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.
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