Family members of some of the people investigators believe were killed by Scott Lee Kimball say they are comfortable with a plea agreement that would lead them to the bodies of the missing — so long as Kimball is never released from prison.
Kimball, 42, has not yet been charged with any murders, and his attorney of record in Boulder, Megan Ring, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
He is in jail on an unrelated federal weapons charge. He also has state charges pending against him for theft and forgery.
Kimball is expected to formally plead guilty to one homicide in Boulder next week, and he has agreed to tell authorities where to find the remains of missing victims, said a source familiar with Kimball’s case.
The person declined to reveal which homicide Kimball will plead to. The four disappeared in 2003-04.
Carolyn French, spokeswoman for Boulder County District Attorney Mary Lacy, declined to say whether a plea deal was in the works.
French said a motions hearing is expected next week but would not say what kind of motion would be heard.
Stan Garnett, who becomes Boulder’s district attorney in January, said he doesn’t have specific information about the Kimball case but is satisfied with the decisions that are being made.
“There is a lot of different agencies involved, and I have no doubt that if an arrangement is worked out that it will be a reasonable one,” he said.
While Kimball has been sitting in jail, authorities have been looking for bones and evidence in the disappearances of Kaysi McLeod, Jennifer Marcum, Kimball’s uncle Terry Kimball, and Leann Emry. Only remains of McLeod, 19, who was missing for five years, have been found, in rural Jackson County.
Court records show investigators found information about three of the four missing people in Kimball’s laptop computer.
Also found on his computer were images of bondage, sex acts and rape as well as photos of four other unidentified women, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Michelle McLeod, Kaysi’s stepmother, says she just hopes Kimball never gets out of jail.
“I guess if he spent the rest of his life in prison, it would be fine with me,” she said.
Rob McLeod, Kaysi’s father, said he would be relieved if Kimball agrees to a charge that would keep him off the streets long enough to die in prison.
“If there is a deal, I would be really positive about that. We live in an imperfect world with an imperfect justice system, and (a plea bargain) might be the closest we get to a conviction.”
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
