James Duckett: Florida police officer set to be executed in murder of 11-year-old girl

James Duckett: Will a Florida man convicted of murder in 1988 be proven innocent?

James Duckett, who is set to be executed for the death of a young girl in 1988, claims DNA evidence will prove is innocence. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Duckett's death warrant, in which he'll be executed on March 31. However, attorneys for the former cop say new evidence could prove his innocence. 

MASCOTTE, Fla. - James Duckett, a former Mascott Police Officer, is set to be executed next week at the Florida State Prison. He was convicted in 1987 of brutally raping and killing an 11-year-old girl. His defense team claims DNA evidence is being tested that will prove their client's innocence.

What happened to Teresa McAbee?

The backstory:

Around 10:30 pm on May 11th, 1987, Teresa McAbee, 11, walked to a Circle K convenience store 400 feet from her house. That store at SR 50 and Sunset Ave is no longer there.

According to reports, McAbee was out with a 16-year-old boy that she knew. However, they were approached by Mascotte Police Officer James Aren't Duckett, a rookie officer. Officer Duckett claimed the two were out past curfew and told the girl to get in his vehicle.

Teresa McAbee was reported missing that night. Her body was found the next morning in Knight Lake, not far from where she was last reportedly seen. Police said McAbee had been raped, strangled, and drowned.

The evidence and proof

Authorities said there was one set of tire tracks leading out to the girl's body: snow tires.

The shop told detectives that those tired were mistakenly installed on Officer Duckett's patrol vehicle. Detectives found both Duckett's and McAbee's fingerprints on the hood of his patrol vehicle. Experts testified that the pattern likely indicated that the girl was scooting back on the hood.

Investigators testified that hair was found in the girl's underwear, likely belonging to Duckett. That expert’s testimony and credibility have been the subject of much debate over the years, but appellate judges have repeatedly ruled his input was admissible.

At trial, three girls testified that Duckett had coerced them into his car while on duty. A 19-year-old and a 17-year-old said in separate incidents, he’d fondled and tried to kiss them. A 16-year-old said they’d had oral sex multiple times in his patrol car.

He denied all of this.

The conviction

Duckett was convicted and, in an 8-4 vote, sentenced to death. His efforts to overturn that conviction has been unsuccessful.  He recently filed motions to vacate his conviction and stay his execution. A judge denied both.

Defense: A last-ditch effort to test DNA

On McAbee’s jeans, analysts discovered a semen sample that went untested until now. That’s partially because Duckett himself declined to have it tested in 2004.

However, Circuit Judge Brian Welke has said advancements in science mean testing of the sample is now appropriate. That sample has been tested and results are expected to come back on or before March 27, days before Duckett's scheduled execution.

Defense attorneys asked for a 30-day extension on his execution. "This Court must not take a ‘fire drill’ approach to Mr. Duckett’s motion which will determine whether he lives or is wrongfully executed."

Other investigations

Duckett's 2-year-old grandson, Trenton, was reported missing in 2006. He has never been found. The boy's mother, Melinda, took her own life two weeks after he went missing. 

Duckett is also a suspect is two other murder investigations in Lady Lady. Both apparently similar to McAbee's death.

On May 7th, 1986, before Duckett was an officer – a young woman was found in a pond, strangled. Police reports said she was last seen getting into a car similar to Duckett’s.

On September 19, 1987, which is after Duckett was fired from the Mascott Police Department and before he was indicted in McAbee's murder, 14-year-old Jennifer Weldon was found on the side of the road. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled, police said.

Police reports said Weldon was last seen holding a green bag with a stuffed animal inside.

Duckett’s wife and her sister both told police, Duckett had come home with a green bag and a stuffed animal. He has never been formally charged in either of those cases, but remains the prime and only suspect in each, reports say.

He’s never been formally charged in either of those cases, but remains the prime and only suspect in each.