Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced Thursday that executed Florida inmate James Duckett is resp [aHxNl8lcH7I]
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced Thursday that executed Florida inmate James Duckett is responsible for the 1987 abduction, rape and murder of 14-year-old Jeanifer Weldon in Winter Haven. The disclosure followed Duckett’s Tuesday execution for McAbee in Lake County. Judd said investigators now consider Duckett the sole suspect in Weldon’s case and plan a final meeting with state prosecutors to formally clear the cold case since Duckett is dead. Weldon disappeared Sept. 19, 1987, after a day, and was found Oct. 2 near Fort Meade, skeletonized; death was strangulation. Circumstantial evidence tied Duckettand he left work early, had dirty hands and scratches, and brought home a green bag with a stuffed kitten that his wife discarded. He had lived near the discovery site and was later arrested for McAbee’s murder. DNA testing yielded no evidence; detectives spent hours without a lead. Judd called Duckett 'pure evil in the flesh'. Like 👍 Subscribe 🔔 and stay informed. Visit NHENews.COM for more top headlines.