Indiana man Patrick Scott sentenced to 57 years for murdering next-door neighbor Valerie Tindall, 17

On March 11, Indiana’s Rush County Sheriff’s Office announced that Patrick Scott, 59, pleaded guilty in Rush Circuit Court to murdering Valerie Tindall as part of a plea deal.  Scott was sentenced to 57 years in prison to be served in the Indiana department of corrections.  Scott is also required to pay $10,000 restitution to the victim’s family.

The story:  According to the Rush County Sheriff’s Office, on June 7, 2023, Scott murdered 17-year-old Tindall in Arlington, Indiana.  Tindall was an employee of Scott’s, and she was also his next-door neighbor.  Scott owned a lawn mowing business.  On that fateful day in June, Valerie told her parents that she was going to work for Scott, and was never seen again.  A Silver Alert was issued for Valerie on June 10.

Over the next five months, the Rush County Sheriff’s Office – working with other State and Federal agencies – conducted an intensive investigation which ultimately ended in Scott’s arrest.  Valerie was initially reported as a runaway.  During the course of their investigation, officials discovered that Scott brought Valerie back to his Arlington home.   Months later, he confessed to the authorities that he and Valerie  got into an argument and he killed her by strangling her with a belt.

The neighbor of 17-year-old Valerie Tindall will serve 57 years in prison for murder after the court accepted his guilty plea. Patrick Scott was also Tindall's employer and comforted the girl's family while they searched for months for the missing girl.https://t.co/8sw8R0IaTo

— CBS4 Indy (@CBS4Indy) March 11, 2024

Prior to Scott’s confession, the Rush County Sheriff’s Office said that they suspected Scott of being involved in Valerie’s disappearance early on in their investigation.  After he killed her, Scott kept Valerie’s body in his home office until the day after the murder when he reportedly constructed a box into which he placed her body.  Scott then wheeled Tindall to another property owned by the Scott family, where he proceeded to bury Tindall.  

Officials searched Scott’s properties on October 11 and 12, and with the help of cadaver dogs and topographical sonar surveys, were able to discover and recover the box containing Valerie’s remains.  On November 28, Scott confessed to murdering Valerie, according to WTHR.

Authorities believe they have discovered the remains of Valerie Tindall (17) in Arlington, Indiana. Her body was located on the property of Patrick Scott. He has been charged with murder. This is tragic. I will never understand. pic.twitter.com/ROyHUafFSB

— Rose (@901Lulu) November 29, 2023

In January, Scott agreed to a plea deal that dropped charges of obstruction of justice and giving false information to a law enforcement officer, and a judge on Monday accepted the plea and agreed to the sentence.  ~ CNN

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(Source and Patrick Scott mugshot: Rush County Sheriff’s Office)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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