'Bone Valley' podcast about Leo Schofield Jr.'s murder case will be adapted into TV drama

The story of Leo Schofield Jr. is headed to television.

A production company has announced plans to create a multi-season, scripted drama series based on the convicted murderer’s quest to prove his innocence. In 1989, A Polk County jury found Schofield, then a Lakeland resident, guilty of killing his wife, Michelle Saum Schofield, two years earlier.

The planned TV show arose from the podcast “Bone Valley,” which explored Schofield’s case in minute detail over 14 episodes, asserting that he was wrongly convicted, as Schofield has always maintained. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King wrote and narrated the podcast.

Jason Flom and Jeff Kempler, co-founders of Lava for Good, the production company behind “Bone Valley,” will collaborate with King and Welle Entertainment and Primary Wave Music on the TV series, according to a news release. Cathy Schulman, an Oscar-winning film and TV producer, is the leader of Welle Entertainment.

Schulman’s producing credits include the movie “Dark Places” and the TV show “The First Lady.”

Screenwriter and producer Dana Stevens is scheduled to adapt the podcast for TV. Stevens wrote the screenplay for “The Woman King,” starring Viola Davis, and for the Kevin Hart movie “Fatherhood.”

Not a documentary

The program will not be a documentary but instead will dramatize the investigation into Schofield’s experience led by King and “Bone Valley” producer and researcher Kelsey Decker. The news release does not mention potential platforms for the show.

“There has been a lot of interest from producers interested in developing Bone Valley for television, but Cathy Schulman and Dana Stevens were moved by the injustice of Leo’s case from the very start,” King said by email. “I have no doubt this story is in great hands.”

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“Bone Valley” features multiple audio interviews with Schofield, who has always maintained his innocence. Through King’s narration, “Bone Valley” raises questions about the investigation and prosecution.

“Gilbert and Kelsey’s brilliant work has led us all on a powerful journey — shining a light on Leo’s case first with the podcast and now expanding to a television audience through a scripted series,” Kempler said in the release. “With Welle, we will move deeper into this story and bring more attention and advocacy to Leo’s case and to the plight of others who have experienced the nightmare of being wrongfully convicted.”

Schofield’s case has attracted international attention, largely because of “Bone Valley.” The podcast has been downloaded more than 10 million times, the news release said. The ABC show “20/20” devoted an episode to the podcast, named best documentary in the Ambie Awards and the Signal Awards.

The podcast points to Jeremy Scott, a convicted murderer now in prison, as the actual killer of Michelle Schofield. Scott, whose handprint was found inside Michelle’s abandoned car, has confessed to her murder, though uncertainties about his statements led a Polk County judge to dismiss Schofield’s motion for a new trial in 2017.

The State Attorney’s Office for the 10^th Judicial Circuit maintains that Schofield killed Michelle, and it has opposed his previous requests for parole.

"As an author, I'm always searching for stories that not only uncover the truth, but that challenge the status quo,” King said in the news release. “Leo’s story was particularly compelling because it exposes the complex and often flawed process of criminal justice. Through meticulous research and firsthand accounts, we've been able to bring attention to the case of an innocent, honorable man who has been imprisoned and overlooked for far too long. I hope that the work we've done will help bring about much-delayed justice and inspire others to question what they believe about truth and our legal system.”

'Eye-opening look'

Stevens said that she was “deeply affected” by listening to “Bone Valley.”

“The show will also follow Gilbert and Kelsey as they tenaciously solve the crime that still haunts so many: Who killed Michelle?” she said in the release. “It's a tense murder mystery and an eye-opening look at how easy it is for a young person with no resources to be wrongfully convicted."

Schofield is expected to be released from prison in June after serving nearly 36 years. The Florida Commission on Offender Review will consider his case at its April 17 meeting.

King and Decker have created a second season of “Bone Valley,” scheduled for release this year. King is also writing a book with the same title, due to be published next year by Flatiron, a division of Macmillan.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Podcast about Leo Schofield Jr. to become scripted TV drama series