Update on Christie Michelle Bray Scott

For those who came in late:

Christie Bray Scott's Road to Death Row

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Earlier today, the murderer of Christie Michelle Bray Scott's aunt was put to death by the State of Alabama. As for Christie herself? She's in her ninth year of incarceration, with over seven of those years having been spent in an isolation cell identical to that of Tommy Arthur.

Will we now be forced to watch Christie grow old in photographs, forced to wonder if every execution date will be her last...or simply a routine milestone on her long journey to punishment? Scott is one of many whose jury recommended life in prison, but whose judge pronounced a death sentence.

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It would appear that Scott's family is sending her money for food. It would also appear that she hasn't taken the time to have her rosacea treated with a laser. Oh, sorry, just a little death row humor there. 

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Above is the tombstone of Scott's younger brother Lonnie. These dates indicate the infamous Russellville child killer was only four when her younger brother died. If Scott was responsible for his death, she would have been much too young to prosecute. She would not have been too young to be presenting sociopathic tendencies. How much has Scott's family had to endure because of her?

Sex, Lies, Pat Downs, & Death Row?

Most readers vividly remember convicted killer Christie Michelle Bray Scott. If any need their memories refreshed:

Scott's Road to Death Row

At the time of Scott's trial, we spoke with a cousin of Jeremy Scott, Christie's husband:

Interview

Not all of the cousin's comments were memorialized in our blog. We briefly discussed Jeremy and Christie's marriage. The cousin believed without a doubt that Jeremy would always remain faithful to Christie--there would never be a divorce. While such things are unusual, they aren't unheard of, but our money was on Jeremy ditching his errant wife after he had sufficient time to put things in perspective...and it seems our take was the correct one.

Flash forward to 2011 and the plot steams up. There was a great deal of he said/she said. There were also a lot of alleged threats from prison officials. It's anyone's guess what the truth may be, but we will attempt to present the alleged affair as the State of Alabama did in it's case against a Department of Corrections employee.

Picture Christie alone most of the day in a 6' x 9' cell. She has a television set, a microwave, and an ice bucket. She probably had some books also, but these aren't mentioned in trial accounts. Someone like Christie must have been sorely in need of someone to care...or someone to manipulate. Enter the night shift supervisor Matthew Hall.

Christie Scott & Matthew Hall

Hall was 31 and in an unhappy second marriage when he delivered Jeremy's divorce petition to Christie in March 2011. She broke down; he consoled. Fill in the blanks.

Christie claims that encounter produced their first kiss. Over the course of the next weeks, more kisses brought the two unhappy individuals together. Christie states they never had sex, but mainly discussed Hall's unhappy marriage in which his wife "made" him strip for her friends. Hall also made the routine pat downs interesting enough that Christie was brought to new heights in friendship and the sergeant openly spoke of buying her a home when she eventually won her release.

How long this relationship would have gone on is open to speculation, but apparently another death row prisoner became aware of the interaction. Did Christie just have to brag or were the pat downs that scream-inspiring? No matter how she knew, the inmate sent word to the warden, a warden who was not above threatening Christie to confess, at least according to her.

She may have loved Hall, but she obviously valued the ice bucket, microwave, and television more. Christie made a full confession. So did Hall. The confessions (Scott's was 11 pages long) were reported to match; however, at his trial in June 2014, Hall recanted and stated he had been coerced. The warden who had initiated the probe had retired, and the prosecution stated the jury apparently had issues with Scott's credibility. The jury took half an hour to find Hall not guilty, and his wife stood by him.

The trial was nine months ago. The story was not locally reported. Go figure...



Shoalanda

"The Difference is How We Die"/Fifth Stay for Tommy Arthur

Death Row at Holman Prison

Since Christie Bray Scott's arrival on the female edition of death row in Alabama, Louise Harris has left the exclusive community, having had her sentence commuted to Life Without Parole. The following is a short excerpt from a series written by Kym Klass.

The message that Alicia Smallwood-Brown works to pass on to the five women she ministers to on death row at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women is one that makes them feel inclusive:
We will all die for our sins. The difference is in how we die. The women that Brown ministers to at Tutwiler are in lock-up for 23 hours a day because their crimes were so bad that the courts believed they should die for them. While this is mankind's judgment, the women need to consider a higher one, Brown tells them. "I tell them we are all on death row ... everyone has to die," she said. Brown is Tutwiler's chaplain, and she has ministered to all the women there for almost two years. She entered the prison at a time when the inmates went months without a minister. A few months can seem like a long time when you are in prison, especially when a chaplain is your one outreach. That is especially true for those women on death row, women behind steel doors who desperately needed a connection, and who had been praying for a minister to study the Bible with them. For those five women -- Louise, Shonda, Patricia, Tierra and Christie -- the weekly ministry is part of their lifeline. It is their connection to helping to right wrongs, to prayer, to forgiveness.

Related post: Christie Bray Scott's Road to Death Row

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Colbert County's Tommy Arthur has again seemingly cheated the death penalty for which he asked upon his conviction for the murder of Troy Wicker of Muscle Shoals. Arthur's fifth execution date has been stayed due to uncertainties concerning the drug cocktail trifecta used in Alabama's lethal injection protocol.

Arthur has spent the majority of the last 30 years behind bars for Wicker's murder. Interestingly, Arthur also has an earlier Felony Murder conviction for the murder of Christie Bray Scott's aunt. It's a small world in some Alabama circles.

Related posts:

Judy Says

Life without Parole

Sherrie Arthur



Shoalanda

The Pound Principal

It may be known officially as the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter, but we all know that most call it the "Dog Pound." Other animals make their way to this, sometimes last, destination, but dogs more than most due to the leash laws. Make no mistake that we support such laws, but the result is more euthanasia...both for dogs, cats, and other small animals.


Our friend the Brown Recluse recently lost her long-time family member, Peppy--the Mound of Round Hound. She and Ol' Boy decided it was time to acquire another canine companion; Peppy would have wanted that for them. Instead of looking at fancy dog magazines or the TimesDaily classifieds, this wonderful couple visited the shelter and came home with their latest addition.


Here's hoping he makes a wonderful new family member. Here's hoping more will emulate the Browns in their wise choice.

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We recently received an e-mail with links to several sites listing the cost of illegal aliens in the U.S. Most of the links were not in service and were unverifiable. We did find that two were still working and are worth looking at:

The High Cost of Cheap Labor

Immigration and Welfare

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In other news of non-working links, the site Christie Scott Is Innocent is no longer accessible. Most of the points made by Jeremy Scott concerned issues extraneous to the case itself. Perhaps he has wisely chosen to put his efforts and funds into activities that will have a better chance of securing his wife a second trial.



Shoalanda

Toy Airplane Responsible for Fatal Fire?

The toy airplane is made of Styrofoam and hardly seems worth the $40.00 retail price at which it sold in 2006. Now Robert Tuten is asking the courts to consider this recalled toy may be the cause of the August 16, 2008, fire that claimed the life of Mason Scott.

Today Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey refused to order a new trial for Mason's mother Christie Bray Scott, recently sentenced to death for the murder of the six year-old. Tuten and his associate Nick Heatherly only recently added the information concerning the recalled toy to their appeal of Scott's conviction. What are the chances that the Spin Master toy actually did ignite bedding in the room Mason shared with his younger brother Noah Riley?

According to experts, the chance that the Air Hogs RC Skywinder plane caused the fatal fire is infinitesimal. The source of the recall for the Toys-R-Us plane was the battery powered remote controller. No fires have ever been attributed to the device, but the small controller was found to emit heat in sufficient amounts to produce first degree burns on the hands of youngsters who operated the toy.

Further, only 7,500 of the planes produced by the Canadian toy company were involved in the recall. Since the toy in question was consumed in the fire, there can be no way to ascertain if Mason's plane came from defective stock.

Now, Christie Bray Scott has returned to her death row cell at the Julia Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka where she awaits her next appeal, an appeal that will in all probability not be heard for six months or even a year. In the interim, her legal bills are mounting and her husband and son have begun a new life in another town. How can anyone doubt that life under such circumstances is a more effective punishment than a swift injection given under heavy sedation?


What's up with this: The city of Tuscumbia is considering new uses for its former downtown post office. No mention has been made of its historic mural from the Roosevelt Works Projects Administration era. Hopefully Tuscumbia town fathers are aware of the treasure and are prepared to save the art at all costs.

Shoalanda

Christie Scott Is Innocent--the Web Site

There's a new website devoted to the Christie Bray Scott murder case, but this one doesn't question either her quilt or future eternal resting place. Created by her husband Jeremy, the site fails to provide the public with much new information or reason to believe the Scott jury reached an incorrect decision.

Christie Scott Is Innocent maintains that the case against the Russellville insurance agent was an amalgam of politics and bad police work. While we doubt that politics were involved more here than in any other case, certainly the lost electrical boxes present a picture of Keystone Kops at their worst.

The basic surprises of the site are the revelation of juror misconduct and photographs of injuries Scott received from the two fire investigators who conducted an interview with the suspect two weeks after Mason's death. It seems alternate juror Sherye Price spoke openly of her opinion of Scott early in the trial, but Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey failed to declare a mistrial due to relative certainly Price would not be among the final voting jurors in the case.

The injuries Scott received from Jay Edwards and Dalan Gasset are much more troubling. It's understandable the officers did not wish Scott to interrupt a similar concurrent interview with her husband when she demanded to leave; however, two men using strong physical force on a woman who had not yet been charged does not make for good PR for the State's case at best, and opens the county up to a serious lawsuit at worst.

Many "irregularities" in the Scott case that the site present are quite a stretch. Once section questions the validity of Terry Dempsey's election to office due to differences in notary signatures found on campaign finance disclosures. We're guessing a notary picked up the wrong seal and hurriedly decided the best way to handle the problem was to use a matching signature. Perhaps it wasn't the best thought out answer to the problem, but we doubt any such act would nullify Dempsey's claim to the judgeship.

We suggest Jeremy Scott would better utilize his time by finding a good counselor for his son whom he says is so traumatized by having a mother in prison. Noah Riley deserves to have a father who is there for him, not one who is obsessed with proving the innocence of his wife at all costs.


Correction: Our apologies to Todd Putman, whom we incorrectly identified as Tom in a previous column. Todd is a member of the Grown Folks Band--check them out!

Shoalanda

Joey Rushing v. Robert Tuten Redux: A New Trial for Christie Scott?

Is a new trial in the future for convicted child murderer Christie Scott? If so, we can certainly expect defense attorney Robert Barry Tuten of Huntsville to request a change of venue--and in all probability obtain one this go round. Tuten, a slightly portly man with a greying beard, hardly cuts an imposing figure...until he speaks. Tuten is quite easily the savviest attorney Joey Rushing has faced during his stint as Franklin County District Attorney, yet Rushing won the case due to overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Scott deliberately killed her older child for the insurance money. Convicted of the crime, Scott has already been transferred to death row in Wetumpka's Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. Joey Rushing can now breathe easier, or can he?

From an exclusive report by Huntsville's WHNT 19:

On July 23, after Christie Scott's conviction, the state filed a motion to be allowed to enter the burned home on Signore Drive in Russellville to collect evidence, including electrical boxes and outlets and a television console from Mason's bedroom.

The family feels the action shows the state doesn't have a case and is trying to rebuild one. However, Rushing says his office is only being thorough in the event another trial is necessary.

Obviously Rushing believes a new trial is a distinct possibility. Such requests by defense attorneys are always perfunctory, but in Scott's case, Tuten may have the appeals court on his side. During the trial it was revealed the prosecution had failed to present the defense with the electrician's report on the wiring in Mason Scott's bedroom, instead sending only the electrician's invoice--"shoddy work" according to Tuten.

More importantly, the state lost two of the electrical outlets that were removed from the victim's room. Rushing could offer no plausible explanation for their disappearance, but maintained that over two thousand photographs of the charred boxes were enough to prove the state's case.

Local legal eagles don't expect a ruling from the appeals court for at least six months. We have to wonder just how much more of the evidence Franklin County authorities can lose during that time.


What's up with this: Christie Scott has made the People You'll See in Hell website. With so much knowledge of the future, you'd think they would be offering stock market tips instead.

Shoalanda

Christie Bray Scott Heads to Death Row

Louise Harris from Montgomery, Tierra Gobble from Houston, Shonda Johnson from Walker, and Patricia Blackman from Houston--all prisoners at Tutwiler with a "Z" before their Alabama Inmate System Number, all women who expect to die in prison, all females sentenced to death for heinous crimes. Now, Christie Michelle Bray Scott of Franklin County will join them.

In less than 30 days, the State of Alabama will forward paperwork to the Franklin County Jail ordering deputies to transport Scott south to Elmore County, home of the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. In all probability, Scott's journey will take place at night. Unannounced, a female jailer will enter her cell, command her to dress, shackle her, and escort her to a waiting transport. Marked police vehicles are allowed to speed down the state's roadways, and Scott should reach Tutwiler shortly after dawn.

Most transfers are shuttled into a holding pen outside the prison, but a prisoner with a death sentence should be given special escort into the building. There Scott will be told to disrobe and shower. Prison workers will delouse Scott, a barber will cut her hair to collar length, and she will be handed a unisex white uniform along with a minimum of toiletries. Now Scott is ready to be taken to her new home--a small cell measuring approximately 10' x 10'.

There are only four death row cells at Tutwiler, currently all full. It's likely Scott will be placed in one of the adjacent segregation cells. It's also likely prison personnel will make it clear to Scott that she is a burden to them, since she is only adding to their time-consuming death row routine.

Now, Christie Scott is alone, alone with four books, a television if any of her family should desire to provide her one, and possibly a small animal. Yes, Scott will have the luxury of a bird or a cat, as long as her family provides its upkeep. She will also get to shower every other day and walk for one hour each day in a small private garden. Even her meals will be delivered to the small cell that will become her home.

For 30 days, Scott will be allowed no visitors. After that period, immediate family may make arrangements to visit during approved hours. Then Christie Scott will be alone again, alone in a cell where all lights are turned off at ten o'clock at night, alone with her thoughts and her guilt.

This is the life for which Christie Michelle Bray Scott traded her son Mason. Let us all pray for her family.

Should Christie Bray Scott Die?

Joey Rushing says convicted murderess Christie Michelle Bray Scott should die. Joey Rushing says a lot of things.

The Franklin County District Attorney is quoted in Thursday's TimesDaily as stating:

There's nothing worse than a mother murdering a child for insurance and because they didn't want him.

We're not sure to whom the word "they" refers. Observers said Christie couldn't handle the child. Friends said Jeremy was more interested in work and possessions than he was his own son. William Markam, the man who admitted on tape to being Christie's emotional lover said he didn't care for the child, a child he thought should have been "whooped" more.

Surely, these others in Mason Scott's life deserve some of the blame for his death. No, they didn't murder him, but they apparently made no attempt to intervene in what was obviously a pathological situation, a textbook dysfunctional family.

This morning Joey Rushing will request that Judge Terry Dempsey sentence Christie Scott to death by lethal injection, an Old Testament eye for a eye. Surely spending the rest of her natural life in the hell hole that is Tutwiler Prison would be enough punishment for this sick, sick woman.

Then again, let's not forget defense attorney Robert B. Tuten says it's not over yet...


What's up with this: It was the observation of several in the Franklin County courtroom that Joey Rushing should ditch his pink candy-striped English tie and take some lessons from the very GQ Doug Evans.

If You Can't Take Care of Your Disabled Child...

The only individuals who know the anguish and hardships of taking care of a disabled child are those who are that position. You or I may think we know how we would react, but do we really?

Certainly, everyone has a great big pat on the back for a parent who is the only, or at least primary, caregiver to a child with multiple disabilities, but that's were it usually ends. Not too many "concerned individuals" are willing to give of their time to help this mother or father in their daily lives.

So, how do these caregivers make it? First, they have no time for themselves, but that is their decision. Second, they have no time for their spouse or other children. That's when it becomes more problematic.

Many readers of this blog and various forums that I visit are quick to condemn Christie Bray Scott for murdering her handicapped son. Let me stress here, she has not yet been convicted, but the evidence seems overwhelming that she did it. Several have said she should have just given Mason to someone who could have taken care of him properly. If she had done so, what would the public have said then? I'll wager it wouldn't have been kudos.

One of the finest Christian women I've ever known, the late Ferrill Hill, once told me the best thing she ever did for her family was to place her mentally disabled son Billy in a home. She was then able to concentrate on her marriage and her two healthy children who needed her. Billy was happy with those who were similar to him and actually had a better quality of life in a group home.

If you are in the position of caring for such a child, if you feel that the child is not receiving proper care, if you feel that your family is suffering because of it, please don't let others outside your family influence you in this decision. I know I would not personally think less of you; I would think a great deal more.

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We see Russellville Det. Scotty Lowery has removed his Bud Light aluminum bottle from his profile...

What's up with this: The Christie Bray Scott trial is sure to continue well past July 6th. Judge Terry Dempsey is scheduled to officiate at the Keith McGuire rape trial in Lauderdale County on July 20th. All concerned hope there will be no more delays.

Exclusive Interview with Cousin of Murder Victim Mason Scott

We recently sat down with Laura Nelson*, a Scott family cousin, and asked her opinion on the circumstances surrounding the death of six year-old Mason Scott and the subsequent arrest of his mother Christie Bray Scott.

SS: I understand you're a cousin to Christie Bray Scott?

LN: No, actually I'm a cousin to Jeremy and Patrick's mother.

SS. Patrick was Jeremy's older brother? How did he die?

LN: It happened about nine or ten years ago. He had just gotten into a truck with some boys just north of Russellville when the vehicle flipped and ejected Patrick. I think he was killed instantly. It was sad since I was always much closer to Patrick than Jeremy. Jeremy was always the remote one. He never seemed to change facial expressions, even before Patrick and Mason's death. Now I never see him smile.

SS: Do you think he may have Asperger's or something similar? I know it can be hereditary.

LN: I don't know. I've never really thought about it, but he's completely different from the rest of his family.

SS: How did Jeremy and Michelle meet? I've heard they were high school sweethearts, but I know Jeremy is from Russellville and Christie is from Haleyville.

LN: I really don't know about that either. Jeremy's parents, Nell and Dale, live in the Crooked Oak community. Nell teaches handicapped children at Phil Campbell, and Dale was a truck driver until about a year ago when he retired in bad health. I understand the Bray family has quite a bit more money than Jeremy's, so I'm not sure how they got together.

SS: Christie is an only child?

LN: Oh, no. She has a sister and a brother and a little sister that died when a car rolled over her. Someone, don't know who, left the car in gear and the child was killed.

SS: Do you think her sister's death affected Christie? I mean in a way that could have altered her perception of reality?

LN: I don't know about that, but she's never seemed just right to me. She's always been distant and like she was in her own little world.

SS: Where is Jeremy living now?

LN: Sometimes he and Noah Riley (his younger son) live with Nell and Dale; other times they live with the Brays. It seems he aligned himself with the Bray family. I've heard Don has had a stroke since all this started and he's determined to keep Noah Riley close. They bought houses in Hartselle and plan on moving there when this is all finished.

SS: Two houses?

LN: Yes, one for the Bray family and one for Jeremy and his family, whatever that turns out to be.

SS: Have you been to visit Christie?

LN: I haven't, but Jeremy and his father-in-law Don Bray take all the girls food. They have to do it that way. They can't take food just to Christie without taking it to the other female inmates as well. When Christie's grandmother died a little while ago, the Woodmen of the World took trays of food to the jail for Christie and the others after the funeral. I assume that's how she's kept her weight up. I know jail food is terrible.

SS: I understand you've been at the trial as much as possible. Do you have any opinions or other info you could share with us?

LN: Well, I think she may get off. They're not paying Tuten (Christie's defense attorney) $300,000.00 for nothing.

SS: You know for a fact that 300K is his fee?

LN: Not for a fact. It's just everyone has talked about how much money Don and Kathy are having to pay out to keep Christie out of prison. So, yes, I can see her walking.

SS: Will you be testifying?

LN: No, I couldn't be talking with you if I were to testify. Some of the other cousins are. Maybe that's why Jeremy doesn't act the same around any of us anymore. There were blisters on the bottom of Noah Riley's feet after the fire. Christie said they were from walking on gravel, but the ones in my family that saw them say they were definitely burn blisters. I don't think anyone had a doctor look at them, but I'm not sure.

SS: You say she might get off. Do you think she did it?

LN: Oh, yes. She's as guilty as hell.

* Name has been changed to ensure privacy (Photo by Matt McKean)


Tomorrow: Florence's Brad Holmes announces his candidacy for District I state representative.

Christie Bray Scott - Murderer or Misjudged? - Part III

As Christie Scott turned herself in, Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing and Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett held the obligatory news conference and photo op. The bearded Rushing reiterated the basic facts of the indictment--three alternative accounts of capital murder, after which the often beleaguered Hargett mumbled over the sadness of it all, failing to remember if Mason was in kindergarten or first grade.

In the nearby courtroom, Circuit Court Judge Terry Dempsey refused bond in the case, even though both Scott's father and husband, with whom she was now ostensibly reconciled, testified that the former Alfa representative was no flight risk. Adorned in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, Scott was returned to the Franklin County Jail where she has remained.

Don Bray, a successful Woodmen of the World insurance agent in Winston County and self-proclaimed world's greatest chef, arranged for Huntsville defense attorney Robert Barry Tuten to represent his daughter. Tuten, a summa cum laude graduate of Jones School of Law, specializes in capital murder cases and has in the past represented such defendants as Natashay Ward, the Huntsville woman accused of starving her three children to death, as well as Andrew Pakhomov, the UAH physics professor tried for the murder of his wife.

Tuten also asked for a change of venue, another request denied by Judge Dempsey. Dempsey has stated the jury pool for Scott's trial will be increased by 300, bringing the total to 500 individuals in hopes of selecting a fair and open-minded jury. Tuten announced last week that the jury selection process, which begins today, may take as long as five days. He also refused to rule out a second request for a change in venue if he is unhappy with the final selection.

Franklin County is no stranger to murder cases in which a young child was the victim; however, this is the perhaps the first case involving someone of Christie Michelle Bray Scott's socio-economic standing in the community. Her family's money and position have bought her the best defense attorney; it remains to be seen if such factors will influence jurors from provincial Franklin County after they see the photos of Mason's charred body.

Photo of Franklin County Courthouse courtesy of Capitol Shots

A member of V.O.C.A.L. will be in the courtroom and provide us with periodic updates in this case.

Christie Bray Scott - Murderer or Misjudged? - Part II

Three days after the death of Mason Scott, pieces of the puzzle that surrounded his last minutes were already falling into place. Russellville Fire Marshal Bobby Malone had called in the Russellville Police Department, the Alabama Fire Marshal's office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk utilized an accelerant-sniffing dog to determine that the fire was not accidental in nature and that the blaze had originated under six-year old Mason's bed. Could the mildly autistic child have been playing with chemicals that some how ignited? Could an arsonist have known that Jeremy Scott was out of town and used that opportunity to settle some real or imaginary score? The third scenario seemed even more bizarre to authorities: Christie Michelle Bray Scott had herself started the blaze that claimed the life of her older son.

It had been less than three years since a fire had destroyed the family's former home at 35 Steel Frame Road in Russellville. There were no injuries in that fire, and Christie had blamed a Glade air-freshener plug-in for the blaze. While there had been no physical injuries related to the previous fire, the home had been insured, and both Christie and her father Don Bray were insurance agents.

The investigation into the previous fire had been perfunctory at best. Christie was a native of nearby Haleyville, the daughter of Don and Cathy Bray, both leading citizens in the small town. Her husband Jeremy S. Scott was an Information Technology specialist for CB&S, a locally owned bank that had been a Russellville institution for over 100 years. Yet the fire on Steel Frame Road had raised suspicions among many in the community--Christie had been involved in two fires at her family home in Haleyville. Now a fourth fire had claimed not only the young couple's new home, but their child.

Mason had started the first grade at Russellville's West Elementary School on August 4. Less than two weeks later he was dead. Now many who had observed Christie and Mason together characterized the mother as uncaring. Others in the community were surprised that Scott showed so little emotion during her son's funeral at Russellville's Calvary Baptist Church and in the days that followed.

Christie Scott returned to live with her parents in Haleyville, while her husband Jeremy took their younger son to his parents' home in Russellville. The young father also took out a protection from abuse order against his now estranged wife after Mason's autopsy showed large amounts of sedative in his system. On October 26, Franklin County Judge Terry Dempsey issued a warrant for Scott's arrest after her indictment by a grand jury. Information presented during the hearing indicated that Alfa Insurance agent Christie Scott had taken out an additional life insurance policy on her son the day before his death.


Tomorrow: The trial

Christie Bray Scott - Murderer or Misjudged? - Part I

It was almost two-thirty on the morning of August 16, 2008, when screams accompanied by loud pounding awakened Jennifer Davidson. She rushed to the front door of her 216 Signore Drive home in Russellville to find her neighbor Christie Scott. Scott, who lived at 180 Signore Drive, held her four-year old son Noah, while screaming hysterically that her house was on fire.

Davidson immediately called 911; the call reached the switchboard at 2:31 a.m. Firetrucks arrived at the burning residence within ten minutes, but it was almost five minutes more before Scott, 31, informed the firefighters that her six year-old son Mason was still trapped inside.

Scott indicated the location of Mason's bedroom, an area that was already totally engulfed in flames. The responders looked at the flames already broaching the roof and windows and knew that little could be done to save the child from the inferno, yet they worked swiftly to quell the fire, and by 4:00 a.m. responders were able to enter the dwelling. Franklin County Coroner Elzie Malone pronounced Mason dead at the scene.

Christie Michelle Bray Scott was too upset to answer the investigators' questions coherently, but they did learn that Noah had been sleeping in the bed with her while her older son, a victim of Asperger's Syndrome, slept at the other end of the house. Scott's husband Jeremy, 32, an executive with CB&S Bank, was away on business.

Russellville Fire Marshal Bobby Malone surveyed the charred refuse that had been the Scott's home. It was normal protocol to inform the Alabama Department of Human Resources when a child under the age of 18 died. He also decided to call in the State Fire Marshal; Christie Scott had been involved in four fires within the past eight years.


Tomorrow: Motive