LEGAL PURGATORY: Road to justice long, tiring for families in Indian Creek Trail killings
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - In a city full of murders, it’s hard not to get lost in the numbers. In 2016 and 2017, Kansas City recorded more than 300 murders.
It’s believed six of those murders were the work of one man. The first of the six happened in August of 2016. The last in August of the following year.
Fredrick Scott was arrested shortly after the sixth murder and charged. But the case has never gone to trial.
For seven years, families have waited. They say they’ve waited long enough.
The family of one victim, Michael Darby, sat down with investigative reporter Angie Ricono to speak out about what they say are cracks in the Jackson County justice system.
The KC Trail Area Homicides
Investigators called the murders the “KC Trail Area Homicides,” but most people who follow the case simply call it the “Indian Creek Trail killings.”
Most of the killings were middle-aged white men on or near trails. One victim was a woman.
Darby was the fourth victim. He was killed on May 18, 2017, as he was out walking his labradors Coach and Sadie along the Indian Creek Trial.
Investigators said he was shot in the back of the head.
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The string of killings baffled investigators for months. Prosecutors charged Scott based on DNA and surveillance video taken near a crime scene.
The suspect had no connection to any of the victims — it’s believed they were all strangers he followed.
In court documents, Scott confessed to some of the shootings when he was questioned by police. He also told police he reported his guns stolen to distance himself from the shootings.
According to the probable cause statement, “Scott admitted to dragging the body (of John Palmer) away from the trail into the overgrowth and tree line.”
Scott reportedly whispered during an interrogation, “They didn’t see it coming.”
A family waits
Mike Darby was the most well-known of the six victims. He was born and raised in Kansas City, graduated from Rockhurst High School and then attended the University of Missouri.
He owned a restaurant called Coaches Bar and Grill. He was one of the founders of Tour de Hope a charity bike ride benefitting the Hope Center of Kansas City.
He was a father, grandfather and brother. His family has been outspoken about the case and their frustration with the delay.
Alison Boddicker is the middle of Darby’s three children. She says she never thought the legal process would drag on for so long. She describes it as a legal purgatory.
Darby’s grandchildren were in elementary and preschool when he was murdered. Three of them are now learning to drive.
“All of my children at this point know we have been in and out of court, hearing after hearing.” Said Boddicker. “Lots of delays, lots of continuances--and they are aware of that.”
In the six years plus years since Scott was charged, the case has passed from one public defender to another—four times. Each time, the case essentially starts over. Trial dates have been set, then postponed six times over the years.
“The case just sat stagnant for years, because people didn’t do what they were supposed to do,” said Jennifer O’Shea, the youngest of the Darby children.
There’s anger — even guilt.
“It’s weird because you feel like if the situation was reversed, if it was me that this happened to, I feel like my dad would have gotten the process done by now,” said Brian Darby, the oldest child.
Questions for the court
A big question before the court is Scott’s competency to stand trial. He has been found both competent, and incompetent at different times.
Scott has been receiving mental health treatment, but sometimes he refuses to take his medication.
Darby’s brother, Bob, says it’s just not right.
“(Mike) took his last breath seven years ago because this guy snuck up behind him and shot him in the back of the head. But yet he’s got all the rights,” said Bob Darby. “We have very little rights and nobody’s even moving that trial down the road.”
Mike’s siblings hope they live long enough to see the case come to trial. They point out that family members of other victims have died during the lengthy legal process.
“All the other families are feeling the same thing we are,” said Bill Darby. “We just want justice, and we want it now. We’ve endured this way too long.”
Mike’s siblings said the prosecutor’s office is not doing their job.
They point to serial killers charged and then convicted.
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Mike’s sister, Sue Curless, questions the legal strategy in the case.
“You tell me what, why it’s not a hate crime, or even a serial killer,” said Curless. “I think it falls into both categories.”
The family points out all the victims were White. Scott is Black.
They point to the defendant’s past. In 2014, Scott threatened to shoot up a school, “Columbine-style.” He also said he wanted to, “Kill myself and kill all white people.”
“Jackson County system is failing us and they’re not looking out for us in a strange, sick way, they’re not looking out for the defendant either,” said Brian Darby.
Mike’s family feels that his case highlights everything broken in Jackson County. That’s why they’re going public. They said it’s not just about Mike, it’s about all the families waiting for justice in this case.
They say it’s about all the victims in Jackson County.
“This should never happen again,” said Alison Boddicker. “There should never be seven-plus years where families sit around and wait for their day in court and try to do what we’re doing. It’s not fair.”
KCTV5 reached out to the prosecutor’s office, the public defender’s office and the judge handling the case. All declined to comment.
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