Months of rising tensions culminated in a shocking act of violence when Frances Zaayer entered the residence of her neighbor, Shawna Scott, and shot her point-blank in the face.
Following the attack on Shawna, Zaayer proceeded to the back of the house where she fatally shot Shawna’s husband, David Scott, a respected deputy jailer in Montgomery County, on the porch. This harrowing event is detailed in Netflix’s series, Worst Neighbor Ever.
Recalling the traumatic experience in the docuseries, Shawna described, “I remember this awful bang and I was down. I can recall being able to look out the sliding glass door and see Dave laying there and I can remember hollering for somebody to help him.”
Although the situation ended tragically with a murder conviction for Frances, she had once been a welcomed member of Shawna’s family circle, even staying briefly at their home while she prepared to move into her own property across the street.
So, how did this relationship unravel into a fatal confrontation? Here’s a comprehensive look at the events leading to the brutal murder of David Scott:
How Did Frances Zaayer and Shawna Scott Know Each Other?
For years, Shawna and her husband Dave had an enviable set up in the small town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, where they lived in a home surrounded by properties owned by Shawna’s family.
It became a family compound of sorts.
“It was good,” Shawna remembered in the docuseries. “I mean we was all close and spent time together and you know, I had a pool in my yard, so we had a lot of cookouts and dinners.”
It was that sense of community that first drew Frances back to the area. Frances was considered an honorary part of the family after befriending Shawna’s older cousin as a teenager and even living with Shawna’s grandmother at one time.
“Frances became part of our family when she was 15, 16 years old,” Shawna’s aunt Wanda Collingsworth recalled in Worst Neighbor Ever. “Frances didn’t really have a good home situation. She told us her mom wasn’t good to her, but I wasn’t ever sure. She enjoyed being with my family.”
After going through a divorce, Frances was eager to return to the place where she had always been accepted, and—much like before—Shawna’s family was more than happy to welcome her back.
“We all loved her,” Wanda said. “She was funny. She was fun to be with. I don’t know what happened to her.”
Tensions Between Frances Zaayer and Shawna Scott Begin
Frances bought the property right across the street from Shawna and had plans to put her double wide trailer there. However, she first had to knock down the existing house, according to Worst Neighbor Ever.
While she waited for the work to be done, Shawna offered her a place to stay.
“I could get along with pretty much anybody and I thought I’m gonna help her,” Shawna remembered. “My main goal was to just be there and treat her like family and that’s what I intended on doing.”
It didn’t take long, however, for tensions to begin to brew as Shawna’s family said Frances often wanted things her way, even telling Shawna how to care for her own home.
The final straw came in January 2017 when Frances allegedly tried to reprimand Shawna’s grandson and Shawna asked her to move out.
Shawna Scott Arrested For Assault
The heated relationship only grew after Frances moved into her own property three months later. Frances allegedly built her driveway on a portion of Shawna’s father’s property. Then Frances claimed Shawna—who was on disability and unable to work—was working at a friend’s tanning bed studio, per the documentary.
Shawna said she was just there visiting, but didn’t appreciate Frances trying to cause legal trouble and the two women got into a physical fight.
“I did ask her why she was doing it, and she just laughed and she said, ‘Because I can,’” Shawna recalled in the documentary. “And then we got into a fight. It wasn’t just pulling hair, slapping, it was a fight.”
Dave came home from work and pulled Shawna off of Frances, but Shawna was arrested and charged with assault. While they waited for the case to play out in court, Frances was enraged that Shawna—who was prevented from contacting Frances due to a restraining order—was out of jail.
“Frances had this idea in her head that Dave working at the jail made it impossible for my mom to face charges,” Shawna’s daughter Haley Boyd said, “which is absolutely absurd.”
For the next year, Frances made frequent calls to 911, complaining about everything from a missing bird feeder to her neighbors setting off fireworks near her house, according to the documentary.
“It doesn’t matter what we did,” Shawna explained. “She would call the cops on us.”
According to Shawna, Frances also allegedly began to mow her lawn naked and was topless whenever her grandchildren were visiting. Frances also allegedly followed Shawna around town stalking her.
“I was called to Washington Avenue almost daily. I mean, it was over and over, just all the time,” former Montgomery County Deputy Duane Kidd recalled in the docuseries. “We have to respond to every call, and that’s that’s hard in this small community, because most of the time we only had two deputies on duty at one time.”
What Happened to Shawna Scott and David Scott?
Throughout it all, David often tried to be the peacemaker, encouraging Shawna not to engage and trying to ignore the behavior.
“Dave was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” his former boss Steven Alley told WKYT. “Everyone loved him.”
Concerned that Frances may not make a sympathetic witness on the state, Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Reinhardt explained in the docuseries that he decided to offer Shawna a plea deal rather than go to trial. As part of the deal, Shawna was expected to receive anger management and probation for a year.
Frances was furious.
“This was her entire life,” Reinhardt recalled, “prosecuting this case and getting Shawna Scott in jail.”
Before the plea could play out in court, however, Frances called 911 one final time.
“I can’t get this court here to understand how dangerous this idiot is,” she told the 911 dispatcher in a call replayed on Worst Neighbor Ever. “I can’t take any more of this.”
Then, armed with a gun, she walked into Shawna’s front door, shot her in the face, then went to the back door, where David was outside hanging security cameras and shot him too, according to the docuseries and Lex 18. While Shawna was rushed to the hospital, David didn’t survive his injuries.
Frances was taken into custody after a standoff with police.
Where is Frances Zaayer Now?
As part of a plea deal, Frances pled guilty to murder, second-degree assault and wanton endangerment in 2022, according to jail records. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until 2038.
The 59-year-old is currently serving out her sentence in the Kentucky Correctional Institution For Women.
Where is Shawna Scott Today?
Since the shooting, Shawna said she has undergone 16 facial surgeries to try to repair the injuries to her face.
She misses Dave every day.
“Dave liked everybody,” she told Worst Neighbor Ever. “He was a good person. He was as good friend and he just had a smile that could just light up a room and he didn’t deserve this.”