On 29/8, 35-year-old Elias Morgan was found guilty of murder after a nine-week trial at Preston Crown Court. His alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Anthony Cleary, was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.
Morgan shot Scott, 33, six times outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, on 8/2/2024. Cleary was accused of being an accomplice by providing Morgan with a getaway vehicle but claimed to be unaware of the murder plot.
At the time of the shooting, Morgan was out of prison after serving a sentence for drug offenses. However, he was arrested again on suspicion of possessing an illegal phone in prison and was on bail awaiting trial, scheduled for 11 days after the murder.
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Elias Morgan after his arrest. Photo: Lancashire Police |
Elias Morgan after his arrest. Photo: Lancashire Police
According to the prosecutor, Morgan murdered Scott out of a "desire for revenge" stemming from a confiscated cell phone.
On 26/3/2020, while working as a prison officer at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool, Scott confiscated a phone from Morgan's cell, uncovering a secret affair between Morgan and a female officer named Sarah Williams. Scott refused a £1,500 bribe to ignore the incident. Morgan threatened him, saying, "I’ll wait, but I swear I’ll get you," and made a gun gesture with his fingers.
In the following days, Scott received more threats, which he reported to prison management and Merseyside Police. He said Morgan claimed to "have associates everywhere" and accurately described his home address, wife, and children, leading Scott to fear for his family's safety. Although previously threatened while working at three other prisons, Scott had never felt such a level of danger.
Ten days after the phone discovery, Morgan was transferred to another unit within Altcourse, and the threats seemingly ceased.
In 2021, Scott was dismissed from the prison service for punching an inmate while trying to restrain him. This inmate was determined to be unrelated to the case. Scott then worked as a warehouse employee in Warrington.
In early 2024, Morgan began planning his attack. Lancashire Police found evidence that on 3/1/2024, Morgan was surveilling locations connected to Scott.
On 7/2, Cleary drove a truck towing a white van to a residential area near Scott's gym. He claimed Morgan paid him £150 to deliver the vehicle.
The next day, CCTV footage showed Morgan leaving his home in a Mercedes at 4:59 pm, driving toward the gym. He retrieved an electric bicycle from the van Cleary had delivered, rode to the gym's parking lot, and waited there for approximately 53 minutes.
As Scott exited the gym and spoke with a friend next to his car, Morgan approached, raised a handgun, and fired six shots. Scott attempted to flee but collapsed. Morgan escaped the scene on the bicycle. Scott later died in the hospital.
Police identified Morgan as the shooter through CCTV and traced the getaway van to a cleaning company owned by his brother. The Mercedes was found abandoned on the outskirts of Liverpool.
In court, Cleary alleged Morgan confessed to the shooting in a phone call hours later, instructing him to dispose of his phone.
Morgan turned himself in two weeks after the murder.
Gunman waits, approaches former prison officer outside the gym. Video: BBC
Assaults on staff at prisons in England reached a record high last March, with 10,568 incidents in 12 months. Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, said this meticulously planned murder of a former officer, three years after leaving the service, "horrified the whole profession".
"It makes you re-evaluate your career. Is it really worth the risk for the money you're paid, because it's not a well-paid job? You're in a hostile and violent environment, and now you're being threatened outside of work as well," Fairhurst said.
Prison authorities are under pressure to take greater action to address serious threats and protect their staff.
Tue Anh (according to BBC)
