Valerie was a 17-year-old girl, living with her family in Arlington, Indiana. Her mom had moved them here, just outside of Indianapolis, to help get her daughter away from violence. During the summer of 2023, Valerie was working a handful of jobs, including helping her neighbor, a 59-year-old man named Patrick Scott, with his lawn care business. The two seemed to have developed a friendship and even when they weren’t working they sometimes spent time together. However, on June 7th, 2023, Valerie went to work that afternoon for Patrick and vanished. After being reported missing Patrick told police she did not work for him that day, and that he hadn’t seen her. He ended up changing his story to say that he WAS with her that day, but that he saw her get into another man’s car and drive away. Because he lied to officers, he was initially charged with false informing. Then, on November 28th, a search warrant was executed on his property and sadly her remains were found in a homemade wooden box made of 2x4s. He was arrested, charged with murder, and quickly confessed to strangling her with his belt. He claims Valerie was trying to blackmail him into buying her a car.