Groundbreaking Lava For Good Series Unearths Jaw-Dropping New Evidence in Controversial Florida Murder Case
‘Bone Valley’ Is Available on iHeartRadio and All Popular Podcast Platforms Today
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the heels of its recently-inked deal with the iHeartPodcast Network, award-winning multimedia platform Lava for Good today debuts the first two episodes of Bone Valley, a gripping story of murder and the chilling miscarriage of justice. The episodes are now available on iHeartRadio and all popular podcast platforms. (Listen now.)
The 9-episode podcast chronicling the case of Leo Schofield and the killer who claims to have murdered Leo’s wife is written and hosted by acclaimed investigative reporter Gilbert King, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Devil In The Grove. On September 23, the Schofield case will be the subject of a special episode of ABC’s 20/20 that is based on the podcast — airing two days after Bone Valley launches.
In 1987, 21-year-old guitarist Leo Schofield was pursuing his rockstar dreams when his teenage wife Michelle was found dead in a phosphate mining pit in Lakeland, Florida. Two years later, Schofield was convicted and sentenced to life in prison despite his claims of innocence and ample evidence unearthed by King and researcher Kelsey Decker pointing to the actual killer.
Fifteen years after Schofield’s conviction, previously unidentified fingerprints from Michelle’s car matched Jeremy Scott — a troubled teen with an extensive history of violence who lived near the young couple at the time. Scott has since confessed to Michelle’s murder, yet Schofield remains behind bars.
The Bone Valley podcast leads listeners on a unique and provocative true crime investigation featuring firsthand accounts from both Schofield and Scott themselves. With heartrending clarity and suspense, Bone Valley unearths new evidence in the case, exposing the catastrophic flaws in the American criminal justice system and documenting the story of both a wrongly accused man and a confessed killer in their desperate search for truth and redemption.
It’s a return to Central Florida for King, whose New York Times-bestselling book, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America, also took place in the region. His cutting-edge research for that book led to the 2021 exonerations of the wrongly-accused men known as the Groveland Four. King has written about race, civil rights, and the death penalty for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic.
“We spent four years of our lives investigating this case, and anyone who listens to Bone Valley is going to be shocked and outraged by what we’ve uncovered,” King said. “Above all, this series exposes how the wrongful conviction of Leo Schofield allowed Michelle’s real murderer to escape justice and kill more people in Florida.”
“This truly is a case like no other. Leo Schofield maintains his innocence as he sits behind bars for this murder, while Jeremy Scott has credibly and voluntarily confessed but was never charged for it,” said Jason Flom, founder and CEO of Lava for Good. “The state of Florida believes neither of them. We hope that by revealing the parallel narratives of these two men, we will finally expose the truth and bring about the justice that Leo has awaited for over three decades.”
To listen to Bone Valley and the current slate of Lava for Good series, find them on iHeartRadio and all popular podcast platforms or visit www.lavaforgood.com to learn more. Bone Valley is distributed by iHeartPodcasts.
About Lava for Good
Lava for Good creates standout original content, podcasts, and experiences, amplifying the voices of contemporary social justice champions and inspiring action towards a more informed, empathic, and just society.
Founded and led by renowned music executive, children's book author, and philanthropist Jason Flom along with Lava Media COO Jeff Kempler, Lava for Good’s #1-charting lineup of podcasts, produced in association with Signal Co. No1, have been downloaded over 35 million times and are credited with influencing exonerations, clemencies, pardons, legislation and reforms nationwide. The lineup, hosted by leading experts, attorneys, activists, formerly incarcerated persons, and journalists on the frontlines of human rights and justice movements, currently includes Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng, Righteous Convictions with Jason Flom, False Confessions, Junk Science, and more, and is available on all major podcast platforms.
Media inquiries:
Dawn Kamerling
The Press House
dawn@thepresshouse.com
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