Accused Indian Creek Trail killer Frederick Scott ordered to have mental health evaluation
Nearly eight years after his arrest, the trial of accused serial killer Fredrick Demond Scott will now face a new set of delays.
Following an outburst in court this week, Scott was committed to a state behavioral health program through the Missouri Department of Mental Health for a mental health evaluation by order of a Jackson County judge, according to Scott Lauck, a public information officer for the Jackson County Circuit Court.
Scott, 29, has been accused in the killings of Steven Gibbons, 57; John Palmer, 54; David Lenox, 67; Timothy S. Rice, 57; Mike Darby, 61; and Karen Harmeyer, 64. The killings took place between 2016 and Scott’s arrest in August 2017.
Harmeyer was killed in Grandview, while the rest of the fatal shootings took place along the Indian Creek Trail. All of the victims were shot without warning, some outside of their own homes.
During Scott’s latest hearing at the Jackson County Courthouse on Monday, Judge Charles McKenzie cleared the room following an outburst by Scott. According to Lauck, Scott was frustrated that his case wasn’t proceeding faster, and had to be evacuated from the courtroom.
The hearing had been meant to determine whether Scott was mentally competent to stand trial, The Star previously reported. After two judges had previously given conflicting opinions on Scott’s mental competency, state law dictates that a new hearing was necessary to make a final call on whether Scott could face a jury.
Through the civil commitment process in Missouri — which was amended in July — people sent to the Department of Mental Health by the justice system are evaluated by mental health professionals within 48 hours of each order. County judges can instruct sheriffs to assist in bringing defendants in for mental health evaluation if they do not cooperate.
Officials have three to five days to decide whether or not the person should be sent to an inpatient behavioral health program or assigned outpatient treatment.The state cannot commit someone to a behavioral health program for longer than three months, though someone can be recommitted, according to state guidelines.
Scott, who is Black, gained notoriety in 2014 for saying he wanted to “kill all white people” while enrolled at Kansas City’s Center Alternative School. All of his victims were white, and all but Harmeyer were middle-aged men.
Scott’s mother has also spoken with The Star about her belief that Scott suffers from undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.
Scott will next appear in court on August 30 at 3 p.m. for a hearing on his updated status.
