Indiana man agrees to plead guilty to killing teenage girl who worked for him

RUSHVILLE, Ind. (AP) — The man accused of strangling and killing a 17-year-old central Indiana girl has agreed to plead guilty to murder, court documents state.

Patrick Scott, 59, of Arlington, entered the plea in Rush County Circuit Court last week.

The body of Valerie Tindall, who went missing in June, was discovered in November in a box buried on land owned by Scott, her neighbor and employer, in Arlington, a rural community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Indianapolis.

Under a plea agreement, Scott will be sentenced to 57 years in prison and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to Tindall’s family.

Scott told police he strangled Tindall with a belt because she tried to seduce him and threatened to blackmail him into buying her a new car, court documents state.

The court has until March 11 to decline or accept the plea agreement.

Tindall had worked for Scott, who owns a lawnmowing business. Court documents indicate she went missing after telling her parents on June 7 that she was going to work.