Voices for the Victims
Behind every Bone Valley season is a conviction: the right story, told with purpose, humanity, and craft, can have an enormous impact. Award-winning investigative documentaries from the fault lines of America's justice system.
In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder.
In Season 2, Jeremy Gilbert King brings us a story about her actual killer, Jeremy Sco
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Author Gilbert King receives a message from a Florida judge who claims that there is an innocent man in prison, wrongly convicted of murdering his wife back in 1987. King and researcher Kelsey Decker meet Leo Schofield in prison and l
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Leo’s friends and family search desperately for Michelle around Lakeland, Florida. Three days later, her body is found in a phosphate mining pit with 26 stab wounds. Leo is arrested, charged with first degree murder, and faces the ele
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Facing the death penalty, Leo Schofield retains renowned Polk County defense attorney Jack Edmund, who must square off against an aggressive young prosecutor, John Aguero at trial. The prosecutor builds his case around testimony from
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Gilbert and Kelsey analyze the State’s case against Leo Schofield and locate a juror who admits she didn’t believe that Leo was guilty. As the years pass, Leo’s appellate attempts fail, and he falls in love with social worker Crissie
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Gilbert and Kelsey do a deep dive investigation into Jeremy Scott. By speaking to people who were close to Jeremy at the time, a picture emerges of an impulsive and troubled teenager who was prone to violence. When investigators confr
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Jeremy Scott’s ex-girlfriend reveals some incriminating information about his life in the late-1980s, leading Gilbert and Kelsey to investigate Jeremy’s potential links to another crime in a neighboring county. Leo Schofield is grante
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Leo Schofield grapples with a devastating legal decision, and the intensity of his feelings towards Jeremy Scott. But he soon learns that Jeremy has more to say. Leo is granted another hearing, and Jeremy testifies once again. This ti
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Gilbert and Kelsey travel to the Florida prison where they will interview Jeremy Scott. Jeremy tells them about his interactions with prosecutor John Aguero, his involvement in a 1987 unsolved homicide, his encounter with Michelle Sch
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Leo Schofield faces more legal setbacks. Gilbert and Kelsey attend Leo’s latest hearings: one before an appellate court, and one before the parole board. In the aftermath, Gilbert writes a letter to Jeremy Scott. Soon, Jeremy begins s
Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer prize winning host of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng sits down for a Q&A with Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker from the new podcast Bone Valley. Listen in as Gilbert and Kelsey share with Maggie the answers to many que
Gilbert and Kelsey drive to Hardee Correctional Institution with Judge Scott Cupp, who hasn’t seen Leo in nearly a decade. Judge Cupp has arranged a visit with his former client, because he has something important that he wants to share—a personal de
Leo shares a message for listeners of Bone Valley about the impact of the podcast on his life, and his hopes for freedom.
For photos, images, and full transcripts of each episode visit: https://lavaforgood.com/bone-valley/
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In preparation for the upcoming parole hearing in Tallahassee on May 3rd, Gilbert and Kelsey travel to Florida to preview what’s at stake for Leo. They visit a halfway house in Tampa, and speak to Crissie, Ashley, Jessie Saum, and Seth Miller. They a
Leo Schofield’s parole hearing is held in Tallahassee, FL on May 3rd, 2023, before the Florida Commission on Offender Review. In the lead up to the hearing, Gilbert and Kelsey check in with Scott Cupp and Crissie Schofield. Following the commission’s
On July 16, 1949, 17-year-old Norma Padgett and her estranged husband, Willie Padgett, reported to police that they had been attacked by four black men in Lake County, FL, with Norma claiming that the men had raped her. On the same day, police arrest
Gilbert and Kelsey check in with Leo Schofield, who has spent the last 7 months at the Corrections Transition Program at Everglades Correctional Institution, where he’s been preparing for life on the outside after more than 35 years of incarceration.
Leo Schofield’s parole hearing in Tallahassee, FL, April 17th, 2024 with reporting from Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker.
Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for priv
Leo Schofield takes his first steps outside prison in 36 years. Gilbert and Kelsey spend the day with him.
Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat
Jeremy: Chapter 1 | You Told Me No
After Bone Valley Season 1, something unexpected happened: people began to respond to Jeremy Scott—not for who he was, but for what he did—finally telling the truth. Among those drawn in is someone who has every re
Jeremy: Chapter 2 | Destroyer
Justin’s life has been shaped by absence—of answers, of explanations, and his father. Now that he’s reaching back, he’s haunted by what he might find: rumors of brutality, inherited darkness, a legacy of violence.
As G
Jeremy: Chapter 3 | Never Turned Her Back on Me
As Gilbert’s relationship with Jeremy deepens, it’s tested by Jeremy’s darkest instincts. After a long silence, Jeremy reveals he’s been thrown into solitary confinement because he stabbed another inma
Jeremy: Chapter 4 | Horse and Buggy
Some truths never see the light. Gilbert has long believed that Jeremy Scott is responsible for more deaths than the state acknowledges—especially the unsolved murder of a cab driver in Intercession City. He’s tr
Jeremy: Chapter 5 | Like a Little Kid
Meri is a housecleaner in North Florida. She didn’t know Jeremy. She just listened to Bone Valley. And she wrote him a letter.
Their friendship becomes a lifeline—something neither of them expected, and both of
Jeremy: Chapter 6 | Walk Down that Road
By taking Michelle’s life, Jeremy not only shattered her family’s world—he also took Leo’s freedom.
Now, in an unlikely and unexpected moment—these two men, connected by Michelle Schofield’s murder, speak at
Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer prize winning producer, journalist and host of Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng sits down for a Q&A with Gilbert King to chat about the newest season of Bone Valley. In this special episode, Gilbert shares with Maggie
Today we’re bringing you something new. An introduction to Lava for Good’s newest investigative series – it's called “Graves County” and it will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You’ll see it shown here as “Bone Valley Season 3 ” and
Leo Schofield walked out of prison wearing a shirt that read “Kevin is next.” For Leo, that wasn’t a slogan—it was a promise to the man who had shared his cell for decades, a friend he believed to be innocent. This episode traces Leo’s bond with Kevi
Nick, Amanda, and three Georgetown undergraduates set out to re-investigate Kevin Herrick’s conviction, combing through trial transcripts, police reports, and overlooked details. What they uncover reshapes everything: a hidden police report that ties
Leo Schofield turns tables.Exclusive Excerpts from Gilbert King’s new book, Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida.
Subscribers to Lava For Good Plus on Apple podcasts can hear new ad-free excerpts from the boo
Today, we're bringing you something unexpected: Lava for Good’s investigative series Earwitness will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You'll see it here as Bone Valley Season 4: Earwitness. The entire season will be available to Lava F
Earwitness: Chapter 1 | Behind the Crown
Beth Shelburne dives into the shocking conviction of Toforest Johnson for the murder of Deputy William Hardy, following a case that never stopped bleeding questions. With former Attorney General Bill Baxley a
Earwitness: Chapter 2 | Don't Know Diddly
In the raw hours after Deputy Hardy’s murder, Beth Shelburne digs through a story that pulled 15-year-old Yolanda Chambers into its orbit and put Toforest Johnson in the frame. A confrontation with lead dete
Earwitness: Chapter 3 | Police Girl
When Yolanda Chambers admits to perjury, Beth Shelburne sets out to understand Chambers’ motivations. Tracing a life shaped by trauma and hidden alliances, her story slips between villain and victim—leaving behind
Earwitness: Chapter 4 | Witness or Defendant
Digging into the Hardy murder investigation, Beth Shelburne follows a trail narrowed by tunnel vision and vanishing alternatives. As detectives chase certainty over truth, witnesses falter, leads evaporat
Earwitness: Chapter 5 | Anybody Will Do
Beth Shelburne digs into how Toforest Johnson was convicted without a shred of physical evidence, as prosecutors leap between ever-shifting theories of Deputy Hardy’s murder. Confronting the prosecutor who onc
Earwitness: Chapter 6 | Misfiled
Beth Shelburne uncovers the murky story behind Violet Ellison, the ‘earwitness’ whose $5,000 payoff shaped Toforest Johnson’s fate. Decades of denial give way to uneasy facts, revealing a conviction propped up by mon
Earwitness: Chapter 7 | Messy
Years after the conviction, the original prosecutor, Jeff Wallace, begins questioning Violet Ellison’s story, while Beth Shelburne uncovers a troubling pattern. Ellison’s moves through the legal system blur the lines be
Earwitness: Chapter 8 | Bondage to the Law
In an unusual turn, District Attorney Danny Carr and original prosecutor Jeff Wallace push against Toforest Johnson’s conviction, even as he remains on death row. Beth Shelburne traces a system reluctant to
Sharing a special episode this week from a new podcast called Blood Will Tell. When a birthday party in suburban San Jose turns deadly, 18-year-old identical twins are arrested for suspected murder. One brother spends nearly two years in jail before
Today we’re bringing you something new. An introduction to Lava for Good’s newest investigative series – it's called “Graves County” and it will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You’ll see it shown here as “Bone Valley Season 3 ” and
Graves County: Chapter 1 | Something Stinks
On August 1, 2000, the body of 18-year-old Jessica Currin was found outside of the middle school in Mayfield, KY. Jessica was a new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. Her case w
Graves County: Chapter 2 | Jessica
Joe Currin did right by Mayfield. He played defense for the beloved high school football team, went to church every Sunday, ran his own business, and became a lieutenant for the fire department. So when his daughte
Graves County: Chapter 3 | Persons of Interest
Six years after Jessica’s death, agents with the Kentucky Attorney General’s office took over her murder investigation. After pinpointing their main suspects with the help of citizen investigator Susan
Graves County: Chapter 4 | My Girl Susan
Soon after Jessica Currin’s death, Victoria Caldwell came forward with a story different from the one she told at trial and implicated two completely different people. But the investigation into those suspect
Graves County: Chapter 5 | The Receipts
Prosecution witness Rosie Crice was the first person to publicly say that law enforcement made her lie on Quincy Cross and his co-defendants – but she wouldn’t be the last.
Key figures in this chapter:
Vin
Graves County: Chapter 6 | Something Rotten
Just how far are cops and prosecutors allowed to go in their pursuit of justice – and who do we hold accountable when their whole case falls apart? These are questions that Quincy Cross, Tamara Caldwell, a
Today we’re bringing you something new. An introduction to Lava for Good’s newest investigative series – it's called “Graves County” and it will be released right here in the Bone Valley feed. You’ll see it shown here as “Bone Valley Season 3 ” and
Graves County: Chapter 1 | Something Stinks
On August 1, 2000, the body of 18-year-old Jessica Currin was found outside of the middle school in Mayfield, KY. Jessica was a new mom and the daughter of a lieutenant with the fire department. Her case w
Graves County: Chapter 2 | Jessica
Joe Currin did right by Mayfield. He played defense for the beloved high school football team, went to church every Sunday, ran his own business, and became a lieutenant for the fire department. So when his daughte
Graves County: Chapter 3 | Persons of Interest
Six years after Jessica’s death, agents with the Kentucky Attorney General’s office took over her murder investigation. After pinpointing their main suspects with the help of citizen investigator Susan
Graves County: Chapter 4 | My Girl Susan
Soon after Jessica Currin’s death, Victoria Caldwell came forward with a story different from the one she told at trial and implicated two completely different people. But the investigation into those suspect
Graves County: Chapter 5 | The Receipts
Prosecution witness Rosie Crice was the first person to publicly say that law enforcement made her lie on Quincy Cross and his co-defendants – but she wouldn’t be the last.
Key figures in this chapter:
Vin
Graves County: Chapter 6 | Something Rotten
Just how far are cops and prosecutors allowed to go in their pursuit of justice – and who do we hold accountable when their whole case falls apart? These are questions that Quincy Cross, Tamara Caldwell, a