Patrick Scott: Indiana man sentenced to 57 years for murdering teen neighbor, burying body inside wooden box
RUSHVILLE, INDIANA: 59-years-old Patrick Scott was arrested for the disappearance and death of 17-year-old Valerie Tindall in Indiana, who recently pleaded guilty to murdering the teen and burying her body inside a box on his property.
A manhunt for Tindall lasted nearly six months while her despondent family searched desperately for signs of life, not knowing about their girl who was buried just a hundred yards or less from family’s front door.
What did Patrick Scott do?
Patrick Scott allegedly told police he strangled Tindall with a belt because she was 'going to blackmail him'.
Scott will also have to make restitution of $10,000 to Tindall's family, as per WANE.
In a court document filed November 30, 59-year-old Scott allegedly told police Tindall had left her house on June 7, 2023, to go to work.
During her trip to work, Scott told police that Tindall met up with him across from Shelbyville High School.
According to the court filing, when she vanished, Scott took her back to his residence, which was right behind Tindall's. It is said that Scott informed police, following his apprehension and Miranda warning, that Tindall was 'coming on to him' when they returned to his house, hoping to use it as leverage to get him to buy her a car.
Tindall was allegedly attempting to seduce Scott, and he informed the cops he "wasn't going to have it." He said, according to investigators, that Tindall "got carried away."
In the police complaint, Scott claimed that Tindall started undressing, and in an effort to fend her off, he removed his belt and "put it around her neck until she quit."
'That just happened'
As per WTHR , Police asked Scott if he had intended to kill Tindall, to which Scott allegedly replied, "No, that just kind of happened."
According to the court file, Scott also admitted to the police that at first he had no idea what to do with Tindall's body. He reportedly admitted to the police that he had drugged her body into the house's office following her death and kept it there till the next day.
According to investigators, he confessed to constructing a box, encasing Tindall's body in black plastic, and buried it at his neighboring property. According to reports, Scott informed police he dropped Tindall's car's keys and license plate into an unidentified river after abandoning it.
Investigators claim he told them he 'wasn't too crazy' about having killed her. Police say Scott was not truthful throughout the investigation.
Scott was reportedly offering Tindall's parents support just after she was reported missing and never told his family about the incident.
Tindall's parents confirmed this after police announced the arrest, saying Scott told them Tindall had probably run away and assured them she would come home.
