A TRAGEDY THAT TURNED INTO A TRAVESTY

 

THE TRAGEDY

On the morning of Tuesday May 12, 1987 The body of a little girl, a fifth grader, was found  lying face down in the water on the edge of the lake. Her feet wearing socks and sneakers were crossed at the ankles. Her knees were slightly bent wearing jeans that were tightly held with her belt around her waist. Her blouse was neatly tucked inside her pants. Her arms were bent at the elbows. She laid lifeless with her face in the water. She was found early in the morning next to the pumphouse which was only 4 blocks from her home down the street. Upon examination by the police, her autopsy revealed she had been raped with her hymen partially torn and had bruises on her neck from strangulation, but she died from drowning. She was unconscious when she fell into the water. Her feet were still on the bank of the lake which indicated she had been standing close to the water and fell into the lake as opposed to being thrown into the lake.

She had been last seen at the Circle K store the night before which was located on the corner of her street approximately 400 feet from her house. She would play games at the store on slot machines. There was also a laundromat right next to the store. She was at the age that she was attracted to boys and she would meet up with them at the store as well. That evening she  asked her mother for a quarter to buy a pencil so she could finish her math homework for school the next day. Her mother and her aunt went to the movies and she went to the store…to meet up with the one particular boy that she had a crush on. She slipped away behind the commercial dumpster to the backside of the store to be with the 16 year old boy she liked. 

It was at that time that the police officer patrolling the neighborhood that evening drove up to the store. He noticed the young girl and teen and he became concerned. Mascotte had a curfew at 10 pm for the town youth.  He approached them and asked how old the girl was and the boy. When he found out their ages he reprimanded them and said she was too young for him and that she should go home as it was late and a school night. He went into the store and as kids will do, she jumped on the hood of his  car and was talking to the boys. The policeman came out and at that time the uncle of the teenager had pulled up in his car. The policeman spoke to the uncle and the teen boy left with  him. His home was only a short distance from the store on the same street.  The policeman asked the young girl if she needed a ride home and she said she only lived 3 doors down.  The policeman then left and went on his patrol.

In the meantime, the young girl went home with her mother still out and changed her blouse and went across the street to meet the boy. They walked the 1500 feet to the pumphouse by the lake where they hung out. They had been together before as she had a crush on the boy. The term is “making out” and then things got out of hand. The boy was over excited and penetrated her and ejaculated over her pants. She b ecame extremely upset as this was something she had never experienced and became frightened. She pulled up her pants, tucked in her blouse, and fastened her belt. While he was protesting she yelled at him and told him she was going to tell her uncle what he did to her. He became frantic and put his hands around her neck as they were both standing by the water’s edge and was choking her to shut her up.She was holding his forearms and passed out. Her fall was to her left side and her ankles crossed  and were still on the waterbank. Her knees were buckled and her arms were still bent and she landed face down in the water, still alive but unconscious. The boy in the meantime ran away  He left her there and she drowned.

Witness Ms. Shirley Williams an employee at the circle K reported that Salvador Calisto returned that night around midnight and was extremely agitated. he was repeatedly using the payphone frantic to try to contact someone. He met up with the other mexican teenage   boys he had been with earlier and they got a ride to Louisiana. Note: Teresa's body was not found until  the early morning. The police put out an all buletin to find Salvador Calisto. 

Ms Williams also stated to police that James Duckett drove off in his patrol car ALONE. Teresa was NOT in the car. with him. This information was not allowed to  be used by the defense in the actual court case. They said it offered another scenario and would confuse the jury!!!!!

 

THE TRAVESTY

People lied and said the policeman drove off with her in the patrol car. Investigators accused the pollceman of raping and killing her. They prosecuted him and the emotion of the case found him guilty. They sentenced him to be executed. He spent 38 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He is scheduled to be executed one week from today for a crime he did not commit. The DNA test from her pants did not implicate James Duckett.

THE TRUTH

It’s time to test the dna of SALVADOR CALISTO the 1hen 16 year old boy who ran away after raping her, and choking her and left her to drown. And now again he is the same coward who will run away and let another person die, to be executed for a  crime he did not commit. Salvador  is guilty of two murders!

THE LIE

The case of the State of Florida vs James Aren Duckett is wrought with lies.  The chief witness for the prosecution was Gwen Gurley who was in jail and was pregnant with her first child. She was 17 at the time. When the case was on the news she casually mentioned that she knew the people involved and had been at the circle K. The Correction Officers talked her into testifying and promised her a shorter sentence so she could get out of jail sooner. She told the court that she had seen Theresa McAbee get into the car with Officer Duckett that night and he drove off with her in his car.  That was a lie. Later after he was already convicted she recanted her story. Her daughter Brandi Higginbottam sent an email to my gmail account telling me how her mother over the years has been receiving money and that the whole family knew she had lied and in fact she was the daughter Gwen was pregnant with in the jail. I put her in touch with Duckett’s attorney Beth Wells and she called Brandi and spoke with her and got permission to bring it before the court as new evidence. Nothing happened. The court disregarded the new evidence.

The false accusation of James Duckett depicted him as a predator, that he sought after the almost 12 year old girl to rape and murder her. He had a wife and two young boys at home in Croom-A-Coochee which was approximately 25 miles away from Mascotte.  He was a rookie cop starting a new life for him and his family.  Duckett’s actions do not implicate him in this rape murder. His normal routine was to wash his patrol car every morning. This would have removed all fingerprint evidence from his car hood. He did NOT wash his car that morning because he was looking for Theresa that night as a missing person. If he was guilty why would he not remove evidence of her when he was accused of raping her on his car hood?  He is a man of great strength. If he had raped her, she would have had a completely torn hymen and have been seriously bruised. She was not. If he had strangled her with his bare hands, she would have died in his hold. If he had placed her body to hide her in the lake, why was she so visible and still had her feet on the bank and not submerged. And if she was still alive, he would have known that being a policeman.

Emotion of the tragedy called for a quick solution. The lies of witnesses putting Teresa in Ducket’s car, and the uncle of the teen boy saying he took the boy home with him all led to the travesty of justice. The lies outweighed the truth.

Many people have stood up for his innocence. I became involved 20 years ago while I was investigating the Melinda Duckett case. I found out that she believed that her father in law James Duckettt was innocent. Her son Trenton Duckett went missing the same Sunday she had scheduled to visit James in prison on Death Row.  I also visited James Duckett in prison on Death Row 15 years ago. We corresponded and he also sent many letters to Melinda and she him.  The man is innocent.

Yes, Theresa’s death was a tragedy. But James Duckett’s scheduled execution for a crime he did not commit is a travesty of justice.

One of the first suspects was Salvador Calisto, the 16 year old boy who was last seen with her, not James Duckdtt…a lie put her in his  car. 

It’s time for the State of Florida to admit they got the wrong man.And it’s time for them to do the right thing.

Release James Duckett and arrest Salvador Calisto for the rape, murder and incarceration of an innocent man for a crime that he, Salvador Calisto. committed.

DNA Testing Approved Before Execution March 31, 2026

 

CNN New Series "Death Row Stories"

I contacted Jigsaw Productions in September 2013 after I noticed they purchased the transcripts from Lake County regarding James Aren Duckett.  I spoke with a researcher there and provided him with the information I had regarding the James  Duckett case and I also sent him a copy of Jeanne Bragg's book "The Truth Shall Set Him Free". 

Jigsaw Productions in conjunction with Robert Redford's Sundance Productions will be presenting a new television series on CNN called "Death Row Stories".  James Duckett's story will appear Sunday March 30, 2014 at 9 PM est.

And here is a link to their interview with James Duckett

<iframe width="416" height="234" src="http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/crime/2014/03/25/orig-death-row-stories-ep-4-clip-2-going-to-death-row.cnn" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Theory of Crime in the Teresa McAbee Tragedy

Teresa's life cut short on the shores of Lake Knight...1500 feet from her house next to a "pump house" pictured below. Notice that her jeans are pulled up and her shirt is tucked inside her jeans. It appears that she dressed herself.

If I were "writing" the scene about that fateful night in a story this is what I believe happened.

Teresa liked teenage boys. she was secretly talking to an older teenage boy behind the dumpster. He was one of three teenage boys that she had been talking to at the laundromat. When James Duckett pulled up in his police cruiser, two boys walked toward him but the third boy walked behind the Circle K.  He never emerged. I believe Teresa told her mother she needed a pencil because she wanted to meet this boy behind the Circle K.

 

Then after James pulled away in his cruiser (like he stated in his testimony, and affirmed by many witnesses with the exception of Gwen Gurley who lied to get out of prison early) Teresa went around the back of the Circle K - looking like she was headed home- but went with the  boy for a walk by the lake.

 

They walked to the "pump house" to kiss and make out (I believe it started to drizzle at that time). Things probably went too far sexually and Teresa got scared  because it hurt her - but her hymen was not completely torn.  Then the teenage boy probably ejaculated his semen outside her pants on her jeans.  Then Teresa pulled up her own pants and tucked in her shirt  while she was threatening to tell her uncles on him.

 

He got scared and choked her while she was standing. She put her hands on his forearms to try to protect herself. When she went unconscious he pushed her down toward his right side and the lake - and that is why her right foot is over her left foot still on the edge of the lake and she fell face down in the water. She may have still been alive but the teenage boy then ran away and she drowned.

 

If a man had raped her he wouldn't have tucked her shirt/blouse in her jeans, her hymen would have been  completely torn, and he would have been strong enough if he were James' size to throw her into the lake not leave her on the edge of the lake.

 

I believe this young girl who was at the age to be interested in boys met with a tragic end...not an abduction and rape and murder. This young boy probably had no intention of killing her but was scared.

 

But now an innocent man is facing a death penalty because of a prejudiced investigation where the detectives picked their suspect and made their case to convict him using any means including coaching a fabricated eye witness to testify she saw Teresa drive away with James in his car.

 

Do the DNA test on her jeans.

 

 

 

 

Death Row Stories - Deleted Interview with Jeanne Bragg

I watched Death Row Stories Sunday March 30th at 9 PM on CNN featuring James Duckett. Although the researchers for the show interviewed Jeanne Bragg - champion defender of James Duckett  and author of the book about his mis-trial "The Truth Shall Set Him Free" , they decided to eliminate her entire 2 hour interview and did not even mention her on the show.  Instead they decided to feature Marshall Frank and his illogical conclusion that James was guilty and maybe even a serial killer of another young girl. If you want actual transcripts from the trial you can order her book.

It's interesting to note that Jimmy's ex-wife Carla Duckett Boggs Massero (she had a much younger boyfriend - Brian Lee Boggs - waiting in the wings when Jimmy was on his way to prison).


An aside:

Just a note about the Bragg book: James and Carla dated since she was 13. They married 7/11/77 at Ft Meade just before Carla's 18th birthday (8/3/59) Josh was born May 15, 1985 and his brother Justin was born November 13, 1982. That's 5 years with no kids. I wonder if Carla worked during that time, also it was mentioned that she cleaned offices in the book. It also mentions that James worked as a computer room operator at W.R. Grace, a phosphate company. He was laid off in 1986. That's when he went to police academy in Eustis. It was May 11, 1987 that the child was raped and killed. That was just 4 days before Josh's 2nd birthday and 1 day after Mother's day.

My thoughts...Maybe Carla was suffering from post partum depression at that time. Supposedly before all this, they were a happy loving couple and went everywhere together. James' childhood was a really good one. He was loved by his brothers and sisters, his mother and he loved his step dad and vice versa. He was mild mannered and very likeable. He may have had a dark side, but somehow, maybe I'm prejudiced, Carla developed a very dark side. James worked the night shift, so he was gone from 7 pm until 7 am. Maybe Carla wanted affection and was seeking it elsewhere. She had the two babies all day and no husband at night, and he probably slept a lot during the day so he was only available to Carla about 4 hours per day. And like he said there was nothing to do in Mascotte. They had 2 bars, a laundry and a convenience store. Also, as I understand it, James' mother was very independent and controlling. I wonder how she felt about Carla..or how Carla felt about her.

 According to Jeanne Bragg, Carla came to see James and the kids said "Look at Mommy’s new ring (from Boggs)"  Boggs was 17 when Carla started seeing him. I think that means she was seeing Boggs on the side before James went to prison. Carla went to Brian Bogg's high school prom when she was 27!

It was Carla who called Prosecutor Hurm to inform him that she found a toy in a bag (with bloody underwear) that Jimmy brought home one night. This was to implicate Jimmy in the murder of Jennifer Weldon a 14 year old girl. Of course she no longer had it because she told police that her sister Susan Harrell (now Peterson) conveniently threw it out.

" Killer seen as suspect in Polk girl's '87 death

By Sherri M. Owens | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted June 26, 2003

Email this story to a friend   Printer friendly version

TAVARES -- Polk County authorities have revived an unsolved 16-year-old murder case, saying a new witness emerged recently against James Duckett, a former police officer already on death row for raping and murdering a Lake County girl around the same time.

A Polk Sheriff's Office investigator said Wednesday that the department intends to present the new information to the State Attorney's Office within two weeks. Duckett always was a suspect in the 1987 Polk case, but officials said the new witness only came forward after reading recent news reports about Duckett's appeal -- and claims of his innocence -- in the Lake County case.

"We're rather confident we have a pretty good case," said Maj. W.J. Martin, chief of the Polk County Sheriff's Office criminal-investigation division.

He would not elaborate on the new information. Duckett never was charged in the death of Jennifer Weldon, a 14-year-old Lakeland girl who disappeared on Sept. 19, 1987. That slaying came about a month before Duckett was indicted on charges of killing an 11-year-old girl in Mascotte, where he had worked as a police officer.

Duckett's lawyer, Beth Wells of Atlanta, doubts the case is as strong as Polk officials say.

"They have nothing more now than they had years ago and they didn't indict him then," she said, conceding she had heard little about the new witness. "We think we'll be able to prove he didn't do it."

According to law-enforcement reports, Jennifer Weldon was last seen walking home alone on Highway 98 just north of Lakeland. The date and time printed on a gas receipt puts Duckett in the area the same time the teen was said to have been there.

At the time, Duckett already was considered a suspect in the rape and murder of Teresa McAbee, a Mascotte schoolgirl. He was seen talking to her in his squad car on May 11, 1987, and said he was warning her to get home before the city's curfew. The next morning she was found floating in a nearby lake.

Duckett was fired from the Mascotte Police Department that June and was indicted that October. In the meantime, he worked for a Polk phosphate mining company.

"He was supposed to have been at work at 11 the night [Jennifer Weldon] went missing, but we found out he was late that night and didn't arrive until 1," Martin said.

Other witnesses said that they saw Jennifer carrying a lime green bag and a stuffed cat the last night she was seen alive. Duckett's wife at the time said he brought home a lime green bag and a stuffed animal the next day.

"Not only do we have Duckett's ex-wife saying she saw the bag, but [the ex-wife's] sister cleaned out the home and found the bag and a stuffed animal and bloody underwear," Martin said, referring to events shortly after the girl's death."

She also wrote a letter to then Governor Jeb Bush to ask him to execute Jimmy.  She hated Jimmy (She hates me too). She once told Melinda's grandparents Nancy and Billy Eubank that "she got even with Jimmy". (Just like she got even with Melinda Duckett and Stephani and Debi).

It's also interesting that the then Sheriff - Noel Griffin - had a stepson named Joey Rothel Bowden who was jailed around that time and was a sexual offender of a child under age 12..

One of Noel's sons Monte Griffin - a policeman for Wildwood, Florida was running drugs using their private air strip and later was involved in "cracking" a case with none other than lead investigator in the Melinda Duckett case... Rich Giles. 

 

 

Sheriff Noel also has another son who is with FDLE also mentioned in the article about Monte and Rich Giles:

Rocky Harris the Lake County detective on the Death Row Stories who believes James to be guilty has a checkered past of his own:

Booze-sting Team Quits Underage Secretary, Officer Reported Drinking In Bar

April 05, 1985|By Jim Runnels of The Sentinel Staff

"TAVARES — An 18-year-old secretary who worked in a sheriff's sting operation to stop the sale of alcohol to teen-agers and the sergeant who supervised her work resigned Thursday when confronted with allegations that they had been seen drinking together in a Leesburg bar.

The underage secretary was used in the sting operation so officers could prove the law was broken by virtue of her age.

Rocky Harris, the supervising sergeant of the Lake County Sheriff's Department Criminal Investigation Division, and secretary Becky Robbins resigned Thursday when confronted with the allegations.

Sheriff Noel Griffin said that the 11 criminal cases that Robbins helped officers create will not be affected by the resignations or the accusations.

''What happened with our employees doesn't technically affect the criminal cases at all,'' Griffin said.

Defense attorneys, however, said they think the cases will be jeopardized because juries probably will refuse to impose criminal sanctions on clerks on Robbins' word.

''How can they expect a jury to find somebody guilty when the informant and a supervisor in the unit are accused of violating the same law?'' one attorney asked. He said he did not want to be identified.

Deputies began the sting operation in the wake of criticism of a similar operation in which the department used an employee of WCPX-Channel 6 to make cases; three clerks who were arrested March 13. The television station provided the undercover agent -- a young female intern -- and deputies made arrests after store clerks sold the underage girl alcoholic beverages.

Shortly after the arrests were made, sheriff's spokesman Chris Giachetti said the department would begin doing its own sting operations, using a department employee. He said the change was because the stings were so successful, not because the department and the television station were being criticized.

The employee chosen to work undercover in the sting was Robbins, whose full-time department job was to act as Giachetti's secretary.

Giachetti said Thursday that most of the 11 cases in which Robbins assisted were filed in the past week.

In those cases, Robbins was sent into various stores to purchase alcohol while other officers videotaped the transactions.

While the criminal cases proceeded through the preliminary stages of the court system this week, rumors began to circulate that defense attorneys were planning to attack the sheriff's department because Harris and Robbins had been seen drinking together at a Leesburg restaurant lounge.

When inquiries by The Orlando Sentinel were made to the sheriff's department Thursday, Griffin said he ordered an internal affairs investigation.

Independent investigations of Harris and Robbins ended almost as soon as they began, Giachetti said, with both Robbins and Harris resigning as soon as they were confronted with the allegations.

Giachetti said the investigations went no further.

Harris was reached by telephone but refused to comment. Robbins could not be reached."


And one of the many letters I received from James this one dated 4 years ago:

 

 

 

 

I am disappointed that this episode presented by CNN Death Row Stories did NOT give the full story nor present the information researched by Jeanne Bragg nor myself and the many others who carry the torch for this injustice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Witness...Gwen Gurley

The day before I visited James Duckett in prison, I received this comment on my website. I chose not to publish it but instead I informed Beth Wells, James Duckett's attorney. I sent all the info to her.

In one of the followup emails from Brandie to me:

Beth Wells was able to contact her.  And this past year Brandie was charged with felony child neglect. This seems par for the course as anytime anyone speaks up for James, bad things happen, especially since  Brandie commented about protecting her children is most important to her.

The following is a real-time transcript taken as closed captioning during the oral argument proceedings, and as such, may contain errors. This service is provided solely for the purpose of assisting those with disabilities and should be used for no other purpose. These are not legal documents, and may not be used as legal authority. This transcript is not an official document of the Florida Supreme Court.  YEAR 2003
  James Aren Duckett v. State of Florida

CHIEF JUSTICE: GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. GOOD MORNING. WELCOME TO THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT. WE APPRECIATE COUNSEL BEING READY TO GO ON THE FIRST CASE. WITHOUT ANY FURTHER ADO, WE WILL CALL THAT CASE IN DUCKETT VERSUS STATE. IF COUNSEL IS READY TO PROCEED, YOU MAY PROCEED.  

This is a current picture of Gwen Gurley now incarcerated at the Lowell Prison in Ocala, Florida.  

MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT. THE ONLY WITNESS WHO PUTS JAMES DUCKETT WITH THE VICTIM IN THIS CASE, THERESA McABEE, AFTER MR. DUCKETT IS SEEN DRIVING BY HIMSELF ON HIGHWAY 50, IS GWEN GURLEY. THE TRIAL COUNSEL DIDN'T DO HIS JOB AND PRESENT EVIDENCE THAT WOULD HAVE SHOWN SHE WAS LYING. THERE WAS A WEALTH OF EVIDENCE THAT COUNSEL DIDN'T PRESENT.   DIDN'T MR. SALVATORE AND HIS UNCLE, MR. RUBIO, DIDN'T THEY ACTUALLY PLACE THE VICTIM IN THE VEHICLE OF THE POLICE OFFICER AND SHE GOT IN ON ONE SIDE AND THE OFFICER WAS STANDING THERE, AND YOU CAN CONCLUDE BY THAT THAT THE OFFICER WAS ABOUT TO GET INTO THE CAR, SO DO WE JUST HAVE MS GURLEY'S TESTIMONY CONCERNING THE OFFICER BEING WITH THE VICTIM?

YES, YOUR HONOR, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL STATEMENTS THAT THERESA McABEE THEN GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND HE DROVE OFF TOWARD THE POLICE STATION AND HE THEN CAME AROUND AND PICKED HER UP AGAIN, AND THERE WERE SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO TESTIFIED AT THE TRIAL THAT HE WAS SEEN DRIVING OFF ON HIGHWAY 50, WITHOUT ANYBODY IN HIS CAR, AND ALSO THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL WITNESS.

WHO WERE THOSE WITNESSES?  

THEY WERE SHIRLEY WILLIAMS AND KIM VARGAS, AND COUNSEL SAID HE KNEW ABOUT HER AND HAD A PRETRIAL STATEMENT. SHE WAS IN CALIFORNIA AND HE DIDN'T BRING HER BACK. TRIAL COUNSEL DIDN'T PRESENT HER. SHE NOT ONLY SAYS HE DROVE OFF ON HIGHWAY 50 BUT SAYS SHE WALKED HOME FROM THE CONVENIENCE STORE, AND THE STATE NEVER SAID THAT HE TOOK THERESA McABEE FROM THE POINT SHE WAS SITTING IN HIS CAR AND HE WAS QUESTIONING HER. NO ONE TESTIFIED THAT SHE WAS IN THE CAR WHEN THE CAR LEFT THE PARKING LOT,

IN OTHER WORDS THAT SHE WAS IN THERE WITH HIM?  

NO. THAT WAS NOT THE STATE'S CASE. WHAT THEY SAID WAS, AND THEY HAD TO COME UP WITH THIS IMPLAUSIBLE THEORY BECAUSE HE WAS SEEN DRIVING OFF ALONE THAT HE THEN DROVE AROUND A LARGE AREA AND CAME AROUND AND PICKED HER UP BY THE DUMPSTER, AND THAT IS WHEN GWEN GARLEY COMES IN. SHE SAYS AT THE TRIAL I SAW THERESA McABEE. I HEARD HIS VOICE AND I TALKED TO HIM EARLIER IN THE NIGHT, SO I RECOGNIZED HIS VOICE. AND I WALKED TO THE CAR AND SAW A SMALL GUN IN THE PASSENGER SEAT.  

SO THERE WAS A WITNESS, THEN, THE WITNESS YOU ARE ALLUDING TO THAT TESTIFIED THAT THE CHILD WAS WITH HIM IN THE CAR, LEAVING THE CONVENIENCE STORE PROPERTY.  

YES, YOUR HONOR. I AM SORRY. I MISUNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION. THERE WERE SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO WERE THERE WHEN MR. DUCKETT WAS QUESTIONING THERESA McABEE ABOUT HER AGE AND CURFEW. THOSE WITNESSES, THE TESTIMONY FROM EVERYBODY THEN WAS THAT MR. DUCKETT LEFT. SOME OF THE WITNESSES DIDN'T SEE MR. DUCKETT LEFT, MR. CARUSO, THAT JUSTICE QUINCE HAS REFERRED TO, BUT GWEN GURLEY SAID I SAW HIM PICK HER UP, AND SHE CAME ALONG, INTERESTINGLY FIVE MONTHS LATER. SHE WAS ALLOWED TO TESTIFY BY VIDEO DEPOSITION BECAUSE SHE WAS FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT. TRIAL COUNSEL DID NOT CROSS-EXAMINATION HER. HE SENT ANOTHER ATTORNEY TO DO THAT. HE WAS NOT EVEN A PARTNER WITH TRIAL COUNSEL BUT SOMEONE WHO SHARED OFFICE SPACE WITH MR. EDMOND. .

WHAT ABOUT THE FINGERPRINTS FOUND ON THE POLICE CAR?  

THERE WERE FINGER PRINTS FOUND ON THE POLICE CAR, AND AFTER THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING, THERE WAS NO RELIABLE EVIDENCE AND MR. EDMOND DROPPED THE BALL HERE, TOO. HE SAID CAN YOU TELL US WHETHER ONE FINGERPRINT IS SUPER IMPOSED? HE SAID, NO, I CAN'T TELL YOU --  

(unrelated text omitted for this article)

BACK TO GWEN GURLEY, THOUGH, SHE WAS THE ONLY WITNESS THAT COULD PUT MR. DUCKETT WITH --  

YOU SAID HER TESTIMONY WASN'T TRUE. WE HAVE THE RECANTATION AND DON'T WE ALSO HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF THE PROSECUTOR AND THE POLICE OFFICER WHO SAY THAT HER RECANTATION IS NOT TRUE, SO HOW ARE WE TO DEAL WITH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT STORIES?  

WELL, THERE ARE REALLY TWO ISSUES THERE. ONE IS WHETHER OR NOT THE RECANTATION IS TRUE OR NOT. WHEN SHE WAS CALLED TO TESTIFY IN THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING, THE STATE REFUSED TO GRANT HER IMMUNITY AND WAIVE THE APPLICATION OF THE PERJURY STATUTE TO HER AND SHE TOOK THE FIFTH. I WOULD ARGUE THAT THAT MAKES HER UNAVAILABLE AS A WITNESS AND THESE RECANTATIONS SHOULD HAVE COME IN AND WHAT HAPPENED IS THE CIRCUIT COURT DID NOT CONSIDER THE RECANTATIONS. HE DID NOT ADMIT THEM INTO THE EVIDENCE BUT HE MADE A CREDIBILITY FINDING, SAYING SHE WAS NOT CREDIBLE. THERE IS NO TESTIMONY THERE TO SHOW SHE IS OR IS NOT CREDIBLE. IT IS MY POSITION THAT THE CREDIBLE FINDING IS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD.  

THE OFFICERS DID TESTIFY, CORRECT?  

THE OFFICERS DID TESTIFY.   AND HE WAS ABLE TO WAIVE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE OFFICERS.   HE DID WAIVE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE OFFICERS, YES, YOUR HONOR. SO IF ONE PERSON SAYS A AND THE OTHER PERSON SAYS NOT "A-", AND THE PERSON THAT SAYS NOT "A" TESTIFIES AND THE COURT FINDS HER CREDIBLE, AND THEY SAY NOT "A", AND THEN I AM NOT GOING TO FIND NOT "A". HE DIDN'T ALLOW ANY OF HER STATEMENTS IN, SO HE HAS GOT JUST OFFICERS' STATEMENTS IN AND OF COURSE THEY ARE CREDIBLE. THERE IS NOTHING TO COMPARE IT TO AT THIS TIME. THERE WERE STATEMENTS MADE, BUT THEY ARE NOT IN THE RECORD. ADDITIONALLY, ASIDE FROM WHETHER OR NOT HER RECANTATION IS TRUE, THERE WAS EVIDENCE AT TRIAL THAT TRIAL COUNSEL COULD HAVE PRESENTED THAT WOULD HAVE SHOWN THE JURY THAT MISS GURLEY WAS NOT TESTIFYING TRUTHFULLY. SHE WAS WITH TWO OTHER PERSONS ON THE NIGHT IN QUESTION. VICKI DAVIS AND JESSICA HAND. THEY BOTH GAVE STATEMENTS, DIFFERENT VARIATIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WHAT MS. GURLEY SAYS HAPPENED, DID HAPPEN. BUT --  

DID THEIR STATEMENTS SAY THAT THEY WERE WITH HER THAT ENTIRE TIME THAT NIGHT?

BECAUSE SHE SAYS THAT SHE CAME BACK AT SOME POINT, WITHOUT THEM, AND THAT IS WHEN SHE SAW WHAT SHE TESTIFIED TO AT TRIAL.   JESSICA HAND'S STATEMENT IS JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE AND I WOULD ASK THE COURT TO READ THAT. HE SAYS I REMEMBER WE WENT DOWN TO THE CIRCLE K THAT NIGHT AND I DON'T REMEMBER SEEING A POLICE OFFICER AND I DON'T REMEMBER GETTING A QUESTION ABOUT CURFEW. WHAT GWEN GURLEY TESTIFIED TO WAS THAT SHE GOT QUESTIONED, ALONG WITH JESSICA HAND GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR AGE ANSWER HID IN THE BUSHES AND CAME BACK LATER AND THAT IS WHEN SHE SAW THERESA DUCKETT WALKING TOWARD -- THERESA WALKING TOWARD MR. DUCKETT'S CAR. VICKI DAVIS DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT AGE IN HER STATEMENT BUT TRIAL COUNSEL NEVER INTERVIEWED THESE PEOPLE. HAD HE INTERVIEWED THEM, HE WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED THAT VICKI DAVIS SAID THAT  GWEN WANTED ME TO SAY THIS, BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO GET OUT OF JAIL IN TIME TO HAVE HER BABY, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATEMENT, IT SAYS THEY NEED TO GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT, AND IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT THAT WAS, SHE SAYS THIS IS WHAT I WAS TOLD TO SAY, IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF JAIL. SHE TURNED OFF THE TAPE DURING THAT STATEMENT: HAD THEY ASKED, SHE SAID THEY TURNED THE TAPE OFF, IN ORDER THAT THEY GET THEIR STORIES STRAIGHT.  

SHE DID SAY THAT?  

ON THE RECORD SHE TESTIFIED. AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE A DOG IN THIS FIGHT. SHE HAS NO INTEREST IN THIS CASE, ONE WAY OR. SHE WAS NOT QUESTIONED AT ALL. SHE WAS NOT CALLED AS A WITNESS. YOU SAID TO JUSTICE CANTERO THAT THE RECANTATION IS NOT IN EVIDENCE, THAT THE JUDGE COULD NOT CONSIDER IT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT EVIDENCE.

HOW ARE WE ARGUING IT?  

WE OFFERED THE RECANTATION INTO EVIDENCE AND THE JUDGE RULED IT WAS HEARSAY AND DIDN'T ALLOW IT IN. WE HAVE ARGUED THAT SHE WAS UNAVAILABLE AS A WITNESS AND IT SHOULD HAVE COME IN. IT ACTUALLY IS IN THE PAPERWORK YOU HAVE, BUT THE JUDGE IN HIS ORDER, DID NOT RELY UPON IT AND RULED IT INADMISSIBLE IN HIS FINAL ORDER.   OKAY.   THE OTHER THINGS THAT VICKI DAVIS AND JESSICA TAND COULD HAVE MADE CLEAR WHEN GURLEY WAS BEING, TESTIFIED, THEY NEVER WENT TO THE CIRCLE K AND SAW JAMES DUCKETT. NONE OF THEM. VICKI DAVIS TESTIFIED THAT GWEN NEVER LEFT HER, ALL NIGHT. THEY NEVER SAW THERESA GETTING INTO THE CAR. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WERE EIGHT OTHER PEOPLE AT THE CIRCLE K THAT NIGHT.   THIS SAYS NOTHING ABOUT OFFICER SALVE CORE AND ALL OF THAT, WERE THEY QUESTIONED ABOUT MS. GURLY?   ONE WAS ASKED DO YOU REMEMBER HER COMING IN THE STORE AND BUYING A COKE. THE OTHERS WERE NEVER ASKED IF THEY HAD SEEN MS. GURLEY. OTHER PEOPLE WERE INTERVIEWED THAT NIGHT AND NONE OF THEM REMEMBERED THIS. THESE WERE STATEMENTS THAT HE HAD.  

CHIEF JUSTICE: THE MARSHAL REMINDS US THAT YOU ARE IN YOUR REBUTTAL TIME. I WOULD LIKE TO SUMMARIZE THIS POINT THAT THERE WAS CROSS-EXAMINATION THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR GWEN GURLEY. A, SHE HADN'T LEFT THE STATE AND PROBATION RECORDS SHOW THAT SHE WAS IN THE TOWN THREE MONTHS AFTER THIS TRIAL AND ALSO THAT SHE WAS RELEASED THREE OR FOUR WEEKS EARLY FROM HER SENTENCE AND THAT WAS NOT TOLD TO THE JURY THAT SHE WAS, IN FACT, OUT WHEN HER BABY WAS BORN. I WILL SAVE THE REMAINDER FOR REBUTTAL.  

CHIEF JUSTICE: GOOD MORNING.  

GOOD MORNING. I AM KEN NUNNELLEY, AND I REPRESENT THE STATE ON THIS APPEAL.  

CAN YOU ADDRESS THE GWEN GURLEY ISSUE?  

THE GWEN GURLEY ISSUE IS QUITE SIMPLY, A CREDIBILITY DETERMINATION THAT, UNDER LONG STANDING PRECEDENT OF THIS COURT, IS THE PROVINCE OF THE TRIAL COURT. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE HAD THE MISFORTUNE  TO ARGUE MOST OF THE CASES THAT YOU ALL CITE FOR THAT PROPOSITION AND THAT WE CITE FOR THAT PROPOSITION, THE LEAD CASE BEING STATE VERSUS SPAZIANO. THE CIRCUIT COURT HEARD THE WITNESSES TESTIFY WITH RESPECT TO GWEN GURLEY. THEY HEARD VICKI -- TO GWEN GURLEY. JUDGE LOCKETT, HEARD VICKI DAVIS TESTIFY. HER CREDIBILITY WAS BEFORE THE TRIAL COURT, AS WAS THE TESTIMONY OF THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO TESTIFIED ABOUT THE ALLEGED RECANTATION. RECANTED TESTIMONY IS EXCEEDINGLY UNRELIABLE, AS THIS COURT HAS REPEATEDLY SAID, AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE CIRCUIT COURT DID, IN FACT, HAVE EVIDENCE BEFORE IT THAT REQUIRED IT TO WEIGH CREDIBILITY, AND THE FACT THAT VICKI, EXCUSE ME, GWEN GURLEY TOOK THE FIFTH AMENDMENT ON THE WITNESS STAND, DOES NOT MEAN THE CIRCUIT COURT HAD NOTHING BEFORE IT THAT COULD BE ASSESSED FOR CREDIBILITY. WITH RESPECT TO THE SUGGESTION THAT GWEN GURLEY'S TESTIMONY AT THE CIRCUIT LEVEL,

NOW LET ME BACK UP, WITH, THE IDEA OR THE SUGGESTION THAT THE STATE'S REFUSAL TO GRANT MISS GURLEY IMMUNITY IS, IN SOME FASHION, EQUAL TO UNAVAILABILITY UNDER THE EVIDENCE CODE, IS YET ANOTHER NEW CLAIM THAT IS BEING RAISED FOR THE FIRST TIME HERE.

WHILE COUNSEL WAS MAKING THAT ARGUMENT, I REVIEWED THE BRIEF AS QUICKLY AS I COULD. WHAT I THOUGHT OR HOPED WAS THE RELEVANT PORTION, AND I FIND NO REFERENCE TO UNAVAILABILITY UNDER THE EVIDENCE CODE CONTAINED WITHIN THE DEFENDANT'S BRIEF, NOR DO I FIND A CITATION TO THE EVIDENCE CODE IN THE TABLE OF AUTHORITIES IN THE DEFENDANT'S BRIEF. THEREFORE I WOULD SUGGESTION THAT THAT ISSUE IS NOT PROPERLY BEFORE THE COURT.

THAT ARGUED TO THE TRIAL COURT?  

THAT IS A THAT, BECAUSE SHE TOOK THE FIFTH OR BECAUSE THE STATE WOULDN'T OFFER HER A DEAL, THAT HER TESTIMONY WAS UNAVAILABLE, AND THEREFORE THE COURT SHOULD CONSIDER HER OUT OF COURT STATEMENT?  

WELL, JUSTICE ANSTEAD, I AM NOT TRYING TO DEFLECT YOUR QUESTION, BUT THE SHORT ANSWER IS I DON'T REMEMBER, AND THE REASON I DON'T REMEMBER IS BECAUSE IT WASN'T RELEVANT, BECAUSE IT WASN'T RAISED ON APPEAL TO THIS COURT. NO REASON I WOULD BE READING IT FOR THAT, WHEN THE ISSUE IS NOT BEFORE THE COURT IN THE FIRST PLACE.  

THIS WITNESS, THOUGH, THAT IS ALLEGED TO HAVE RECANTED, HAS NEVER TESTIFIED BEFORE A COURT, RECANTING HER TESTIMONY, IS THAT CORRECT?  

THAT'S CORRECT, YOUR HONOR.  

CAN YOU ADDRESS THE ARGUMENT THAT COUNSEL DID MAKE IN THE BRIEF, REGARDING GWEN GURLEY, AND THAT IS THAT COUNSEL FAILED TO CROSS-EXAMINATION OR EVEN INVESTIGATE A FALSE ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT THAT SHE HAD MADE ABOUT ANOTHER, ABOUT A SHERIFFS OFFICER, I THINK?  

WELL, YOUR HONOR, FIRST OF ALL, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE, THAT THAT IS AN ISSUE OR A MATTER THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL OF STRICKLAND VERSUS WASHINGTON, DEFICIENT PERFORMANCE IN PREJUDICE. IT IS CERTAINLY A MATTER THAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKED INTO BY TRIAL COUNSEL. THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT LOOK INTO THAT, GIVEN THE FACTS THAT THIS CASE, WHICH WERE THAT GWEN GURLEY WAS MERELY A WITNESS. SHE WAS NOT ALLEGING SOME IMPROPRIETY ON THE PART OF MASCOT POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS, WITH RESPECT TO HER. THE FACT THAT SHE HAD AN ALLEGATION WITH RESPECT TO ANOTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, DOES NOT, REALLY, HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CASE. I MEAN --

IT DOES IMPEACH HER TESTIMONY, RIGHT?

IT IS IMPEACHMENT MATERIAL,

AND ISN'T, IS SHE THE ONLY ONE WHO TESTIFIED THAT, WHEN OFFICER DUCKETT RETURNED TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE, SHE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO SAID SHE, THAT HE, THEN, LEFT WITH THE VICTIM?  

SHE IS THE WITNESS WHO PUTS THE VICTIM IN THE CAR WITH THE DEFENDANT.

The Case - Mascotte, Florida

To have a better understanding of the layout of the important places in Mascotte, Florida pertinent to this case, I have "google-earthed" and marked the area. In this first picture it is a shot of Teresa McAbee's house located at 29 South Sunset Avenue in Mascotte, Florida 34753. This is how the house appears today, not too different than in 1987.

This next picture is of the convenience store that was called the Circle K and the laundromat next door, again very similar to 1987. The dumpster is to the right of the building  behind the pickup truck.

The next picture shows Polly's Bar now under a different name. This street leads to Teresa's house.

The next is a series of pictures as if walking from the convenience store toward Teresa's house. The lake (where her body was found) is on the right.

It is a very short walking distance from the store to her house (under 5 minute walk).

This is the view of the dumpster from Teresa's house (see how close it is).

This is the view of the lake across the street from Teresa's house.

Teresa's body was found on the edge of the shore of the lake behind the pump house 1500 feet from her home on the curve of the lake. Google states that it is only a 5 minute walk from Teresa's house.

As you can see by the pictures, the crime of raping and murdering Teresa McAbee was all within walking distance from her home.  There is no logic to this case, that Teresa would have to  be taken in a car (or police cruiser) in order to commit this crime.

The Commission on Capital Cases

Duckett's Brief

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

The Statement of the Case and Facts as set out on pages 1-19

of Duckett’s brief is argumentative and is denied.

The Facts from Direct Appeal

On direct appeal, this Court summarized the facts of this

case in the following way:

The facts in this opinion are set forth in extensive

detail since the convictions are based on

circumstantial evidence. Duckett, a police officer for

the City of Mascotte, was the only officer on patrol

from 7:00 p.m., May 11, 1987, to 7:00 a.m., May 12,

1987. Between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m. on May 11, Teresa

McAbee, an eleven-year-old girl, walked a short

distance from her home to a convenience store to

purchase a pencil. Teresa left the store with a

sixteen-year-old Mexican boy, who was doing laundry

next door. The boy testified that they walked over to

the convenience store's dumpster and talked for about

twenty minutes before Duckett approached them. A clerk

at the convenience store testified that Duckett

entered the store and asked her the girl's name and

age, at which time she advised him that Teresa was

between ten and thirteen years old. After indicating

that he was going to check on her, Duckett exited the

store and walked toward the dumpster, where he located

the two children. Duckett testified that he conversed

with the children and subsequently, acting in his

capacity as a police officer, instructed Teresa to

return home. The sixteen-year-old boy testified that,

after speaking with Duckett, he went to the laundromat

to wait for his uncle, who arrived soon thereafter;

that Duckett and Teresa were standing near the patrol

car; and that Duckett asked the uncle the nephew's

age. Subsequently, Duckett suggested that the uncle

talk to his nephew while he spoke to Teresa. According

to the uncle and the boy, Duckett placed Teresa in the

passenger's side of his patrol car and shut the door

before proceeding to the driver's side. The uncle also

testified that he never saw Teresa touch the hood of

Duckett's car.

At approximately 11:00 p.m., Teresa's mother walked to

the convenience store, searching for her daughter.

Upon arrival, she was told by the store's clerk that

Duckett may have taken her daughter to the police

station. The mother then left the store and spent

about an hour with her sister driving around Mascotte

in search of Teresa. During this time, the mother did

not see a police car. She next went to the Mascotte

police station and, finding no one there, she drove a

short distance to the Groveland police station. There,

she told an officer that she wanted to report her

daughter as missing. The officer told her that he

would contact a Mascotte officer to meet her at the

Mascotte police station. Teresa's mother returned to

the Mascotte police station and waited for fifteen to

twenty minutes before Duckett arrived. After arriving,

Duckett told her that he had spoken with Teresa at the

store; that she had been in his police car; and that

he had directed her to return home. Before returning

home, the mother also filed a missing person report

with Duckett. Subsequently, Duckett went to the

mother's residence to get a picture of her daughter,

called the police chief to inform him of the missing

person report, and advised the police chief that he

had made a flyer and did not need any help in the

matter. Duckett then returned to the convenience store

with a flyer but told the clerk not to post it since

it was not a good picture. Although he told the clerk

that he would return with a better one, he never did.

Duckett did bring flyers to two other convenience

stores. The clerk at one of these stores testified

that, while the police usually drove by every

forty-five minutes to an hour, Duckett came by at 9:30

p.m. but failed to return until he brought the flyer

later that evening. A tape of Duckett's radio calls

indicated none between 10:50 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. At

1:15 a.m., Duckett went to the uncle's house to

question his nephew about Teresa, and Duckett returned

to the mother's home around 3:00 a.m.

Later that morning, a man saw what he believed to be

a body in a lake and went to find the police chief,

who determined that it was Teresa's body. The lake is

less than one mile from the convenience store where

Teresa was last seen.