Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Suspected Kansas City Serial Killer Targeted People On Public Walking Trails
Fredrick Demond Scott was randomly targeting people walking around.
A suspected serial killer in Kansas City was has been charged with six counts of murder. Fredrick Demond Scott, 23, targeted random people on local walking trails, reports People.
Scott was in charged in 2017 with three counts of first degree murder in the deaths of the following victims: Karen Harmeyer, John Palmer and Steven Gibbons, according to the Jackson County Prosecutors Office. A grand jury also indicted him on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Michael Darby, Timothy Rice and David Lenox. His suspected killing spree took place from August 2016 until August 2017. A police spokesperson shared with People that authorities are describing the suspect a “serial killer.”
Scott had a history of violent acts. He allegedly threatened to shoot up his high school and “kill all white people" according to The Washington Post.
Beginning in August 2016, the bodies of hikers and dog walkers were found alongside the Indian Creek trail and on nearby roadways, an area was near the suspect's home. The victims had similarities in that they were all shot, middle-aged and white, according to The Washington Post.
“We’re thankful that he is off the street and hopefully he’ll be held accountable for what he has done,” Mindy Lenox, a victim's daughter, shared with the Kansas City Star. “I don’t know for me personally that there is any closure. Nothing can bring my dad back and nothing can take that pain away, but at least knowing that the person responsible will be held accountable, it will certainly be helpful.”
Scott faces six counts of first-degree murder and six counts of armed criminal action. He pleaded not guilty in the deaths of Harmeyer, Palmer and Gibbons last fall.
Authorities do not know if these crimes were racially motivated. The suspect's mother told the Kansas City Star that her son had no ill will towards white people and he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. “As far as I know Fredrick never had a problem with white people,” his mother said. “He would do odd jobs for people and some of those people were white men.”
[Photo: Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office]
