Lenny Scott was murdered nearly four years after he exposed an illicit prison relationship involving Morgan
Elias Morgan found guilty of the murder of Lenny Scott(Image: Lancashire Police)
A man who murdered former prison officer Lenny Scott in a “revenge attack” has been jailed for a minimum of 45 years. Elias Morgan, 35 and of Edge Hill, shot dad-of-three Mr Scott six times outside a gym on Peel Road in Skelmersdale on February 8 last year.
Gunman Morgan, who wore a mask and an orange hi-vis jacket during the ambush attack, pulled the trigger in an “act of retaliation” nearly four years after ex-HMP Altcourse guard Mr Scott, 33, exposed an illicit relationship between the then serving prisoner and a female prison officer.
Mr Scott, of Prescot, was said to have refused a bribe of £1,500 in return for not reporting a phone which Morgan illegally held behind bars and contained evidence of the affair. Morgan, of Highgate Street, later warned Mr Scott “I’ll bide my time, but I promise I will get you”, before making a gun gesture towards him.
Morgan was unanimously convicted of Mr Scott’s murder by an 11-person jury at Preston Crown Court last week, Friday. He returned back to the same court to be sentenced by high court judge Mr Justice Goose today, Tuesday.
Morgan, who appeared in the dock sporting dark hair and wearing glasses and a fleece, did not react as he was told he would spend at least the next 45 years behind bars, minus what he has already served.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said: “I’m sure this murder was because the victim was a prison officer carrying out his duty…I’m also sure that in your mind was revenge. You are used to getting your own way through threats and violence.
“Why did it take four years? It’s because you told him you would take your time. This was a carefully planned, revenge killing of a prison officer.”
In a victim impact statement which she read to the court, Mr Scott’s mum Paula told Morgan: “You didn’t just murder my son, you inflicted a lifetime of pain on everyone who loved him. You brought trauma into our lives that none of us deserved, least of all Lenny. You took his life in the most cowardly and callous way.
“You ambushed him without warning, using a weapon that he could never defend himself from. You didn’t give him a chance. My son was everything you are not. He was strong, brave, honest, respectful, hardworking, kind, and principled.
“He stood for what was right. Listening to your lies during the trial, hearing you twist the truth to make Lenny look bad only confirmed the kind of person you are. You are a violent, inhumane coward.”
Mr Scott’s dad Neil added: “[Lenny] can’t be here anymore however he was a man of good virtue, hardworking, always striving to do the right thing. I was so proud and honoured to have him as a son, he was the most superb dad to all of his children who were the apple of his eye, everything he did was for them and in return his children idolised him. This is the memory of Lenny that people will remember that his children will remember.”
Lenny Scott was fatally injured when he was shot on February 8 2024 (Image: Lancashire Constabulary)
Lucy Griffiths, mum of Mr Scott’s twin boys, told the court: “Lenny didn’t deserve what happened to him – he was doing his job. Taking his life so brutally knowing he had children too. He didn’t stop to think for one second about his poor babies and the wider impact felt by everyone who loved Lenny.
“It’s hard to have the words to describe just how senseless this is. It was cold, heartless. It was pure evil. Lenny was completely defenceless. It’s heartbreaking. It haunts me the circumstances of his killing, I know in that moment he would have been praying he could get to see his three babies again.”
Former partner Lucy Carnill, mum to Mr Scott’s young daughter, added: “This can not ruin our family, that is the last thing Lenny would want for his children. We all live through his children now and in Lenny’s honour we will instil the values that he always wished to.
“Our daughter’s relationship with her brothers is very close and this would make Lenny extremely happy. I now have a close relationship with the boys’ mum and we have supported each other through this unimaginably hard time as best we can. I stand united with their mum and Lenny’s parents to have as a normal life as possible full of love and support for the children together as a family.
“When we are all together we take so much comfort in sharing our memories of Lenny. I know Lenny will be proud of us all. Lenny, you are in my mind and heart every second of every day, forever.”
Opening the case nine weeks ago, Alex Leach KC, prosecuting, told the court: “The murder was, the prosecution says, an act of retaliation. The prosecution says that, once you have heard the evidence, you will be sure that, at the very least, Elias Morgan orchestrated Lenny Scott’s murder…
“Moreover, the prosecution says that, when you examine the fine detail of the evidence you will be sure not only that Elias Morgan is guilty of murder by organising the killing of Lenny Scott, you will be sure that it was he who pulled the trigger himself.
“The evidence, when examined in detail, reveals a powerful image, one in which Elias Morgan, driven by a desire for revenge…planned and executed the murder of Lenny Scott.”
Mr Scott was working as a prison officer at the privately-operated HMP Altcourse when he found a phone in Morgan’s cell on March 26 2020. The jury was told not only was possession of the phone a criminal offence, but “Morgan knew there was evidence on it which would lead to the discovery of a sexual relationship between him and a female prison officer”, called Sarah Williams.
Elias Morgan (right) was joined in the dock by Anthony Cleary, who was found not guilty of all charges(Image: Lancashire Police)
In the wake of the discovery of the phone, Morgan was said to have threatened Mr Scott by urging him to “balls up the paperwork” and offering a lucrative bribe. But after Mr Scott refused, Morgan began a campaign of threats, making a gun gesture and telling him that his “home would be blown up with his family inside”.
Morgan was charged with the unauthorised possession of a mobile phone in April 2023 and was due to go on trial on February 19 2024 – 11 days after Mr Scott was murdered. In the weeks before the shooting Morgan carried out “reconnaissance” at locations linked to Mr Scott, including at his home address and at the Skelmersdale gym.
On the night before the shooting, Morgan ensured a van was parked at the end of a cul-de-sac a short distance away from the gym. Anthony Cleary, 29, who joined Morgan in the dock during the trial accepted he had delivered the van, which contained an electric Sur-Ron bike used by Morgan to travel to the murder scene, but said he had no prior knowledge about his one-time friend’s intentions.
Lenny Scott pictured with his three children(Image: MEN MEDIA)
Cleary, who was found not guilty of murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter by the same jury, told the court the first he knew of the murder was when Morgan called him later that night and said he had “done someone in Skem”. He added he did not report Morgan to the police due to fears for his own safety.
Morgan later made efforts to dispose of a Mercedes GLC which he used to travel to the scene. It was later found left on a street in Mossley Hill bearing false plates. Morgan’s DNA was found on blood inside the vehicle while a forensic team recovered a single particle of gunshot residue.
He later denied being in Skelmersdale on the night of the shooting or in the following days, instead claiming he had an alibi witness who confirmed he was at an address in Edge Hill.
The court was told that Morgan was a man “with a reputation of violence, control and revenge”, while records held by the Prison Service and read to the jury revealed he had a history of “threatening grave violence, including death threats…to punish grassing”.
Elias Morgan approaches Lenny Scott outside the gym before shooting him(Image: Lancashire Police)
The court heard Morgan had five convictions for nine offences, including conspiracy to rob, attempted robbery and two counts of causing injury by dangerous driving.
Caroline Goodwin KC, defending, said her instructions were to offer “no mitigation, no submissions and no representations to the court” on behalf of Morgan, who sat quietly in court and listened to the victim statements.
Detective chief inspector Lee Wilson, who led the Lancashire Constabulary investigation, said: “[Morgan] seems to me to be an incredibly twisted, dark and malevolent soul with a very strong sense of values, but they are values that no sane person would recognise as normal.”
The senior officer added: This should never happen to any family, let alone a loving family like the Scotts…everybody has kept their eye on the prize and on the objective of getting justice for the Scott family.”
Wendy Logan, deputy head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s north west complex casework unit, said: “We were determined to deliver justice and see Morgan brought to book for his evil crime and our case set out in clear terms how he planned and carried out his callous act. Our thoughts remain with Lenny’s family, particularly his three young children, and all those who cared for him as they deal with his loss.”