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 2003 and 2004. While he 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 he and his brother moved to their grandmother’s home, a neighbor named Theodore Peyton sexually abused both of them, which reportedly led to him even 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 adult years and 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 – he married Larissa Hentz in 1993 before welcoming two sons with her, only for them to divorce in 1997. Thus, Scott felt as if his luck and the entire world were against him, which, psychologists claim, was a major reason behind his violent spree.
According to records, Scott’s first wife, Larissa, later went on to accuse him of kidnapping and raping her, but following her failing a polygraph test, charges were not filed. However, he was soon 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, he 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, resulting in him being let off with minimal punishment. But alas, once released, Scott went on to commit four heinous murders, all the while giving 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 the month, and although her car was located 40 miles away from the hotel she last checked into, she couldn’t be located anywhere. Later, Scott revealed he’d taken LeAnn to Bryson Canyon before shooting her in the back of her head.
Similarly, Jennifer Lynn Marcum got close to Scott before going missing in February 2003, and Kaysi McLeod, his then-partner Lori McLeod’s daughter, also vanished in August. Though he 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 all this, reports claim that he had allegedly even 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 zero in on their perpetrator as Scott’s affinity for committing fraud allowed him to keep using his victim’s financial assets, which in turn, made it seem like they were alive.
However, by 2005, Scott began making mistakes in his scams and drew attention when he got caught on security cameras while making a fraudulent deposit. On the other hand, then-partner Lori McLeod eventually became estranged from him. There was also an incident where one of his 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, he was finally apprehended following a short car chase on March 14, 2006.
Scott Kimball Remains Behind Bars Today
Since Kaysi McLeod’s remains were later located and identified in 2007, the police knew they had enough information to prove that she was last seen in Scott’s company before losing her life. They thus placed the evidence in front of him, resulting in him agreeing to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for leading investigators to the remains of his victims. He then helped the police recover LeAnn Emry and Terry Kimball’s bodies – Jennifer Marcum’s remains were never found, as a result of which, he plea deal was renegotiated. 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 all this, 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 too. However, readers should note that even though Scott was suspected of murdering Catrina Powell, who was located in Westminister, Colorado, in January 2004, and authorities were convinced of his involvement in the New Mexico West Mesa murders, he has never been charged with 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.
Scott moved on pretty quickly, and he is currently married to Elizabeth Marie Francis, another inmate incarcerated for child abuse, whom he has never actually met in person. Furthermore, in 2017, Scott faced charges of soliciting to commit two first-degree murders and attempted escape – he and another inmate had planned a helicopter escape and decided to murder two people on the outside. So, at present, apart from his murder sentencing, Scott is also serving a 70-month 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 high-security United States Penitentiary, Florence High in Colorado, with an estimated release date of 2082.
Read More: Where Is Lori McLeod Now?
