Moms Criticize FBI in Daughters' Disappearances

June 4, 2008— -- As soon as she met Scott Kimball, Mary Willis says she felt chilling suspicion: Kimball, the man who was supposed to help the FBI solve her daughter's disappearance, was the one who had killed her.

Kimball had negotiated an early release from prison in late 2002, a few months before 25-year-old Jennifer Marcum disappeared, to work as an FBI informant. He'd told officials he had information about an alleged murder plot Marcum and her boyfriend were planning.

But after meeting the charming ex-con in the summer of 2005, Willis quickly became suspicious. "He went into detail about how she died, where the body was," she said. "He was smug about it. He told me a lot of terrible things."

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Willis said she told the FBI she believed Kimball was involved in her daughter's death, but she said the bureau told her the case was under control.

"You tell me how as soon as that information is given to the FBI they still didn't do anything. They didn't take him in," she said. "He's more or less saying, 'I killed her' and laughing in their faces."

The FBI now believes Kimball may have been involved in the disappearances of at least three people, including Marcum and the death of his ex-wife's daughter. An FBI spokeswoman in Denver declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

Kimball's role as an informant, disclosed in a federal search warrant, has outraged some of the parents of the missing women.

"I believe Kaysi would not be gone if it weren't for" the FBI, said Lori McLeod, one of Kimball's ex-wives, whose daughter Kaysi's body was discovered earlier this year. "I believe that she is dead because of the FBI. They don't monitor their informants, they literally let them out and they run amok."

Kimball is in a Colorado jail on unrelated weapons and fraud charges, and has not been charged in connection with the death or disappearances. His lawyer did not return a message seeking comment.

At the same time, McLeod said she appreciated the bureau's current efforts to solve her daughter's death. The McLeods learned in April that Kayci's remains were found in the woods in northern Colorado. Her father, Rob McLeod, also praised the bureau's work.

"As soon as we got on board they've been 100 percent cooperative," he said. "I hold Scott Kimball responsible for his actions."

It's unclear how much the FBI knew about Kimball when it agreed in late 2002 to his release as an informant. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver also asked a judge to allow Kimball to work as a cooperating witness for the FBI, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.