A man walked into a Florida sheriff’s office and confessed to killing a woman a decade ago because he “found Jehovah and couldn’t live with the guilt anymore,” officials said.
Benjamin Moulton, 43, told Manatee County sheriff’s investigators Wednesday that he killed Nicole Scott of Sarasota in 2011 and left her body in a remote area, according to an arrest report. He told investigators he killed her in a fit of rage and provided other details about her death that were never made public, the report said.
On Dec. 11, 2011, a man found Scott’s body in a wooded area and called 911, the report said. Deputies responding to the scene said she was partially clothed and had visible trauma to her face.
An autopsy found that she had been strangled and likely dropped off several days before her body was found, the report said.
During an investigation into her death, deputies followed up on numerous leads and even questioned Moulton, who denied any involvement in her death. Detectives lacked enough evidence to link him to the crime back then, the report said.
Moulton has been charged with first-degree murder. An investigation into the case is continuing. The report didn’t say why Moulton was originally questioned.
Court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on Moulton’s behalf.