MICHELLE Schofield’s homicide case resulted in a tangled web of testimony as authorities investigated her death.
After Michelle’s husband, Leo Schofield, alerted police to her disappearance, he was put on trial and named as the perpetrator.
Who is Leo Schofield?
On June 24, 1988, Leo Schofield was arrested for the murder of his late wife, Michelle Saum-Schofield.
Leo’s trial and the investigation into Michelle’s death are revisited in an episode of ABC’s 20/20 titled Last Seen in Lakeland.
The episode was originally broadcast on September 23, 2022.
Those who missed ABC’s initial broadcast can watch Leo and Michelle’s episode by streaming it on Hulu.
In a 20/20 interview with Amy Robach, he doubled down on his innocence and told the anchor, “Innocent is not part of this, has no plan, didn’t know it was happening, didn’t know it was going to happen, and didn’t want it to happen.” .
The interview took place at Hardee Correctional Institution in Bowling Green, Florida, where Leo was serving a life sentence.
During the meeting, he recalls the day the police recovered Michelle’s dead body and tells Amy, “I was so angry with God at that moment.
“I ripped my shirt. I punched a tree, I punched the ground, I was pulling grass out of the ground.”
True crime detectives can catch Last Seen in Lakeland on June 7, 2024 at 9pm EST on the aforementioned network.
Leo will be giving an all-new interview with True Crime for the 2024 re-airing of episodes.
What happened to Leo Schofield’s wife Michelle?
On February 27, 1987, Michelle’s lifeless body was recovered from a Florida canal, days after her disappearance on February 24.
An autopsy report revealed the 18-year-old woman was stabbed 26 times and lost five liters of blood.
In 1989, Leo was put on trial to face charges arising from his arrest.
At the conclusion of the trial on April 5, 1989, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Throughout the chain of events, Leo maintained his innocence and repeatedly insisted that he was not the one who committed Michelle’s murder.
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Where is Leo Schofield now?
Although criminal and fellow Lakeland resident Jeremy Scott confessed to Michelle’s murder, Leo and his legal team were denied a new trial.
Regarding Jeremy Scott’s confession and the court’s rejection of a new trial, he states: “I’m very angry about this. He murdered my wife. It’s a hard thing to forgive.”
Leo’s request for a new trial was first denied in May 2018 and again in May 2020, he became eligible for parole in 2023.
On April 30, 2024, after 35 years behind bars, Leo was released on parole.
Fox13 reports that he is on parole. Some of the conditions include transitioning to a halfway house and no contact with Michelle’s family.
The media outlet also reports that his lawyers are seeking Leo’s innocence.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
