With ABC’s “20/20: Last Seen in Lakeland” looking into the murder of 18-year-old Michelle Schofield in 1987, we get a full picture of whether or not her husband is really to blame.
Even though Leo Schofield has been in prison since 1989 for murder, there may be evidence that points to another man, Jeremy Lynn Scott, who has been a criminal his whole life. But for now, if you just want to know more about his daughter Ashley Nicole Schofield, who is one of the loudest people fighting for his full freedom, we’ve got the important facts for you.
What’s Ashley Schofield’s name?
Ashley Nicole Schofield is the proud daughter of Leo and his second wife, Crissie Carter. They met when Leo was volunteering to teach life skills at his prison in 1991, when he was still a probation officer. They got closer after she started to believe he was innocent after hearing his story, looking up court records, and going over everything herself. They got married in 1995. A few years later, they were happy to take in their daughter. Ashley is still a “huge daddy’s girl,” even though her father has been in jail her whole life. She also believes he is innocent.
When asked about their relationship, Ashley told ABC’s “20/20” that her dad and she both like music. “I think that’s why we have a lot in common; it’s the music. We’re very close.” So, it’s not surprising that she’s been involved with Leo’s case since she was a teenager. In 2016, she even stood up in front of the parole board to support him, but it didn’t help. Ashley said, “I’ve been training for the Olympics. We’re going to the 2020 Olympics together,” but that didn’t happen either. The karate athlete was still hoping Leo would be free soon.
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Where is Ashley Schofield Now?
Even though years have passed and efforts to clear her father’s name have failed, Ashley still supports him because she is sure he didn’t kill his first wife, Michelle Schofield. During their prison visits, Leo has always taught her to be honest, and his rule is “Say the truth even if your voice shakes.” This may have also played a role in all of this. So, of course, it hurts Ashley that she can’t just talk to or be with her father whenever she wants to, like most people, but she’s glad to have him in her life, at least in some way.
“You know, there are times when I just want to call him or talk to him… Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. “But man, I wish I had my dad,” Ashley said on “20/20” as she tried not to cry. As far as her personal life goes, it looks like the athlete is no longer just a daughter, but also a proud partner and mother. In late 2020, she gave birth to her son, Genesis Arthur. The Fort Myers, Florida, resident is very close to her whole family, and there’s no doubt about it. We wish her all the happiness and peace in the world.
Ashley is the happiest daughter of Leo and his second wife, Crissie Carter. She met him in 1991 when he was volunteering to teach life skills at his prison. She became closer to him when she started to think he was innocent after hearing his story, looking up court records, and going over everything herself. They got married in 1995, and their daughter still believes him.
When asked about their relationship, Ashley told ABC’s “20/20.” “I think music is why we have a lot in common. She even went so far as to speak up for him in front of the parole board in 2016, but was turned down.
What’s going on with Ashler Schofield?
Even though years have passed, Ashley still stands by her father because she doesn’t think she killed his first wife. “Say the truth, even if your voice shakes,” is his rule. So, of course, she’s sad that she can’t just call or visit her father whenever she wants to, like most people, but she’s glad to have him in her life, at least in some way.
Ashley talked about it on “20/20” while trying hard not to cry. From what we can tell, she is no longer just a daughter, but also a loyal partner and mother. Her social media accounts show that she is very close to everyone in her family.
This is a phrase that most couples will know. A sign of being normal and used to something. How often had Leo Schofield said those words before? How many times did the simple plan work out just fine? Many people who read this will be able to picture what usually happens next: You could order Chinese food, a burger, or a pizza to go and watch TV at home. Normal.
Leo Schofield expected this to happen when he said these words to his wife Michelle. He didn’t know that those were some of the last words he would say to her or that what should have been a normal Tuesday night would turn into a nightmare.
Leo was practicing with his band at the home of his friend Buddy Anderson at 9:45 p.m. on February 24, 1987. When Michelle called him there 90 minutes after her shift at Tom’s Restaurant, a local burger place, he told her to pick him up at his friend Vince Rahner’s house down the street.
He walked over to Vince’s house and waited for Michelle there. When the clock struck midnight, Leo called his father because he was worried about his wife. Leo Schofield, Sr. picked up his son, and the two of them followed Michelle’s path backwards. They looked in Leo and Michelle’s trailer, but didn’t go inside because they didn’t see her car. Instead, they kept looking. After driving around for a while, Leo called the local hospitals, police stations, and sheriff’s office to see if he could find Michelle. Nothing.
Leo and his father went back to his parents’ house and made more calls to the police. His mother took him out again, and they went back over the same roads and stopped at Leo’s trailer again. This time, he went inside, turned on the lights, and wrote Michelle a note telling her to stay put. He did this because he thought that they were missing each other in some way.
He and his mother kept looking, and at 2:20 AM, they stopped at the house of Michelle’s father, David Saum. Leo woke Saum up by knocking on his window and asked him if he had seen Michelle. He had seen Michelle earlier in the day, but not since.
Leo and his mother were leaving David Saum’s house when they saw two sheriff’s cars parked at a nearby gas station. Leo asked them if they had seen Michelle and told them more about the car she was driving.
After his mother’s search turned up nothing, Leo went back to Buddy Anderson’s house around 4:30 AM. His friend told him to try to sleep, and Leo did.
In the morning, he met a Polk County sheriff’s deputy at his trailer and gave him a description and picture of Michelle for the missing person report. Leo and his father spent the rest of the day printing and posting flyers with information about Michelle’s disappearance, hoping that someone, anyone, had seen her.
Thursday, February 26, 1987, a friend called the Schofields to say that he had seen Michelle’s car at exit 44 on Interstate 4. The Schofields and the sheriff’s deputies met at the car at 11:30 that night. They found that the back door wasn’t locked, the back speakers were gone, and there were hairs stuck in the back panel. The Schofields and the police looked in the area, and Leo’s father found her body on Friday at 1:30 p.m. She was stabbed 26 times and then thrown in a canal.
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Leo Schofield was caught and charged with killing Michelle on June 24, 1988
“I couldn’t believe it. Nothing in my past had prepared me for the stain that was immediately put on my reputation when I was accused of killing the girl I loved. – Leo Schofield
Investigators said Leo’s trailer was the scene of the crime, even though there was a lot of blood, tire tracks, and footprints at the canal where Michelle’s body was found. The prosecution said that Leo and Michelle went back to their house around 1:30 AM, where Leo stabbed Michelle 26 times, carried her body out to the car they shared, and dumped her body in a canal.
In contrast to the crime scene in the canal, there was no blood in Leo’s trailer. Instead, there was a small stain about the size of a half-dollar made by an unknown fluid. The doctor who did the autopsy said that Michelle lost five pints of blood. Leo’s clothes from that night were brought in as evidence, and just like the trailer, they were found to have no blood on them.
This was just one of many things that didn’t add up in prosecutor John Aguero’s case:
Even though Leo talked to a lot of witnesses the night Michelle went missing, the prosecution’s case was based on the testimony of Alice Scott, who said she saw Leo and Michelle go into the trailer at 1:30 AM the night Michelle went missing. Alice said that she heard fighting and arguing coming from the trailer. Then, at 2:30 AM, Leo left with something wrapped up that was “the size of a child” and thrown in the back of the couple’s Mazda.
David Saum, Michelle’s father, said that Leo was with him at 2:30 AM, which goes against what Alice Scott said. At 2:45 AM, Leo was at the gas station talking to the sheriff’s deputies.
Aside from the difference in the timeline, Alice Scott had a history of mental problems, and her family had sent her to a mental hospital against her will. She also lied about how far away the Schofields’ trailer was from the bathroom window where she said she saw what happened that night.
Also, there were three unsolved murders in the area where women had been stabbed to death. Polk sheriff’s Detective Richard Putnel testified that he didn’t know about these cases.
To make things even worse for the prosecution, there was a set of fingerprints in the car that neither Leo nor Michelle had.
Prosecutor John Aguero, who has been accused of domestic violence himself, didn’t have any proof. To make up for it, he brought a long line of witnesses to talk about the Schofields’ sometimes rocky marriage. These witnesses talked about times when the couple got into fights and painted Leo as a violent and unpredictable person.
The witnesses said that there was trouble at home when there were occasional hair-pulling, slapping, and screaming matches.
Leo’s defense lawyer, Jack Edmund, wasn’t ready and didn’t argue against this picture. This let Aguero lead witnesses into exaggerations and guesses.
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