The Murder of Stephanie Scott | Morbid | Podcast | Forensic Files

Hey weirdos. I'm Ash. I'm Elena. What's up? And oh, it's it's morbid. [Music] >> It is morbid. I I say I'm Elena, but am
I? I don't >> I don't know. >> Guess what happened today. >> So, I had to do So, I don't have a
Facebook page and I needed a Facebook page for something. So, I was going to make like a dummy page.
>> Yeah. >> But I haven't tried to make a Facebook page in years. I don't know what the
[ __ ] it entails. So, I went on and I look I I put in all my [ __ ] and then Facebook is like, "Hey, you need to do a
selfie video to prove you're a human before we can accept your account." And I was like, "That's
>> wild meta, but okay. I did it and it immediately was like, whoa, whoa, we don't we don't think you're a
human. Back it up. Like >> that's so that's so rich coming from like the lizard people of all lizard
peoples. >> Mark Zuckerberg doesn't think you're human. >> He does not think I'm human. So he
literally put a suspension on my account before it was even created because it was like step back. You're an alien.
>> Try again. >> And then it was like, do you want to appeal? And I was like, I guess cuz I
need this for this thing. I guess considering I'm a [ __ ] human. >> Yeah, considering I'm standing here a
human. So, I hit appeal and they were like, "Yeah, we'll let you know within like 48 hours." Within an hour,
>> I get a um absolutely not. And it literally says, "Let me read to you what it cuz it it's in no uncertain terms."
>> It says, "No, [ __ ] We know about you. I will not be getting this account." >> It said, "Your Facebook account has been
permanently disabled." >> [ __ ] you. So, and it says, "You requested a review of this decision, but
we still found that you suck ass and you're not going to be part of this." And then they said, "You can't request
another review." And I said, "Don't even try." >> I didn't want to be on Facebook anyways,
you [ __ ] So, I'm not going to request another one. >> I don't need to. >> Not because I can't. Because I don't
want to. >> I didn't want to anyways. So, I'm not human apparently. Damn. >> And that's going to be my excuse for
everything now. It's kind of like a high compliment though because maybe I thought you were just so gorge.
>> I love that you are you say that because my initial thought was okay I know I
didn't put on makeup >> no today and my hair is a little greasy. >> No, but I am a human.
>> Your hair doesn't even look greasy from me. >> Like what a roast. >> No, I would take that as like you're so
gorgeous that you look like an AI robot. >> I'm an otherworldly creature. >> Yeah, you're a siren.
>> I'm going to take that. >> I wouldn't ever let Facebook call me ugly. >> Yeah. F [ __ ] Mark Zuckerberg.
>> Yeah, [ __ ] them all >> for not letting me prove my human being status. >> Yeah,
>> but how do you moral of the story is I was right. I didn't want to be on Facebook anyway. So,
>> who does? >> Who does? >> So, that's that was my morning. >> Damn. Anything else new in your neck of
the woods? >> Um, what else is new in my neck of the woods? Um, I'm going to the Ghost
concert. >> Oh my god. And so it begins. >> Yep. the first concert in the United
States. >> She's going to go to two and she's going to be like, "It wasn't enough."
>> 100%. >> I need to go to Bore cuz we're going to that one and then like 11 days later
we're going to the Boston one. Oh my god, I love it. I'll take your kids for both
>> and I'm very excited. I know. They're very excited that they get to hang out with Tiki.
>> They're having a puppy sleepover. Um I have a new family me member named Dolores.
>> Family member. >> I have a new family member named my sweet dog tur. Dolores.
>> Dolores is a queen. >> Yep. Dolores Katana Cisacic. >> I love her so much. >> She loves you a lot.
>> She does. We bonded immediately. >> She loves you and she loves Aiden, my cousin, and she loves her parents, of
course. She's the best. Having a puppy was going to be so hard and like there are, you know, hard like things, but
>> that [ __ ] sleeps through the night. >> I know you got I think Drew said like we
got a pre-programmed one. We literally He thought that was like the best way to describe it.
>> He was like, I've had I think he's had three dogs. This is his third. And like
obviously he loves all his dogs, but he said Dolores is the best dog he's ever had.
>> I mean, yeah, she's easy peasy lemon squeezy. >> And I think she was sent to us because
there's like all these weird like signs that go along with how we adopted her and I'm not going to share them all cuz
they're like personal, but >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I love her and I'm obsessed with her and she's better than everyone in
the world. >> Yeah. And I think um Bailey might have sent her along to you as well.
>> I definitely think that's >> I think she had a hand a paw in it. >> Yeah. You know,
>> I know cuz she has Bailey tendencies. >> She does. >> And actually, she's doing really well
with the cats. We did like slow introductions and, you know, we're still working on it, but she's getting along
with her brothers. >> She's killing it. Really? >> Yeah. Lux wants to know everything about
her. >> Yeah. Lux is just like, "Please tell me your life story." >> He He He said that to her the other day.
>> I heard it. >> Yeah. So, now I have four livestocks and >> four live animals.
>> I'm living. We are living over here. >> We are living in these streets. >> Um, yeah. Do you have anything else?
>> Um, the paperback of the butcher game is out. >> Get it. >> Uh, you can go get it anywhere. Um, or
pre-order it, I should say. It's not like out out, but the pre-order is available.
>> Yeah. Can you um Can you be specific, please? >> Sorry. Sorry, girl. I'm not human. I'm
new here. >> Kind of actually very human of you. >> But yeah, you can pre-order it. Go to
the butcherame.com or you can pre-order it on Amazon. You can pre-order it at Barnes & Noble. any of the indie
bookstores that you like, you can try to pre-order it there. Um, all fun. Please
do it. It's awesome. The paperback, like a lot of you have >> said to me that you know where that that
back pocket paperback thing came from. It was just Mariano. It's the first one that comes to mind.
>> I thought Gilmore Girls. I thought you said just Mariano Mariano. >> It was Mariano. And a lot of people have
been tagging me in like videos on TikTok where somebody will talk about putting a
paperback in their back pocket. They're like, "See, it happened." >> I love that a lot.
>> So, yeah, you can put it in your back pocket if you want. And it's worth it. It's small enough that it can go in a
bag. It's just real It's real nice. >> Hell yeah. >> It's real nice. >> I'm team Logan, but I feel he would put
that in his pocket, too. >> I'm 100% team Logan. Always have been, always will be. But
>> I still got to give Jess the easy transportation of paperback books. >> Facts. I miss saying tinyurl.com/theb
butcher in the red. >> I know. I'm sorry. >> Fake that one of those anymore. >> We just made it easier.
>> I know. >> But yeah, so get it so that you can be ready for anything else. You can be
ready for everything. >> You can just be ready for the future. >> Can we tell them what happened the other
night? I think >> What happened the other night? >> Um, we were the most connected that
we've ever been. >> Oh, yeah. That was wild. >> The weirdest thing ever. So, we spent
time apart, which was like super weird. Yeah. >> Not for like it was just because she had
family and like I was at home with my dog >> and I had like a [ __ ] crazy dream. It
was like very scary. But within my dream, Elena had come out with a book and it was on the back of something else
that I saw. And I was like squinting trying to see the title and all I could see. First of all, before I got to the
title, all the cover of it was Elena like in like she looked like a medium. Like
>> a seance table. >> Yeah. At a seance table. And your arms were just like spread wide like come to
the seance table. Let me read your future. which is obviously the cover of whatever book I write next.
>> I know. Sorry to spoil it. >> Yeah, you spoiled it. >> What the [ __ ] >> Thanks a lot.
>> Even in my dream, I was like, "That's not my sister." But then I was squinting
in the title, all I could see that it started with was >> So I texted her to like tell her even
more about the dream. And right before this, before we talked, I that same day, I had a had a conversation in the car
with John where I was talking about what I would want to name a book that is may
or may not come out in the future. And it was a book that was going to be one word as a title
>> and that this that begin with. >> Yeah. And it's way too [ __ ] weird because I have never discussed this
title with anyone. I have never said anything. >> She had not said this to me at all. And
the in the dream it was like one word. >> Yeah. >> Which is And I couldn't see the full
word. All I could see so clearly was an >> That's it. When she told me this, I was
like, "This is so [ __ ] weird cuz I just talked to John about this." >> And then there was a few other weird
things like that that happened. Some weird ones. >> Um Yeah. So, you know, no spoilers here.
We bleeped over that. But >> hell yeah. >> Crazy. >> Yeah. >> Weird. It's all I could see.
>> I know. It's so crazy. >> Yeah. >> It's like you knew. >> I know. I do. I know. All
>> like you knew. >> Well, I think that's all our bid nasty. >> Yeah. >> For right now. I have a very sad case
for us today. Um but also an very interesting case. >> The person who committed this crime is
[ __ ] disgusting and it's just absolutely insane what they did. And uh it's a good thing that they got caught
because this could have happened many more times I think. >> Oh boy. >> And it's very sad. So we're going to be
talking today about the murder of Stephanie Scott. Uh Stephanie Scott was born on October 14th, 1985 in Canoindra,
New South Wales. She was the fourth of five children born to Robert and Marilyn Scott. In the Scott family, she was said
to be the most thoughtful of the children, which also included her two brothers, Gordon and Stewart, and her
sisters, Robert and Kim. Her sister Kim said that Stephanie was always think of thinking of others and noted all the
small things that she would do to make other people smile. Like she'd send them a text after midnight on their birthday
like just to be the first one >> or she'd randomly share pictures of things that made them happy just just to
brighten someone's day. >> It was probably that thoughtful, caring side of Stephanie's personality that
made her want to become a teacher to enrich the lives of young people in the first place.
>> Um her father also was a teacher, so I'm sure he inspired her path, too. And after graduating from high school, she
applied for and was accepted into the teaching program at Charles Stewart University in Wagawaga, New South Wales.
Wales. I said that with a ridiculous accent. >> Um, but this was one of the nation's
more competitive teaching programs. So, this was a big deal that she got into this.
>> Okay. >> She was so excited to be setting off on her own, pursuing her own dream of
becoming a teacher. But at the same time, she was also very anxious because she was leaving behind her boyfriend of
several years, Aaron Woolly. Stephanie and Aaron had actually met in high school where he was a star athlete, but
they didn't really get to know one another until they started working together at a a local grocery store.
>> Mhm. >> So, now faced with the option of breaking up or trying to navigate long
distance, they decided on the latter, and they weren't going to let the three-hour drive between Kenowindra and
Wagawaga stop them from being together. >> Okay. You always hear people say that
high school romances aren't going to last and just like, you know, when long distance enters the chat, it's going to
get even harder and blah blah blah. >> But Stephanie and Aaron really proved themselves to be the exception. They
stayed together and to everybody around them, they actually made it look pretty easy.
>> According to author Mon'nique Patterson, and we'll link her book in the show notes, uh, Stephanie and Aaron quote
spoke often and never complained about the long three-hour drive to see each other.
So within a month or two of her first semester, Stephanie's warm and very outgoing personality had won her
countless new friends and especially after she joined the woman's football team, the Talland Wolves, which if
you're listening in America, that's soccer. Ah >> her coach uh years later still said that
Stephanie lit up a room when she walked into it. He was Stephanie's coach for three seasons and he said Stephanie was
always the kind of player who gave her heart and soul on the field and always finished with a smile win or lose. Oh,
like just a good sport. >> Her teammates also shared the coach's perspective. A friend, Ruby Scandlin,
said she was just beautiful. Everyone loved her. >> In fact, Stephanie was so beloved by her
teammates and even members on other teams, too, that in the years after her unfortunate death, the football clubs in
the Wagawaga area created Scotty Day after her last name. >> And on that day, it's a remembrance of
her. Julie McClean, the assistant coach and team captain of the Riverina Lions AFL women's team, told ABC News, "We
forged great friendships and have many great memories of her at our club. We wanted to make something positive rather
than a sad day. So, we wanted to honor her." >> A that's really nice that they did that
though. >> It is. >> And especially creating it like in a positive way. >> Yeah. And it says a lot about what she
meant to them. And just the fact that like not only her own team got together and did that, but members on other teams
as well get together who she was. That's huge. So, she had a great experience obviously at Charles Stewart University.
But after graduation, Stephanie was really excited to go home and put that long-distance aspect of her relationship
with Aaron behind them. >> Yeah. >> That enthusiasm enthusiasm dwindled a bit when not long after completing her
studies, she actually got offered a position uh teaching English and drama at Leon High School, which was a
three-hour drive from her family and Aaron >> again. But this time, Aaron said, "You
know what? I'm gonna move with you to Leon. Like, we'll do this together this time because we're both way too excited
to let this go." >> So, he found a job there at the local meat packing plant. [Music]
Just like she had in pretty much every new endeavor she ever went through, Stephanie wasted no time making new
friends at school and she became a very active participant in her new community.
Her coworker and her friend Owen Mclofflin told reporters Stephanie was involved in so much at school. She loved
her sport and her drama and was just an absolutely wonderful girl. Whether she was in the classroom, she was on the
field where she coached the school's football team, she wasted no time just establishing herself as a positive force
in the school's community. One of her 12-year-old players said, "Miss Scott is an amazing and beautiful lady that would
just help you out no matter what." >> Oh, that breaks my heart. >> I know. So, now that they struck out on
their own and really established themselves in Leon, Stephanie and Aaron decided to take a celebratory trip to
Thailand in 2014. and her sister Kim said, "I remember sending her a message saying, "I don't know why I'm sending
you this, but I feel like something really special is gonna happen." Like talking about the trip.
>> Yeah. >> Kim's suspicion turned out to be spot on because while they were away in
Thailand, Aaron proposed one night after dinner. And of course, she accepted >> in Thailand.
>> I know. How a gorgeous place. >> Truly. So, they got home and Stephanie got right to work planning the wedding.
She was so excited. They set their date for April 11th, 2015. just one week after Easter. The guest list included
over a hundred names and she was so excited that she hand wrote and addressed every single invitation cuz
she was just so excited to be planning the wedding and getting married to Aaron.
>> Author Mon'nique Patterson wrote, "It was her way of savoring every minute associated with what would be the
happiest day of her life. >> But unfortunately, she was not going to get the opportunity to experience that.
By the time the first week of April 2015 arrived, Stephanie was pretty sure she had taken care of every single detail
for the upcoming wedding and the honeymoon too that was going to follow. But still, she was a fidious worker and
she wanted to make sure that everything was just so. So on the morning of Sunday, April 5th, she decided to stop
by her classroom at the high school and go over her lesson plans and her other coverage documents just one last time
that she was going to leave for the sub. So Aaron had actually gone to Canoindra
the night before to go to a party. So she texted him that morning and said she was going to school for a few hours, but
she was going to be home in time for them to make an 8:00 p.m. dinner reservation. So on his way back to Leon
that afternoon, Aaron called Stephanie a few times, but every single call went unanswered and he was texting her and
those weren't getting any answered. >> So that was so stressed out. He was stressing out, but at the same time, he
kind of assumed, you know, like maybe she got caught up in her work or maybe she met up with a friend and her phone
died. Like, you don't know. So, he was like, I'll just talk to her when I get home.
>> But then he got back home to Leon a few hours later and there was no sign of Stephanie at the house. So, now he
really was getting even more anxious than now there's an empty house, unanswered calls, unanswered texts. So,
he got in his car and he drove over to the school. But at that point, the school was locked and there was no sign
of Stephanie or her car anywhere. >> That's horrifying. >> So from there, he just started driving
around town trying >> at that point. >> That's the thing. And like you always, I'm sure, feel like you're going crazy.
>> Yeah. >> It's like when you like, have you ever like lost somebody that you were with in
the supermarket or something and you're like, "Oh my god, like what if they're not there?" And then you're like, "No,
that's crazy." And then you find that person >> and you're like, "Did I miss something?
like did they tell me they were going somewhere and I just didn't hear it or what's going on,
>> right? >> Yeah. >> So, he's driving around. He's like, I'm I'll find her. >> But he's driving around. He's driving
around. He's not finding her. So, he realized pretty quickly it was going to be a long shot finding Stephanie this
way. So, on his way back home, he started calling her family and her friends to see if they had heard from
her, and nobody had heard from her or seen her that day. So, he really had nothing left to do. He called the police
and reported her missing. >> Yeah. The next day, while uh Aaron and Stephanie's parents spoke with the
police, the rest of the Scott family took to social media to spread the news about Stephanie's disappearance. Um the
post where they shared that news was shared more than 1,500 times. >> Wow. >> But somehow failed to produce any
credible leads. Damn. >> None whatsoever. >> Later that day, Aaron spoke to reporters
and asked anybody who might have seen or heard from Stephanie to get in touch with him or someone in the family, the
police, anybody. He told reporters it's really out of character. Someone said they saw her at Woolworths, which is a
grocery store around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, but no one has seen or heard anything since.
>> It's so wild when people will think they see someone Yeah. >> in these scenarios.
>> Yeah. >> Like you'll hear hear these reports later of people being like, "Oh, I
thought I saw them at this place or this place." >> Yep. >> Yeah. Not always. >> By that afternoon though, it seemed like
the entire Leon community actually joined in on the search for Stephanie. Like this was all hands- on deck kind of
thing. >> Community effort. >> Yeah. Big community effort. The high school football team was involved. Aaron
and Stephanie's co-workers. Aaron's own touch football team. Like anybody who was connected to them was trying to
help. >> Yeah. >> But not everybody was convinced that Stephanie had disappeared so much as
she'd run away. Obviously, it wouldn't be the first time a bride to be would run away because of
like cold feet or stress or, you know, maybe they feared that they were going to make some kind of mistake by getting
married. But Aaron was like, "No, she didn't run away. We're one week out from our wedding and she's very much looking
forward to it." >> Well, that's all accounts was that she was unbelievably excited for this.
>> There was not one person who said otherwise, >> who said like, "Oh, she seemed like she
was a little >> No, >> like it seemed like she was like psyched. >> She was super psyched." and he said,
"I've been with her for five years, her disappearance is out of the blue. It's out of character for her."
>> Yeah. And he knows. >> And he does. And her family knew, too. >> But because they had to start somewhere,
and obviously because it's unfortunately pretty common for people to have been involved in the disappearance of their
spouses and partners, police did initially suspect that maybe Aaron had something to do with her disappearance,
>> which you can understand. >> Yeah. Luckily, they actually were able to rule him out pretty quickly. Yeah.
But there was still a segment of the public that remained skeptical of his story and you know
>> Oh, yeah. >> armchair detectives, the whole nine. >> Well, there's you could have every shred
of proof and there's certain people that just don't want to hear it. They want their own opinion to be right.
>> Yep. So, looking back on some early suspicions of his own, actually, local journalist Steve Mud said it was school
holidays. She had a wedding later that week, and being a bit of a cynic, I wondered if maybe she was just taking a
little time for herself. There was chatter about it in the newsroom, but when the family really came out as
concerned and the hours dragged on and on, it became more and more clear that something sinister had occurred there.
>> The shift in the press toward taking the story more seriously seemed to come on
the third day without any word from Stephanie. And that was when her parents really started to express a deep concern
that somebody had done something to prevent her from coming home. >> Her mother, Marilyn, told the press,
"It's the worst thing I've ever been through. I think today if we don't find her today, you can't let yourself think
about it, but you do. It's cold and we're running out of days. >> Oh my god. And her poor mother.
>> I can't imagine. >> I can't fathom this. >> No. And just the days are turning into
like the hours are turning into days. It's like >> and having to start coming to this
realization that like there's a real possibility you're not going to find her or that you are and it's going to be the
worst case scenario. >> I truly cannot imagine. But Marilyn Scott also addressed the occasional
suggestions that her daughter had run off to avoid her own wedding. She said everything was pointing toward the
wedding and that Stephanie could not have been more excited. >> Yeah. >> Her sister Robin also e echoed her
mother's sentiment and said, "I spoke to her on Saturday night and she was over the moon. She was so excited. She had
been to Griffith that day shopping and getting ready for her honeymoon." >> Yeah. So, it's like I don't that this
doesn't make sense. >> No. So, by the afternoon of April 8th, those uh hopeful of finding Stephanie
safe were dealt a major blow that would quickly break the case wide open. The friend who had told investigators that
they saw Stephanie at the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, the day she went missing, changed their story when they
realized that they had the wrong day. And it was actually most likely the day before, Saturday, that they had seen
her. >> Oh, come on. So that meant that the last time anyone had seen Stephanie was at
Leon High School. But the biggest break in the case came a few hours later when investigators announced that they had
arrested Leon High School janitor Vincent Stanford in connection with Stephanie's disappearance,
>> which seemed abrupt to everybody. >> Yeah. And the news of Stanford Stanford's arrest was accompanied by the
grim news that police had also found Stephanie's car earlier that day >> and it was being treated as one of two
crime scenes. >> Oh no. >> The other one being a quote residential property in Leon. Superintendent Michael
Rowan told the press, I can say her vehicle has been located. It was located at a property at Wamoon earlier today
and is presently being secured as as a crime scene and will be processed during the day. The next morning, April 9th,
24-year-old Vincent Stanford was formally charged with the murder of Stephanie Scott. Investigators at this
point actually still hadn't found her body yet, but they initially started looking into Vincent after finding some
holes in his alibi. And when they were able to search his property, investigators found a quote
number of items linked to Miss Scott's death, >> including a cell phone evidence that
contained what they said was photographic evidence. >> Oh. where they discovered photos of what
appeared to be a burnt body. Yeah. Oh, this is awful. Yeah. So, while investigators interviewed Vincent at the
Leon police station, a second set of detectives used a helicopter to locate Stephanie's car, a red Mazda, which they
ended up finding in an abandoned wheat field about 5 miles outside of Leon. Inside the car, they found blood stains
and additional evidence that 100% suggested foul play. The arrest of Vincent Stanford came as a
surprise to Stephanie's friends and family, mostly because, as far as anybody could tell, he was a complete
stranger to her. Like, she did not have any connection to this man other than the fact that they worked at the same
school. >> Oh, that's scary. >> Yeah. He had only moved to the area with his mother and his brother just one year
earlier. And the weirdest thing was that neighbors actually reported this family
to be a very polite one. They said they were I hate that. Super polite, kept to themselves, but were pretty normal. One
neighbor said they would always say hello in the street just like everyone does when you live in a tiny town like
ours. And another neighbor went as far as describing them as beautiful people. I literally hate that.
>> Yeah, >> because I hate the fact that you can sit there and go, "Wow, I said hi to them
every day and they said hi to me." >> And it just goes to show when something like this happens. It could be anyone.
>> Yeah. You can't tell. No. >> Like, you can't be like, "Oh, I bet that person's a serial killer." Cuz nine
times out of 10, you're going to be wrong. >> You look this guy up, he looks like a
pretty normal guy. Like, if that was my neighbor, I'd be like, "Oh, hey." Like, "What's up?"
>> He has a face that you want to punch so hard, he would go flying into the sun.
>> Yeah. Knowing what you know about him now. >> Knowing what you know about him now.
But, >> but if you didn't know, he would just be random guy on the street. >> You'd probably just be like, "Hey."
>> Yeah. You would just be a very normal dude. >> You'd have normal interactions. like I
wouldn't cross the street if I saw him coming or anything like that, you know. >> Yeah.
>> So, after the announcement that Stephanie might have been abducted by someone who worked at the school, Leon
High School officials were quick to distance themselves and they explained that the school's janitorial staff were
contracted through an outside agency like we didn't do it. They said you can talk to that outside agency
>> and that uh agency was Colin Josing Company. When Colin Joss was contacted for comment, the manager for the company
did confirm that Vincent Stanford had been employed with the company since 2014 and had actually quote undergone
standard criminal checks before he was employed. >> That's even scarier. >> Even scarier. The manager also confirmed
that he actually wasn't supposed to be scheduled to work at the school that day,
>> but they weren't able to confirm if he had uh keys to the school or not. >> Ooh.
>> Which like you should know who has keys to a high school. >> To a school. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. >> Everybody's worst fears though were confirmed a few days later on April 10th
when the burnt body of a woman was discovered in Coco Perah National Park about 40 miles away from Leon.
Superintendent Rowan said, "The investigation is ongoing, but in terms of our searching and things like that,
we certainly believe the remains are those of Stephanie." Oh, >> that's awful. >> He told reporters that they focused
their investigation on that area after somebody reported seeing a man throwing something into an irrigation ditch on
that Monday evening. >> Uh in in that area, investigators also found an iPad belonging to Leon High
School in the irrigation ditch, and that was not far from the burnt remains. But
basically that confirmed the body to be Stephanie at that point and then they could do forensic testing.
>> That is horrifying. >> Yeah. Now after his arrest for Stephanie's murder, Vincent Stanford was
held without bail in a jail cell in Leon where investigators were just trying to
piece together what happened on that Easter Sunday at Leon High School because remember it's Easter Sunday.
>> Damn. >> She's planning this wedding. She's one week out from the wedding. just popping
in there to make sure everything's taken care of. >> That's the thing. Making sure her
students are going to have what they need while she's gone. That the sub has everything they need.
>> Just being a good colleague, a good teacher. >> Yeah. Just being a good [ __ ] person.
>> So Vincent started working at the school in early March of 2015 in what was supposed to be a temporary position that
would have ended a few weeks after his start in March. >> [ __ ] >> But for some reason, his contract was
extended. Per his contract, he was authorized to do his cleaning before and after school hours, specifically from
3:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. And he was not authorized to be on the property during weekends.
>> Oh [ __ ] >> So he never should have supposed to be there. >> No. And despite that, there were times
where he quote was witnessed entering and leaving the girl's toilets during school hours, which given his role in
the school didn't raise red flags because he's a janitor until after his arrest. But like, are we not like is he
only coming out of the girls bathrooms? Cuz that would that should raise a red flag.
>> That's the thing. >> That should at least at the very least somebody should be like, "What's going
on there? What are you doing there?" Like, if it seems weird to you, it's probably weird. Check it out.
>> Just check it out. >> Check it out. And had you checked it out, you would have
>> someone, you offend someone. Who cares? You might have saved someone. >> You would have realized that he wasn't
supposed to be there during those times anyway. >> Which by no means is this anybody's
fault that like you know this I'm just saying like >> that's why you check things out.
>> That's why don't feel stupid just saying something if something seems wrong. >> That's all I'm saying. You got to trust
your gut. >> Yeah. [Music] But once the mistaken grocery store sighting had been corrected as having
occurred the day before Stephanie disappeared, investigators shifted their focus to the school where she had last
been seen. and working their way through a list of people who would have come into contact with her throughout that
day. Detectives ended up paying a a visit to the home Vincent shared with his mother and his brother under the
guise of just making standard inquiries. >> He told investigators that he had definitely been at the school that day,
but he did not see Stephanie while he was there. So, they were like, "Okay, like, thank you for your time." They
start leaving the house and suddenly he called after them and they said with an odd smirk on his face, he told them,
"Good luck finding her." Oh, [ __ ] this guy. Yeah. [ __ ] this. I That right there would have
been I'd be like, "Wow." So my entire life's mission is to make sure that you never see the light of day again.
>> Pretty much. >> That would have sealed it for me. >> That's pretty much what happened.
whoever these investigators were that were there that day. >> Something about the way he said that and
the way his face looked, they their spidey senses started to take >> cuz that's not him. There's a very
specific wording there. Yeah. >> It's not I hope you find her. Good luck >> or wishing you the best. It's good luck
finding her like I hit her far enough that you won't find her. Like good luck. Exactly.
>> That's a taunt. That's exactly what that is. It's a taunt. >> Good luck. >> Yeah. And under the circumstances, his
comment seemed pretty [ __ ] inappropriate. Yeah. >> And said in a way that suggested he knew
more, but wasn't planning to ever tell. >> Saying, "Good luck, guys." >> And a quick followup on his statement to
them revealed several quote unquote glaring inconsistencies in his story, including, among other things, the fact
that he wasn't authorized to be on school property that day. They ended up there. As far as anybody could tell, by
putting himself at the school on the day and time that Stephanie went missing, he
jumped to the top of the list of people who were most likely to have seen her last,
>> of course. >> So, later that day, a strike force led by detective inspector Tim Clark and
composed of detectives and uh uniformed officers went back to his house that same day to interview him further. He
wasn't at home when they arrived, but his mother was. And she voluntarily allowed them in the house, and she gave
her written consent allowing them to search the premises. >> Good. >> Queen [ __ ]
>> Queen [ __ ] Cuz there are so many people that wouldn't do that. >> She would have been like, "Not my baby
boy." >> But she said, "You think you have something? Go ahead and check my house."
>> During a search of his bedroom, police found a set of keys matching those reported to have been in Stephanie's
possession when she went missing. And that allowed them to declare the house a crime scene and gave them the power to
prevent anyone from leaving the premises. >> The fact that this [ __ ] loser is going back to his mom's house after
doing this [ __ ] >> Yep. >> I hate this guy. >> It's so messed up. He went back to his
mom's house in her car. >> Holy [ __ ] >> Cuz remember her car was missing when Aaron started driving around looking for
it. it. Not long after the house was declared a crime scene, Vincent Stanford re returned home and agreed to accompany
the investigators back to the Leon police station. He said, "Sure, I'll answer some of your questions." At the
same time, detectives started searching his car and that's where they found the images of a burnt body among the cell
phone pictures in his cell phone. And in the car, they found several spots of what appeared to be blood in the back
seat. The fact that he took pictures of her burnt body on his cell phone >> Yeah.
and just sick. Wait for the comment that he has about that. >> Oh lord. >> When Tim Clark finally sat down to talk
with Vincent, it seemed like he had an answer for everything. >> He said no. He maintained he hadn't seen
Stephanie on the day she went missing. Um when they asked about the scratches on his face,
>> that's always a telltale sign. >> He said, although I just walked into a branch I was out in the woods.
>> That's what they all say. >> They were like, "Okay, what were you doing in the woods?" And I'm sure he had
an answer for that. >> As for the photos on his phone, they had them all wrong. Those came from a
website. Just a website. >> Just a website with a burnt body. >> And the keys in his room, those were his
keys. >> Yeah, >> totally. All the answers. But what wasn't quite so easy to explain away
were the large number of photos on his phone of another young woman, detectives believed that he had been stalking.
>> Jesus. >> Yeah. So, he was definitely planning to do this again. >> Oh, yeah. Given all the evidence,
investigators were pretty sure they had their guy. And with the other photos suggesting he was still a danger to at
least one young woman, >> he was more than a little or they were more than a little reluctant to release
him from custody. >> Yeah. >> But police had yet to discover Stephanie's body at that point that they
were questioning him or her car. While they still would be able to prove or dis prove his claims at that time, at that
moment the evidence against him was pretty thin. >> Holy [ __ ] >> Yeah. But still, Clark's Detective
Clark's instinct told him Stanford was absolutely responsible for Stephanie's disappearance. So, he made the bold
decision right there and then to charge him with murder. >> Inspector Clark. >> Inspector Clark forever.
>> Inspector Clark. >> He just hell yeah. He was like, "No, I know it. My gut tells it. You are the
guy. I love Clark." >> And it turned out that his instincts were pretty [ __ ] good. Yep.
>> And his suspicions of Stanford were well placaced. While he was in custody, Vincent made a monitored telephone call
to his twin brother in Adelaide where he made multiple incriminating statements about having given his brother some of
Stephanie's belongings, including her engagement ring. >> Oh, that's so Oh, that's horrifying.
>> It's awful. >> Just thinking about that and have thinking about her fiance having to hear
that information. >> I can't like >> I can't even imagine. >> Yeah. And investigators learned that the
rings had been pawned for $75, but by the time they were able to track down the pawn shop, the jewelry had been
melted down, so it was never able to be returned to the family. >> That is [ __ ] devastating.
>> It's truly devastating. It's >> I feel awful for that family. >> It's adding insult to injury like big
time. >> [ __ ] >> Yeah. >> He's a piece of [ __ ] >> He's a piece of [ __ ] That's awful. By
the time Stephanie's remains did end up being found in the national park on April 10th, Vincent Stanford knew the
evidence against him was adding up to something a lot more than just circumstantial, a circumstantial case.
And he asked uh to meet with Detective Clark, where he did finally confess to the murder. According to him, he had
quote absolutely no prior plan to murder Stephanie Scott and he didn't know her at all. But as soon as he saw her come
into the school, he said he was overcome with the desire to kill her. >> What a [ __ ] up monster.
>> Just out of nowhere. >> I just saw her and I was overcome with the desire to kill her. You're a [ __ ]
up monster and you should be locked away. >> Oh, just wait. He's super [ __ ] up.
It's good that he's locked away because he would have been he would have done awful awful awful things in addition to
this. So Stephanie had finished her work for the day and stopped on her way out of the building to say bye to him and
wish him a happy Easter. Oh god. And that was when he grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth, and dragged
her into a nearby store room. Um, this is very triggering, so I'm going to go over it very quickly, like trigger
warning for people. Once he had subdued her, he sexually assaulted Stephanie and
then hit her over the head, punching her as many as 40 times. >> Holy [ __ ] and then cut her uh corateed
artery with a knife which caused her to bleed to death. >> Oh my god. >> All out of nowhere.
>> That's so [ __ ] violent. >> All out of completely nowhere. She stopped to wish him a happy Easter
before she was leaving. >> She literally waved to him and wished him a happy Easter.
>> Yep. >> And that's what she gets. >> Yep. He grabbed her and did all of that to her. Like he's a savage animal. Like
savage animal behavior. >> Like can you understand why women are scared to be to exist
>> around men? >> Yeah. >> A lot of the time. You know what I mean? Like this it I mean this that's
terrifying. >> Of course. Yeah. Like that is the most predatory, scary animalistic
monstrous behavior I can imagine. You literally are just like courtesy saying happy Easter. Have a good weekend.
>> Yeah. And he attacks you to the point of punching you 40 times and slicing your
corroted artery after sexually assaulting you just for saying happy Easter. >> And why would you ever think that
somebody like that would exist on school property? >> Exactly. You think you're safe there.
>> Yeah. Everybody's been background checked this that and the other thing. >> Yeah. Why would this guy And why would
this guy ever have like the means, the motive, the opportunity >> opportunity to do this to me here?
>> He shouldn't have. >> Holy [ __ ] He shouldn't have. He wasn't even supposed to be there.
>> That's so scary. >> It's horrifying. >> And the fact that he said he had no prior plan and it just an overwhelming
urge is the scariest thing I've ever heard. >> Oh, yeah. Detective Clark asked, he was
like, "Why did you attack her so brutally?" >> Yeah. >> And all he had to say was that he quote
went a little nuts when he saw her. Said, "I just went a little nuts." >> Just I saw her and I went a little nuts.
That's so [ __ ] scary. >> Oh, he continued. He said, "I just felt," this is a quote, "I just felt
like I should do it. I don't know. I've had mental problems in the past. Aggression. I think it just came back.
>> Oh, okay. >> Aggression. >> That's not being aggressive. That's being a monster.
>> And just being like, "Yeah, I don't know. I think it just came back." You think?
>> Yeah, I would say so. >> I would say so. >> Now, once Stephanie was killed, Stanford
took her engagement ring and a ring that she had been given by her parents for her graduation.
>> So, it was those two rings. Those two rings. Jesus. which he later uh mailed to his brother Marcus in South
Australia. After loading her into the trunk of her own car, he used the school's pressure washer to clean up the
crime scene, drove her car back to his house, where he then sat and had lunch with his mother and brother.
This [ __ ] just had the most violent fatal outburst and then drives her car. Which also I'm
like, "Hey, mom and bro, did you wonder where that car came from?" >> That's the thing.
>> What's that about? What's that about? Cuz I'm sorry. What the [ __ ] is that about? Did anyone ask? I'm sure they
probably did. And he had some explanation. And I think that's why the mom felt weird about it. why she allowed
them >> and that's why she let them search >> cuz like come on you got to ask. >> Yeah.
>> Holy [ __ ] >> So yeah, he uh had lunch with his mom and brother after that and then the next
day he drove out to Coco Perah National Park where he burned Stephanie's body and then left her car in the abandoned
field and then just walked back to his house. And that makes sense why his mom probably let them search because he
showed up with that car the day before and then all of a sudden he's walking home without that car.
>> Yep. >> Yeah. And when Detective Clark asked why Vincent had taken a photo of Stephanie's
burned remains, he calmly said, "Maybe I wanted a souvenir. >> Maybe I never want to see you free
again. Maybe I wanted a souvenir is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard in my life.
>> What you had done, what a piece of [ __ ] >> Maybe I wanted a souvenir. You could go
[ __ ] yourself. >> Holy [ __ ] >> So, after his confession, he was obviously evaluated by a forensic
psychologist, Anna Robard, who would prove to be essential to the prosecution's case against him.
>> During his uh confession and subsequent interviews with police, he provided no
real motive for the murder. so scary. >> Aside from just saying he quote went a little nuts, but his evaluations by uh
Robard provided insight into a personality that had always always been headed in the direction of violent
crime. >> So he'd been born in Australia in 1990. He'd been raised primarily by his mother
in the Netherlands and his uh older brother Luke and his twin brother Marcus lived with him as well. But he reported
that he had had violent fantasies as early as seven or eight years old is when they started.
>> Holy [ __ ] >> In her report, Robard wrote he stated he had violent he has violent thoughts when
people cause him stress and his violent thoughts are usually caused when people interrupt his routine and in the past he
has been triggered by teachers. >> What the It's like then why did you choose to work at a school? That's and
in the past he's been triggered by teachers that should have been like but I guess if you don't know about it it's
like cuz he's going to work at a school you wish that had been noted somewhere in his background that like this
triggers him. Don't put him in a school with teachers, >> right? >> I don't know what happened here.
>> In 2003 though, when he was just 13, he was expelled from school after a violent
outburst where he attacked a female teacher, knocked her to the ground, and choked her. I'm sorry. This wasn't on
his record. >> 13 years old. >> I guess he's a minor, but it's like that's nowhere in his record.
>> It this incident also resulted in a monthsl long period of hospitalization for him where he was then evaluated by
psychiatrists there and diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which I feel like is just so broad.
>> Yeah. And it's literally being like he's autistic, so he violently attacked this
teacher. It's like I don't like I don't really think those two things are connected, my friend. way more to that.
But until that point, uh Vincent told Robard he had thought his violent feelings were normal, but after his
hospitalization, he realized they weren't. So he quote kept it bottled up. Years after that, he came to understand
that his violent thoughts and fantasies were considered ab abnormal to others, but he was still untroubled by them. He
told her, "This is just the way I'm arranged. I don't think there's anything I can do to get them away."
>> Wow. >> He was like, "Yeah, this is just who I am. So I haven't ever attempted to get
better. I'm just going to hurt people when I get angry. >> Like he is a sick individual.
>> Like he sounds like he's just like I'm not going to diagnose him because I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist,
but like he sounds like he's just so dead emotionwise like void of just completely gone.
>> Yeah. Like cuz he's just like Yeah. I don't know. >> Well, and it's there's just no
>> just what I do empathy whatsoever. >> It's not even like, "Oh man, I should have done that." It's literally like,
"Oh, it was just me." >> Yeah. I just couldn't stop myself. >> Deal with it. >> And why do I have a picture of her burnt
body? Maybe I wanted one. >> Like, it's just so dead. >> It's so dead. And it's not a matter of a
fact. >> Yeah. It's not even like like it's it's just so dead. I can't like the flat as
effect of it all is so scary. >> It is very scary. >> Yeah. [Music] So, when it came to the murder of
Stephanie Scott, he was as forthcoming as he had been with detectives, but he didn't offer any straightforward
explanation for the killing during his examination. >> And it was apparent to Robard that he
didn't feel any remorse for this murder whatsoever. >> And in fact, he said he hardly really
remembered anything about it. He said, "This was just something I had to do. I couldn't stop myself."
>> You could. >> It's like no, >> you just chose not to. definitely could have. But in his mind, or at least
according to what was said, the violence was simply a means to an end for him. Something to relieve like a intense
tension and pressure that would build up inside of him and then he would just relieve that by attacking somebody.
>> Holy [ __ ] >> Yeah. Robelard wrote, he stated that he does not anticipate gaining pleasure
from harming others, just relief from his own urge to kill. >> So he gets relief from it.
>> Not Yeah. Not pleasure. >> Pleasure. Relief. So he's not like a sexual sadist per se. I guess
>> according to his own >> according to his own statements and her evaluation. >> Yeah. I was just going to say that's
according to how he's presenting. >> Yes. Because >> stuff. >> Well, to me I immediately was like,
well, he's a sexual satist. >> Well, he did sexually assault her, so he obviously did I hate saying this, but
like obviously he got some sort of pleasure from that aside from just relief. >> Exactly.
>> You know, >> but I don't know. This is it very interesting. >> So that's according to one yeah one uh
psychologist and later he claimed he did not enjoy killing Stephanie but that the
murder did stop the urge to hurt anybody else for several more months. >> And here's where my problem is where
where he sits here and says I didn't enjoy killing her. What's up with that picture?
>> Yeah. Why did you need a souvenir for something you didn't enjoy? >> If you didn't enjoy it, why would you
want to go back to it? >> And he also said the murder did stop the urge to hurt anybody for several months.
I'm like, "Yeah, you can't you know that you can't hurt anybody because you're in
police custody." >> Exactly. >> Like obviously there are times that happens, but Exactly. That's very easy
to say. Then >> in her summary report, Robard concluded that Vincent Stanford had quote deeply
entrenched structural faults in the personality construct and that he had considerable difficulty experiencing
emotions and forming bonds or social connections with others, which uh Yes. >> Yes. Yes. But in addition to that, she
said he also had elevated scores on the sadistic and aggressive scale, which is a diagnostic tool used to access uh to
assess a person's predisposition toward violent behaviors. >> Okay. >> Which is scary that he had very high
scores on that >> on the sadistic scale. Like, holy [ __ ] >> But on the contrary, despite those
traits, he scored relatively low on the psychopathy scale. >> Interesting. >> Yeah. According to the report, he quote
described having one feeling, hatred, which could be a consequence of his perception of exclusion and rejection
and the source of a generalized social animosity that may have triggered his angry, unpremeditated, and overwhelming
urge to kill the victim. He only felt hatred for >> That's in general. >> So scary that people are possibly
>> That's really scary that people are just walking around like that. >> Yeah. and that they could unleash that
hatred at any moment. >> Yeah. >> So that's that's the first evaluation that was done. A second evaluation
conducted by David Greenberg arrived at similar conclusions, but Greenberg differed somewhat when it came to
Vincent's dangerousness and capacity for violence. Greenberg believed that Vincent most likely had a paraphilic
disorder and did derive a sense of sexual pleasure or gratification from his violent fantasies. He said relative
to the general male population, his risk of sexual violence must be regarded as the highest category.
>> Yeah. Because like when when I heard that other one, I was like, so we're we're going with like not sexual sadist
even though he did sexually assault her. It's like that's the thing >> because there's many killers who will
kill and not sexually assault. We've covered so many >> which is like that that like that's what
he was kind of describing. But like the problem there was he did. So, it's like that didn't line up with what he was
saying. So, this >> this makes a little more sense to me. >> It does. And I will say I'm sure it was
probably hard to evaluate him based on the fact that like he did commit one murder and not you don't have
>> you don't have this pathology of of crime scenes that you can analyze. Yeah. because I feel like that must be a time
when you can sit there and say, "Okay, this is clearly something he does every time and this is, you know, he's
escalating in this way and this is the patterns of >> where all this lies." And it's like
right now, like you're saying, it's just one scene, one situation >> and it's like, but and I'm sure, you
know, he sounds like a a [ __ ] word. That's like a dead >> bullshitter. Exactly. So,
>> I tend to agree. I mean, like I'm not a professional in any way whatsoever, but
I tend to agree with the guy the other guy's opinion. >> It rings more true to me.
>> Yeah. So, while Vincent sat in jail undergoing one evaluation after another, detectives in Leon continued to build
their case against him with the understanding that despite his confession, he was still probably going
to be going to trial. Now, in their investigation, detectives also discovered a considerable amount of
evidence that not only confirmed his guilt, but also contradicted several statements he made to the police at the
time, and at the same time supported the findings of both psychological evaluations that had been conducted.
>> Among the evidence collected from his home were email receipts for quote purchases of Viagra,
>> ding ding ding, >> ding, ding, ding, cleaning products, a training sword, and a knife, and flexi
cuffs. Yeah, >> he's a absolutely a sexual satist. Absolutely 100%. >> Searches of of his computer and internet
search history were also very troubling. And another ding-ding moment because they included searches for among other
things, and this is a lot, bride rape, bride kidnapping, and other searches were conducted,
quote, in relation to necrilia and necro rape, as well as a variety of violent pornographic pictures and knives.
>> Oh, he's 100% getting pleasure out of this. >> Absolutely. >> Bride rape. >> Bride rape. She happens to be getting
married and he stole her engagement ring. Yeah. Like come on. There's a lot to that which [ __ ] up monster.
>> Well, that's the thing. It's very It's in my opinion it's too coincidental that
he said he just saw her that day at school. >> Didn't know anything about her. >> I think he stalked her.
>> I also think that especially because he was stalking someone else. >> He was stalking multiple other women.
Actually, >> it's clear that he was doing this. Yeah. He just didn't have the what, you know,
pictures of her or whatever. >> Exactly. >> Yeah. >> Now, perhaps the most disturbing
information they they learned during the investigation was that prior to Stephanie's murder, Benson had been
stalking, like I just said, multiple girls and young women who, given his search history, were almost definitely
intended to be future victims. >> Among them was a 12year-old girl. Oh. Who is referred to as Joanne in court
documents. That is not her real name. When investigators searched his computer, they found more than 1,800
images of this girl along with a quote book full of details pertaining to her schedule and times when she may be home
alone. >> Get us all in a room alone with this man. >> Yeah, get us all in a room alone with
him. >> I want to beat the [ __ ] out of him. On a page inside the book, he also had
written a list of quote stupifying drugs including Valium, chloroform, nitrous oxide, and rahypnol.
>> Yeah. So, this whole story of him just being like, "Yeah, I don't know. I just
went nuts. I had no plan for it. Go [ __ ] yourself." >> No. >> You've been planning for this for years.
>> Not a doubt in my mind. Get out of here. Not a doubt in my brain. >> This was not a a momentary
>> cuz the other thing is it's like, "Oh, you just randomly went to clean the the
school on a Sunday." >> No, you you were following her. He was absolutely following her.
>> Uh they also found a quote, and this is absolutely [ __ ] disgusting, a laminated photo of a school dance group
that Joanne was a part of. >> He's a piece of absolute [ __ ] >> Parents should have been allowed in a room with
this man. >> 100%. >> Like I just there are certain exceptions to the rule and this is one of them.
>> And this is one of them. >> Yeah. >> And I I will hear another >> This is one of them where you look the
other way. >> Yeah. Later when that evidence was presented in court, he admitted he
probably would have abducted and killed her if he hadn't been arrested. >> And he's he was just like, "Yeah, I
probably get him gone." >> Other evidence collected indicated that he had been stalking more women,
including a young woman who worked at uh the local supermarket and another teacher who worked alongside Stephanie.
>> So, it's like if he's stalking another teacher who worked with Stephanie, he's
absolutely stalking Stephanie. >> 100%. And he probably he might have known that she was coming that day like
ahead of time. >> Yep. Exactly. >> Not long after he met this teacher, he started to monitor her schedule and
record her comingings and going at the at the school. So between the delays, time spent on the psychological
evaluations and requests from the defense for more time to prepare, blah blah blah. More than a year passed by
the time he was supposed to be before a judge. And in that time, his twin brother had also been arrested, charged
with and pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. >> Yeah. Because what the [ __ ]
>> For receiving and selling the stolen jewelry, which only strengthened the prosecution's case against Mincson
himself, cuz now his brother's going to prison. >> Yep. In the months since his arrest,
Stan uh Vincent Stanford indicated his intent to go to trial, but given all the evidence against him, the full and the
full confession, his defense attorneys determined it was for the best that their client plead guilty.
>> What do you do when wasting everyone's time >> and they hoped maybe his cooperation
would earn him a reduced sentence? >> I hope not. >> No. On July 19th, 2016, he did in fact
plead uh guilty to the murder and the aggravated sexual assault of Stephanie Scott. And his sentencing hearing was
scheduled for October 11th, 2016. During his sentencing hearing, his attorney argued that his client's diagnosis of an
autism spectrum disorder and the fact that he cooperated with police should be taken into account when passing the
sentence. >> You be so for real. He very well for real. He very like two things could be
true at once. He very well may be on the spectrum. Absolutely. But there is also
a load of other things that is that are that are pertinent in this case that have nothing to do with that.
>> It wasn't the autism that made it a no. >> It that's that's wild work. >> No. And that like frankly how [ __ ]
dare that guy you try to use that >> like come on. >> No. Not in this case. Wasn't he wasn't
that making him do this? >> No. >> So, Justice Robert Holm acknowledged that under normal circumstances, those
things absolutely would have been considered, >> but he was not convinced that Stanford's
diagnosis was a factor in the murder. And he told the defense team, "But even if it was, the extent would be minimal."
Exactly. Minimal. >> It just doesn't work in this circumstance. He said the calculating
manner in which the offender carried out the various activities following the murder and to some extent before
indicates he was well capable of making well well-considered choices about how to best serve his own interests and
achieve his objectives. >> Exactly. >> Ultimately, Justice Holm uh sentenced Vincent Stanford to 15 years for the
aggravated sexual assault and life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Stephanie Scott.
According to the Guardian, there were exclaims of yes from the public gallery when the sentence was handed down. If I
was there, I would have been one of them. >> Yep. >> And outside the courtroom, Stephanie's
mother told reporters, "The past 18 months have been the most difficult and harrowing time. So much has been taken
away from us. Stephanie has had everything taken away from her. Stephanie embodied all that is good
about humankind. She made a tangible difference to the lives of so many people. Stephanie would want us to
resume our lives. We need to be kind to ourselves and let the music and fun back
in. We need to fade from public view to mourn our beautiful girl and work our way through our grief.
>> Oh, I just want to hug her. >> And the day after Stanford was sentenced was to be Stephanie's 28th birthday.
>> She was so young. >> So young. Her mother said, "This should be her 28th birthday, the second one we
celebrate without her. We'll be having a cup of tea and a mint slice biscuit at 3."
>> Which just like breaks your heart. Damn. >> But it's such a good thing that he's
behind bars. >> Yeah. >> But it breaks my heart that the the loss of Stephanie's life is what landed him
behind bars. >> Yeah. Like it doesn't make it better. >> It's just so upsetting that no one knew
what he was capable of before this happened. >> That was also very bold of him to say
that he would have probably kidnapped and murdered that 12-year-old girl before going into prison forever.
>> Yeah, that was a crazy bold move. I hope that uh >> I hope he's seen the results of that
statement. >> Yeah. I hope that Nate's heard that. >> Yeah. >> Just cuz. >> I hope you know,
>> just because. >> Just cuz. >> It's just a good thing for them to know. >> Yeah, that's good. Just, you know, maybe
let them see some Gen Pop action and see what happens. >> Hierarchies and stuff.
>> Yeah. Let it all shake out how it does. >> It's such a sad case. It really is.
>> I feel so awful for her family. For >> her family went through so much. Yeah.
terrible that whole community really because it seems like that whole community really loved her
>> and she was such a big part of all of them. Yeah, she >> they all lost someone.
>> She was a light in that community for sure. But it's so sad nice that they celebrate her in a way that they think
would have made her happy and even her mom said like we have to let the music and the fun back in our lives
>> cuz she would have wanted that. Again, that tells you exactly who she was that
people looked at it and said that her own mother sitting there being like, she would have wanted us to like party.
>> Yeah, she would have been >> remember her in a happy way. >> That's the thing. She must have just
been the best. >> Yeah. >> But that is the murder of Stephanie Scott by an absolute [ __ ] disgusting
piece of wet lettuce. We're bringing that back for this one. >> Oh yeah. >> And we appreciate you guys listening. We
hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird, >> but not so that you're a piece of wet
lettuce. We had [ __ ] you, Vincent. [ __ ] you, Vincent. [Music] [Music] [Music]

One week before her wedding, on the Easter Morning in 2015 Stephanie Scott decided to stop by her classroom at Leeton High School to go over her lesson plans and other coverage documents she’d left for the substitute teacher one final time. By midafternoon, her fiancé

Aaron grew anxious by unanswered calls and texts, and reported her missing with Leeton Police. The Leeton community rallied, coordinating search efforts to this beloved member of their town. Sadly, on April 9th, twenty-four-year-old Vincent Stanford was formally charged with the murder of Stephanie Scott. The arrest of Vincent Stanford came as a surprise to Stephanie’s friends and family, particularly because, as far as anyone could tell, he was little more than a stranger.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References Australian Associated Press. 2016. Stephanie Scott's killer Vincent Stanford told police he 'went a little nuts'. October 10. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/11/stephanie-scotts-killer-vincent-stanford-told-police-he-went-a-little-nuts.

Australian Broadcasting Company. 2015. Stephanie Scott: 24-year-old school cleaner kept in custody over murder of teacher from Leeton, NSW. April 8. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-09/man-charged-leeton-schoolteacher-stephanie-scotts-murder/6379516.

—. 2016. Stephanie Scott: Cleaner Vincent Stanford pleads guilty to teacher's rape and. July 19. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-20/stephanie-scott-murder-accused-vincent-stanford-pleadsguilty/.

—. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Mother of missing teacher from Leeton fears search is 'running out of days'. April 8. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-08/mother-missing-leeton-teacher-stephanie-scott-fears-search/6378256.

—. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Police say burned body found in Cocoparra National Park believed to be that of missing teacher. April 10. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-11/stephanie-scott-police-searchers-find-burned-body-near-griffith/6385584.

Brooks, Emily. 2016. This is what we know about Stephanie Scott's killer so far. October 12. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/this-is-what-we-know-about-stephanie-scotts-killer-so-far_au_5cd41819e4b0ca9b77563363.

Fairfax Media. 2015. "'Devastated:' Communities mourning murdered bride-to-be Stephanie Scott." Central Western Daily, April 9.

Harris, Janice. 2015. "Tears for Stephanie: Canowindra grieving for 'absolutely wonderful girl'." Central Western Daily, April 9.

Harvey-Jenner, Catriona. 2016. Man's chilling google searches before he murdered a bride-to-be have been revealed in court. October 11. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/news/a46516/murderer-chilling-google-searches-bride-rape-kidnapping/.

Levy, Megan. 2015. "'No way it's cold feet!'." Illawarra Mercury, April 8.

Partridge, Emma. 2015. "Stephanie Scott's alleged killer not rostered to clean school." Central Western Daily, April 9.

Partridge, Emma, and Megan Levy. 2015. "Car found, cleaner charged with murder of Stephanie Scott." Canowindra News, April 9.

Patterson, Monique. 2020. United in Grief: The story of Stephanie Scott's Beautiful Life, Tragic Murder, and How Her Death Broke the Heart of Leeton NSW. Milwaukee, WI: Genius Publishing.

Pattison, Talia, and Daisy Huntly. 2015. "Have you seen Stephanie Scott." The Irrigator, April 6.

Reneker, Tony. 2022. "Stephanie Scott case 'changed' inspector's life." The Irrigator, September 1.

Shields, Moyra. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Missing teacher from Leeton in NSW Riverina due to get married on Saturday. April 6. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-07/missing-teacher-from-leeton-nsw-riverina-region-was-due-to-marry/6374992.

The Guardian. 2016. Stephanie Scott killer Vincent Stanford sentenced to life for murder. October 12. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/stephanie-scott-killer-vincent-stanford-sentenced-to-life-for.

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Brief Summary

The episode covers the murder of teacher Stephanie Scott and the arrest of her killer, Vincent Stanford, detailing the investigation and emotional aftermath.

Key points

Elena's Facebook Fiasco. Elena hilariously recounts her struggle to create a Facebook account, only to be deemed not human.
The Arrival of Dolores. Elena introduces her new puppy, Dolores, and shares her instant bond with her.
Stephanie's Special Proposal. While in Thailand, Aaron proposes to Stephanie, marking a beautiful moment in their relationship.
Community Search for Stephanie. The Leon community rallies together to search for the missing teacher, Stephanie Scott.
Vincent Stanford Arrested. Leon High School janitor Vincent Stanford is arrested in connection with Stephanie's disappearance.
Discovery of Burnt Body. Authorities discover a burnt body believed to be Stephanie Scott, confirming fears.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm an otherworldly creature.

Elena jokingly describes herself after being called not human.

2:40WatchJul 24, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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