About This Episode
Scott Kimball murdered four people in Colorado between 2003 and 2004 — while listed as an active FBI informant. Episode 9 of the podcast series Between The Madness, available on Podimo as part of The Minds of Madness, examines one of the most troubling institutional stories in American true crime: a man who used his protected status to evade suspicion while committing brutal crimes against people close to him.
A Man Living a Double Life
To the outside world, Kimball presented himself as a functioning member of society — socially connected, outwardly stable. Behind that facade, he operated with extreme cold-bloodedness. He manipulated those around him and exploited the implicit credibility that came with his FBI association. The episode details how Kimball gradually built a position that allowed him to act without interference — and how the very people who should have caught him instead became an unintentional shield.
The case raises questions that extend far beyond one individual perpetrator. FBI informants and crime is a theme that has surfaced repeatedly in American criminal cases, and the Kimball case stands as one of the most extreme examples of what can happen when an intelligence cooperation arrangement lacks adequate oversight and follow-through.
The Murders and the Investigation
The four victims were killed over a period of nearly two years. The investigation was complicated in part because Kimball's status as an informant created legal and procedural obstacles for detectives. Only when authorities began examining his background and patterns of movement as a whole did the full picture start to emerge.
In 2009, Kimball was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The sentence was handed down in the Colorado case numbered 05CR416, and he remains incarcerated today. Colorado true crime cases has drawn significant attention in the United States over the years, and the Kimball case is widely regarded as one of the darkest chapters in the state's criminal history.
Institutional Failure at the Center
What makes episode 9 particularly compelling listening is not only the murders themselves, but the institutional question they raise: what did the FBI know, and when did they know it? The podcast examines the documented facts surrounding Kimball's informant role and the subsequent legal proceedings, including Kimball v. U.S., in which his attempt to use his FBI affiliation as a legal defense was rejected by the court.
The episode is a strong example of the strand of true crime podcasting that refuses to simply narrate a crime and instead interrogates the structures that made it possible. true crime podcast reviews covering this type of content are growing in popularity, driven by an audience that now expects more than a chronological walkthrough — listeners want the analysis and the broader perspective.
Why the Case Still Matters
In 2026, the Scott Kimball case remains relevant because it cuts to fundamental questions about trust, oversight, and accountability in the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the informants they recruit. None of Kimball's victims should have lost their lives — and the question of whether a more rigorous oversight system could have prevented the murders has never been fully answered.
Between The Madness episode 9 is available on Podimo as part of The Minds of Madness.
