Shraman Mitra
A terrifying serial killer and a con man, Scott Kimball, even agreed to become an FBI informant just to escape staying in prison. However, by the time the FBI realized they were being conned, Scott had already murdered four victims and swindled money out of many more. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: Evil Undercover’ and ’20/20: Rocky Mountain Horror’ chronicle the life of Scott Kimball and portray how he was finally brought to justice after numerous tries.
Who Is Scott Kimball?
Scott Kimball is a serial killer who was active between the years 2003-2004. While Scott was born in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996, his mother, Barb, came out as a lesbian when he was ten years old. This made his childhood extremely turbulent as he experienced his parent’s divorce and even had his first brush with the law during his adolescent years when he had to face police action after firing a gun at his neighbor’s window. Moreover, when Scott and his brother moved to their grandmother’s home, a neighbor named Theodore Peyton sexually abused both of them, which reportedly led to Scott shooting himself in the head at 23 years of age. Still, the bullet only grazed his skull, and proper medical care eventually saved his life.
During Scott’s early criminal career, he got involved in several non-violent and petty crimes, including credit card fraud, which aimed to scam people of their money. On top of it, even his experience with marriage did not go according to plan as Scott married Larissa Hentz in 1993 and even had two sons with her before getting a divorce in 1997. Thus, Scott felt as if his luck and the entire world was against him, which, psychologists claim, was a major reason behind his violent murder spree.
According to the show, Scott’s first wife, Larissa, later went on to accuse Scott of kidnapping and raping her, but following her failing a polygraph test, charges were not filed. However, he soon got arrested and sent to prison for an earlier fraud conviction. Yet, Scott escaped from a halfway house shortly after, and Larissa claimed he came back to rape her the second time. Although the rape accusation was never confirmed, Scott faced charges related to the escape and was finally apprehended in Alaska.
While in custody in Alaska, Scott convinced the FBI that he would spy for them, and the show mentioned that he was let off with minimal punishment. However, once released, Scott went on to commit four heinous murders and, in turn, tried to give the FBI false information about solving the cases. He initially attacked and killed LeAnn Emry in January 2003. The girl went missing towards the end of January, and although her car was located 40 miles away from the hotel she last checked into, she couldn’t be located anywhere. Later, Scott insisted he took LeAnn to Bryson Canyon before shooting her in the back of her head.
Similarly, Jennifer Lynn Marcum got close to Scott Kimball before going missing in February 2003, and Kaysi McLeod, Scott’s then-partner Lori McLeod’s daughter, also vanished in August 2003. However, Scott did not stop there as his uncle, Terry Kimball, disappeared in 2004, with the serial killer claiming he had won a lottery and moved to Mexico with a stripper. Yet, Scott later confessed to shooting Terry to death before disposing of his body. On top of it, the show mentions that reports claim Scott had allegedly tried to kill his son for insurance fraud by injuring him with a grate and then throwing him out of the car window while on the way to the hospital. Unfortunately, it took authorities quite some time to get on these cases as Scott’s affinity for committing fraud allowed him to keep using the victim’s financial assets, which in turn made it seem like they were alive.
However, by 2005, Scott became lazy in his scams and drew attention when he got caught on security cameras while making a fraudulent deposit. On the other hand, Lori McLeod had gotten estranged from her husband. There was also an incident where one of Scott’s scams apparently involved Lori’s name. Thus, while questioning her, the police soon found Scott’s phone number, which they traced to an address in Riverside, California. There, Scott was finally apprehended after a short car chase.
Scott Kimball Remains Behind Bars Today
Since Kaysi McLeod’s remains were located and identified in 2007, the police knew that they had enough information to prove that one of Scott’s victims was last seen in his company before losing their life. Thus, they faced Scott with the evidence and offered him a plea deal, which would see him plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for leading investigators to the remains of his victims. Scott immediately agreed to this deal and helped the police recover LeAnn Emry and Terry Kimball’s bodies, even though Jennifer Marcum’s remains haven’t been located as of yet. Subsequently, the serial killer pled guilty to four counts of second-degree murder, as a result of which the judge sentenced him to 70 years in prison in 2009. On top of it, Scott was also convicted of several other charges, including fraud and forgery.
Although Scott tried to appear in front of the media in order to explain his actions, several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, believed he was involved in other homicides. However, readers should note that even though Scott was suspected of murdering Catrina Powerll, who was located in Westminister, Colorado, on January 2004, and authorities were convinced of his involvement in the New Mexico West Mesa murders, he has never been charged for the same. On the other hand, Scott’s wife, Lori, decided to annul their marriage in 2008 and even spoke openly about the deception and abuse she faced during the relationship.
However, Scott moved on pretty quickly, and he is currently married to Elizabeth Marie Francis, another inmate incarcerated for child abuse, whom he has never met in person. Subsequently, in 2017, Scott was arrested on charges of soliciting to commit first-degree murder and attempted escape. At present, apart from his murder sentencing, Scott is also serving a 70 months sentence on a federal gun charge and an additional 48 years for fraud. Moreover, in 2021, Scott was moved out of the Colorado prison system, and he currently remains behind bars at the United States Penitentiary, McCreary, in unincorporated McCreary County, Kentucky, with an estimated release date of 2082.
Read More: Where Is Lori McLeod Now?
