'Evil killer' shot our son for doing his job

Neil and Paula Scott endured weeks of watching the murder trial at Preston Crown Court

For nine weeks the parents of former prison officer Lenny Scott listened quietly in the public gallery of courtroom number one at Preston Crown Court.

The man who shot their son dead on 8 February 2024, drug-dealer Elias Morgan, sat a few yards away in a dock separated by reinforced plastic panels and surrounded by security staff.

Neil and Paula Scott endured Morgan's desperate attempts to avoid responsibility, as well as several angry outbursts.

The grieving parents described the gunman who ambushed and executed their 33-year-old son outside a Lancashire gym as "incomprehensible" and "evil".

Lenny Scott was the father of twin boys and a younger daughter

While jurors unanimously convicted Morgan of Lenny's murder, co-accused Anthony Cleary was found not guilty of murder and an alternative count of manslaughter.

The court heard Mr Scott's death had been an act of "revenge", four years after the then prison officer had found an illicit mobile phone in Morgan's cell at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool on 26 March 2020.

Data on that phone exposed an affair Morgan was having with a female prison officer called Sarah Williams, who was later jailed for misconduct in a public office.

Morgan, now 35, tried to bribe Mr Scott to "lose" the phone, and when he realised he was dealing with an honest prison officer, turned to making serious threats.

These involved accurately describing Mr Scott's home address, his partner and his children.

Four years later, Morgan waited for about 53 minutes outside a gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale before shooting his target six times in the torso and head.

Elias Morgan killed father-of-three Lenny Scott in an "act of retaliation"

"[Morgan] just come from a different world to us - we will never understand how they think," said 58-year-old Paula Scott, from Prescot in Merseyside.

"It is just evil really to me that they would take Lenny's life for him doing the right thing, for him doing a job."

Neil Scott, 67 and from Huyton, described the lifestyle of his son's killer as representing a "totally alien world".

"To do what they did for the apparent reasons they did it [is] just incomprehensible."

Mr Scott thinks his son's integrity may have put him in harm's way.

He explained: "It was his principles, unfortunately, that turned against him, but if he hadn't have done that, that wouldn't have been Lenny."

Mrs Scott said attending the trial - beset with legal delays and having to accommodate pre-booked juror holidays - had been an important part of her attempting to understand not only how she lost her son, but also the man who took his life.

"Seeing Morgan in the dock has just shown me exactly who he is," she said.

"He has got no remorse."

Anthony Cleary (left) turned on Elias Morgan during their trial and said his friend had called him and confessed to shooting someone

Mrs Scott described how Morgan "stared at me" while on the witness stand.

"There have been times he's tried to say something to me," she said. "I think these are the times when he forgets where he is for a second.

"But it's been so important for me to look at these people to see if there is any ounce of remorse, but there isn't."

Both of Mr Scott's parents said they wanted their son to be remembered for the "amazing" man he was.

Known for his sporting prowess, Lenny Scott was skilled at body-building, jiu jitsu and strongman sports.

But his true devotion, said his mother, was to his twin boys and younger daughter.

"Lenny's life was quite simple," she explained.

"It was the gym, his work, the children. Just everything about him was about the children.

"He was just a great dad. He was happiest spending time with them."

Lenny Scott reported multiple threats four years before he was killed

Neil Scott said a passion for helping people had motivated his son's career in the prison service, which he joined after spending several years in the Royal Air Force as a firefighter.

"[Lenny] said to me he thought it would be a career and he'd be there to help if he thought he could help someone," he said.

However, Lenny Scott became disillusioned with his career after the threats, and in 2021 was dismissed for punching a prisoner he was attempting to restrain.

Both of his parents expressed disappointment with how the threats towards their son had been dealt with by Altcourse bosses back in 2020.

His mother said: "I think they could have done more - what is apparent is that they did not take the threat seriously.

"However, that affected Lenny's life so much.

"So, we are disappointed in how that was handled and from then, you know, his life changed from then, within that job."

'They'll remember him'

Neil Scott said his son was not naive and knew threats were "just part and parcel of the job".


But he added: "To have all the personal data passed on to the person who's made these death threats is unheard of.

"It should be the most sacred piece of information.

"And I don't believe Altcourse gave him that support or gave recognition that this should have been treated as the highest level of threat."

Sodexo, which is contracted by the Ministry of Justice to run Altcourse, has been contacted for comment.

Neil and Paula Scott said they were now trying to adjust to life without Lenny.

"I think we just have to try and find a new normal," Mrs Scott said.

"It will be so hard without Lenny, but we can't let them destroy all our lives, for the children's sake.

"They still have to have a life - they'll remember him."