real health problems, losing a lot of weight.

[Jeremy Scott]

And I asked the male nurse about it, right? He said. He said it could be. It could be a hernia, right? Or it could be a tumor.

[Justin]

Where is it on your phone? In my. Where's it on your stomach? Is it really low or higher?

[Jeremy Scott]

It's. It's like that knot. It's like. Yeah, it's right. It's like maybe 2 inches above my navel.

[Justin]

Okay.

[Jeremy Scott]

It's right there, right in the middle of my gut.

[Justin]

Okay.

[Jeremy Scott]

And it hurts when I touch it.

[Justin]

Oh. All right.

[Jeremy Scott]

And when. When I lay down, I can see. I can see my ribs. Cages.

[Justin]

Oh, man. Jeremy, are they letting you see a doctor? Are they going to get you to see a doctor?

[Jeremy Scott]

They're gonna. I don't like to do it now because, you know, they.

[Gilbert King]

They.

[Jeremy Scott]

You know, they charge you $5 every time you go up there to see a doctor or nurse. You know they're going to charge you $5 to see the nurse, and she's gonna write it down. Then she's gonna put up a. A report into the doctor. Then you gotta wait a couple weeks, maybe a month. You know, your name pops up. You know, anything can happen by then, you know?

[Justin]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. All right. That's horrible.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Hello, darlings. Pack your suitcase for a new season of the Hulu original reality series Vanderpump Villa.

[Stassi Schroeder]

Let's do this. Ciao. It's Stassi. Of course. Lisa brought in her favorite to be resident chaperone of the castle.

[Gilbert King]

Stassi is an icon.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

She's my eyes and ears.

[Stassi Schroeder]

I love this.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Get ready for the luxury and drama that awaits us in Italy.

[Carrie Champion]

Cheers to all the toxic couples in the castle.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

Season two of Vanderpump Villa premieres April 24th.

[Stassi Schroeder]

Streaming on Hulu.

[Target Representative]

Bring spring to your door with Target Circle360. Get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle 360. From Easter basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35.

[Carrie Champion]

Hey, everyone. This is Carrie Champion, the host of Naked Sports. When you sit behind the wheel of the all new 2025 Nissan Armada Pro 4X, you'll feel like the entire world is your playground. And you'd be right. Because this unshakable fortress of a vehicle is built to take you on your next adventure. With a twin turbo V6 engine, the all new Armada is powerful enough to take you anywhere. With its £8,500 of towing capacity, it will let you bring all your toys along. And with seating for eight, your whole crew can join you. Nissan created a truly capable vehicle in the all new Armada. In fact, it's the first Armada to earn the Pro 4X badge which Nissan reserves for its most adventure ready vehicles. The Armada is a big SUV designed and built for big adventures. It must be experienced to be appreciated. Drive the all new 2025 Nissan Armada today. Learn more at nissanusa.com intelligent four wheel drive cannot prevent collisions or provide enhanced traction in all conditions. Always monitor traffic and weather conditions.

[Gilbert King]

At the time I was getting all these phone calls from Jeremy, I found out that for the first time he'd found someone on the inside that he could trust.

[Justin]

Hey, sorry about that. Okay, cool. I'm so glad you called me.

[Gilbert King]

Zach, how you doing, man?

[Oscar Smith]

Yeah, I'm doing all right. Yeah.

[Gilbert King]

Actually, this is Oscar Smith. Turns out Oscar went to theological school with Leo while they were both at Hardy CI.

[Oscar Smith]

He actually sat next to me right in front of the class.

[Gilbert King]

It's a class that you can get a degree from within the prison. From what I understand, Oscar and Leo graduated at the top of their class.

[Oscar Smith]

Eventually, of course, became almost inseparable.

[Gilbert King]

After Leo got released, some of the graduates were spread throughout the prison system to serve as pastors for other inmates. Oscar was transferred up to Florida State Prison where Jeremy was.

[Oscar Smith]

Somebody asked who we were, so I was explaining to them who we were as field ministers.

[Gilbert King]

And he mentions that he came from Hardy CI.

[Oscar Smith]

And then I heard a voice and he said, you guys are from Hardy. And I kind of looked over and I said, yeah. And he asked me, he said, do you know Leo Scofield? And I said, yes, me. And they were pretty close. And he goes, I'm Jeremy Scott.

[Gilbert King]

Oscar knows exactly who this is. He's very familiar with Leo's case.

[Oscar Smith]

And I'm like, I'm looking at him and the wing that he's in, it's all open sale. It's just like open bars. So I'm actually can see him face to face. There's really the only thing that stands between me and him is just some steel bars. At the time, I was like, froze. My heart just sank. I paused for a minute and I said, actually, I know quite a bit about you, sir. And I said, I've talked to Leo. I said, I know who you are. He was like, okay. And the next thing he told me, he said, listen, Leo's innocent. He goes, I killed his wife and now nobody wants to listen.

[Jeremy Scott]

He said, you Jeremy Scott? I said, that's me, right? He shook my hand. He was one of the ones that worked with Leo over there.

[Gilbert King]

Jeremy was impressed that somebody close to Leo was still willing to talk to him and be Kind to him.

[Justin]

Yeah. There was a lot of guys praying for you, including, you know, Leo, obviously.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah.

[Gilbert King]

I remember thinking like, this is a relief in a way that now there's someone on the inside who can keep an eye on Jeremy.

[Justin]

How did he look to you when.

[Gilbert King]

You first saw him?

[Oscar Smith]

He's thinned. You know, I mean, anytime you're in confinement or something like that, there's a tendency of losing weight just because the trays that come back there aren't always the best trays. You know, the bread's, you know, laying in beans, and so it's all mushy and soppy and so, you know, it's just. Yeah, so you have a tendency to eat less. So I mean, he was thin, looked frail. You know, he seemed to be in decent spirits. You know, it wasn't like he was really distraught or anything else like that.

[Gilbert King]

But, I mean, Oscar told me that once a week he goes up on that wing and talks to Jeremy.

[Oscar Smith]

Walked up there two weeks ago, and he had a gash on his head. He was literally bleeding from his head. And I'm looking at Jeremy and he was frazzled, kind of had tears in his eyes. He had a split basically on his forehead, but a little bit more towards the top of his head. So I knew there was something going on. You know, they can't reach one another or they can't do whatever. So I don't know if it was self inflicted because he was angry at something and I, I have no idea.

[Gilbert King]

Oscar was worried about Jeremy's mental health.

[Justin]

Oscar told me you busted your head open. What happened?

[Jeremy Scott]

Oh, they, they lost my property. They, they, they threw all my stuff away.

[Justin]

They did?

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah, they threw all my stuff away. I ain't got nothing. The books you sent me? Yeah, the four books. I, I, I ain't got to read them. They all, they, they were in my property, man. I ain't got nothing. I'm talking about everything I own within that, within my logger is gone.

[Justin]

God.

[Jeremy Scott]

Hey, can you, can you give me four of them books?

[Justin]

Yeah, you want more? Four of the gray Man.

[Jeremy Scott]

I ain't never, I ain't never got to redo other ones.

[Justin]

I'll just send you, I'll just send you the same ones. If you didn't get them, I'll just send the same ones to you. Did you ever see a doctor about your stomach?

[Jeremy Scott]

No. I still ain't seen him.

[Gilbert King]

I was still pressing Jeremy for answers, but I could feel myself getting pulled into his life in ways I never expected. Helping him navigate his health issues, Trying to reconnect him with family he hasn't heard from in years.

[Justin]

I'll tell you this. I talked to Joshua. Do you remember him?

[Jeremy Scott]

Who?

[Justin]

Joshua. He's Jason's brother.

[Jeremy Scott]

Oh, my cousin.

[Oscar Smith]

Yeah, Josh.

[Gilbert King]

Then there were moments when I heard something else in him. A flash of who he might have been. A childhood memory that makes him laugh.

[Jeremy Scott]

And the only other person that he might be still around is John Scott. Johnny Scott. That's my oldest cousin.

[Justin]

Yeah, I don't know him at all. I'll look into him.

[Jeremy Scott]

He's the one got me into crime.

[Justin]

Oh, really?

[Jeremy Scott]

He's one person. His first time I ever did a crime with was with him.

[Justin]

What kind of crime was it?

[Jeremy Scott]

Oh, we saw the truck.

[Justin]

Oh, okay.

[Jeremy Scott]

Yeah, he's not a criminal. That was something we did when we. We weren't 13 years old. Name that? I think I might have been nine or ten.

[Justin]

Yeah, I think. I think you had an arrest at 10, so you started pretty young.

[Gilbert King]

One day, I got this letter from Jeremy. It says. Mr. King, I almost forgot to ask you. You have asked me about my family. I just don't understand why they stopped writing me. My Aunt Debbie, of all people. I tried writing her, but heard nothing. Maybe you can find out. I really would like to know. I miss them. Thank you, Mr. King. He's lost his whole family. He hasn't had contact with them for over a decade. And I said, well, listen, I'm trying to talk to them too. I'll try to find out. I had no luck with Jeremy's Aunt Debbie, so I reached out to some family members who were close to her. I finally got in touch with her son Joshua, Jeremy's cousin. I set up a time to meet with him, and at the last minute, he said he had Covid. He was very apologetic. He said, I'm so sorry. It's just not a good time. So I kept texting him, and he ended up telling me some bad news. News I knew Jeremy was gonna take hard.

[Justin]

Well, yeah, I've been in touch with. With Josh. We've just had a hard time connecting. I think he got covet or something like that. So.

[Jeremy Scott]

Do you know if anybody else died in my family?

[Justin]

Yeah. Yeah, I do. Jeremy. And I'm sorry to tell you this, but Josh said that Debbie died a couple years ago, and.

[Jeremy Scott]

Mama?

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Scott]

Oh, my God.

[Justin]

Yeah. He said it was like Christmas Eve in 2021. And he said. He said, I don't even know if Jeremy knows yet.

[Jeremy Scott]

No, no, me and her were close.

[Justin]

Yeah. I know. I. I was hoping to talk to her, and I. I just. I'm sorry that I'm the one that have to tell you that, but I. I just found out, and I was trying to think about who I could maybe have you talk to about that, but since you asked, that's why I.

[Jeremy Scott]

Never heard from her.

[Justin]

Yeah, she died a couple years ago.

[Jeremy Scott]

I know. She never turned her back on me because it was her. And Grandma always came to see me.

[Justin]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Scott]

No, he always helped me out.

[Justin]

Yeah, I know she. I know she was important and she. I know she raised you.

[Gilbert King]

Before I met Jeremy's son, Justin, I didn't think anyone else from Jeremy's family was ever going to write him, much less call or visit. I had tried to be a bridge between Jeremy and his family, but I'd failed.

[Oscar Smith]

Talking about his Aunt Debbie and speaking to him about that. He was worried about his own death. He doesn't want to be buried in a prison cemetery.

[Gilbert King]

The Florida State Prison Cemetery at Rayford doesn't get many visitors. The gravestones are simple gray concrete slabs in the ground, each anchored by silver metal plates produced by inmates in the prison's license tag plant. They're embossed with the inmate's name, prison number, and date of death. That's it. You don't see any flowers laid on top. It's the final resting place for inmates who died in custody and are unclaimed by family members. Some of the men buried here were strapped to Old Sparky, Florida's electric chair or a gurney, where they were executed by lethal injection. Jeremy knows he's never getting out of prison, but the idea of being buried on prison grounds seems to bother him more than anything.

[Oscar Smith]

He said, but, Oscar, I don't want to be buried here. He goes, not all. I don't know how to go about that. I asked him. I said, well, if you have any family, I said, the best bet would be for you to try to contact them somehow, some way, because if nobody is willing to take responsibility for the body, then they have no other recourse but to bury you in a prison cemetery because you're a ward of the state.

[Gilbert King]

There would have to be someone out there who cares enough to claim Jeremy's body. When Jeremy's son Justin, asked me to help him talk to his dad, I was wary, but also intrigued. I knew if I told Jeremy there was a family member who wanted to talk to him, he would be uplifted. And the idea that it was his son, I could only imagine the excitement. He'd feel. So I told Jeremy that his son wanted to write to him. Jeremy told me he would write to Justin. And while I waited for them to find their first words for each other, I headed back to Florida. I wanted to make one final attempt to put my hands on evidence that could prove without a doubt that Jeremy Scott was telling the truth about what he'd done.

[Jeremy Scott]

We had two dogs from the time.

[Gilbert King]

He did lead them to the abandoned house, but they lost him there. Okay, so the dog thought that whoever did this went to the abandoned house?

[Jeremy Scott]

Yes sir.

[Gilbert King]

Okay. Yes sir. That's next time. Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good Pot in association with Signal Company Number One. Our executive producers are Jason Flom, Jeff Kempler and Kevin Werdes. Kara Kornhaber is our senior producer. Jackie Pauley and Hannah Beale are our producers. Britt Spangler is our sound designer. Marianne McCune is our editor. Fact Checking by Danya Suleiman Jeff Clyburn is our head of marketing and operations. Our social media director is Ismati Guardarama, our social media manager is Sarah Gibbons and our art director is Andrew Nelson. Additional research and production by Kelsey Decker Additional sound recording by James Johnson. Bone Valley is written and produced by me, Gilbert King. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and threads @lavaforgood.

[Stassi Schroeder]

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[Oscar Smith]

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[Gilbert King]

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