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| Lenny Scott: Killer gets 45 years for prison officer 'execution' | Lenny Scott: Killer gets 45 years for prison officer 'execution' |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Elias Morgan killed father-of-three Lenny Scott in an "act of retaliation" | Elias Morgan killed father-of-three Lenny Scott in an "act of retaliation" |
| A gangland "executioner" who waited four years to take revenge on a prison officer for seizing a phone from his cell has been jailed for a minimum of 45 years for his murder. | A gangland "executioner" who waited four years to take revenge on a prison officer for seizing a phone from his cell has been jailed for a minimum of 45 years for his murder. |
| Armed robber Elias Morgan shot father-of-three Lenny Scott six times outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on 8 February 2024. | Armed robber Elias Morgan shot father-of-three Lenny Scott six times outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on 8 February 2024. |
| Investigators at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool discovered evidence Morgan was having a sexual relationship with a female officer called Sarah Williams after the phone was found in March 2020. | Investigators at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool discovered evidence Morgan was having a sexual relationship with a female officer called Sarah Williams after the phone was found in March 2020. |
| Police said Mr Scott had been "assassinated" by Morgan, who was described as a "cold-blooded executioner who took a man's life doing his job". | Police said Mr Scott had been "assassinated" by Morgan, who was described as a "cold-blooded executioner who took a man's life doing his job". |
| Det Ch Insp Lee Wilson said Mr Scott was a "man of huge integrity and bravery who did the right thing and who sadly paid the ultimate price by doing so". | |
| Lenny Scott was the father of twin boys and a younger child | Lenny Scott was the father of twin boys and a younger child |
| Sentencing Morgan to a life term, judge Mr Justice Goose told him he was satisfied the murder was a "revenge killing" for what Mr Scott "did lawfully in his duty as a prison officer". | |
| "The murder of the deceased has caused profound grief to the deceased's family, his young children and all who knew him," he said. | |
| "He was 33 with most of his life ahead of him. | |
| "He was loved, he was respected and he made them proud." | |
| Morgan listened to the sentencing at Preston Crown Court quietly after telling his barrister to say "nothing at all" on his behalf. | Morgan listened to the sentencing at Preston Crown Court quietly after telling his barrister to say "nothing at all" on his behalf. |
| Caroline Goodwin, KC, representing him, told the court: "My very firm instructions are that I am to offer no mitigation, no submissions and no representations to the court." | Caroline Goodwin, KC, representing him, told the court: "My very firm instructions are that I am to offer no mitigation, no submissions and no representations to the court." |
| Neil and Paula Scott endured weeks of watching the murder trial at Preston Crown Court | |
| The trial heard Morgan had offered Mr Scott £1,500 as a bribe to "lose" the phone when it was found. | |
| When he refused, Morgan made a series of threats which "terrified" Mr Scott, including accurately describing his address, and what his partner and twin boys looked like. | |
| At the time Mr Scott told his father, Neil Scott, that Morgan had said to him: "I'll bide my time, but I promise I will get you" before making a gun gesture with his fingers. | |
| During the sentencing hearing Mr Scott's mother, Paula Scott, spoke to Morgan directly while giving statement. | |
| She told him: "My son was everything you are not. He was strong, brave, honest, respectful, hardworking, kind, and principled. He stood for what was right. | |
| "You are a violent, inhumane coward. I am hurt, I am angry, and I will never forgive you." | |
| CCTV captured the moment the gunman approached the prison officer at a gym | |
| The court also heard from Lucy Griffiths, the ex-partner of Mr Scott and mother of his twin boys. | |
| She described the pain of having to tell the boys, then six, of their father's death and the struggles that followed. | |
| Speaking from behind a screen, she said: "I find letters they write to him hidden under their pillow asking for him to come back, this is so upsetting to find as a mother. | |
| "They have had nightmares about men chasing them with guns because of what's happened." | |
| Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. | Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. |