Mike and Kay Scarlett were found shot to death last Thursday in Johnson County. The 66-year-old screenwriter and actor had originally planned for a celebration of the release of his latest indie film The Cabin at Dallas’ Studio Movie Grill on Sunday.
Instead, friends and family wound up attending a makeshift memorial for Mike and his 68-year-old wife. “Everyone was expecting to see him and see his wife and congratulate them,” said Israel Luna, a close friend of Mike and founder of the Rack Focus Film Competition. “Like something that’s bigger than me or the competition, because now it’s marked as his last film.” Mike had worked on the film for several months, and it was to be one of the 12 films featured in the competition.
“It was so shocking and unexpected, and it was a couple days before the competition,” Luna commented. Medical Examiners have ruled the deaths as homicides. Another friend of Mike’s, Neeraj Gupta, had sent several texts to Mike throughout the end of the week in preparation for the film competition. He knew something was off when the texts went unanswered.
“[It was like,] hey Mike, I haven’t heard from you! Then, Thursday, I find out,” Gupta commented. Colleagues cherished their time with the screenwriter, actor, singer, and all-around performer. He had a YouTube channel with many videos, including one where he taught people how to play multiple instruments. Another friend and colleague of Mike’s commented that “just talking to him would bring the best out in you and I will cherish that forever.”
According to authorities, the couple’s 28-year-old son, Samuel Paul Scarlett, has been named a person of interest in the double homicide. He may have left the crime scene in a truck owned by the victims and was arrested at the hospital on charges of felony unauthorized use of a vehicle. Police are working on interviewing the suspect. He has not been charged with murder.
