Grim new information has been revealed about the murder case involving a missing 17-year-old Indiana girl whose body was discovered earlier this week buried inside a makeshift coffin in the backyard belonging to her 59-year-old neighbor and lawn care business employer.
The suspected killer, Patrick Scott, 59, told police he used his belt to strangle Valerie Tindall inside his home on June 7 — a belt he continued to wear afterward — claiming she was trying to blackmail him, then buried her in a “box” he constructed the following day, according to a police report obtained by Law&Crime.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, investigators from federal, state, and local law enforcement entities discovered the teen’s body on Tuesday while executing a series of search warrants connected to Valerie’s disappearance on Scott’s property in the 2300 block of North Oak Street of Arlington, Indiana.
Scott was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with one count of murder, according to the Rush County Sheriff’s Department.
