WINTER HAVEN, FL — Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced Thursday that detectives have concluded convicted killer James Duckett was responsible for the 1987 abduction and murder of 14-year-old Jeanifer Weldon of Lakeland.
Jeanifer disappeared on Saturday, Sept. 19, 1987, after leaving a friend’s home on U.S. 98 North in Lakeland. The teenager, who lived on North Socrum Loop, had spent the day with friends in Tampa, where she purchased a gray stuffed kitten that was placed inside a green bag. After returning to Polk County, around 9 p.m., she began walking the approximately two miles home but never arrived.
A frantic 13-day search followed before an employee with a phosphate mining company noticed a pair of children’s shoes along a dirt road near Fort Meade. After stopping to investigate, the employee detected a strong odor of decomposition and discovered Jeanifer’s badly decomposed remains in a wooded area. Sheriff Grady Judd said when detectives arrived, they found skeletal remains with the victim’s legs spread apart. Investigators determined she had been strangled and raped. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Sheriff Judd said detectives found no physical evidence at the scene, including no DNA, leaving the investigation with few leads during its early stages.
After 25 days, the investigation took a significant turn on Oct. 27, 1987, when authorities learned that on-duty Mascotte Police Officer James Duckett, who was 30 years old at the time, had been arrested in neighboring Lake County for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee. Judd praised Lake County investigators, saying their case included DNA evidence and witness testimony that ultimately led to Duckett’s conviction and death sentence.
Polk County detectives eventually connected Duckett to Jeanifer’s murder through circumstantial evidence. Before becoming a police officer, Duckett lived at the McDuffy Trailer Park, about one mile south of Fort Meade and roughly 1.8 miles from where Jeanifer’s body was discovered.
Investigators revealed that on the night Jeanifer disappeared, Duckett left home about five hours before his scheduled 11 p.m. shift. His route to work traveled along U.S. 98, the same road Jeanifer was believed to be walking. Duckett reportedly arrived at work about two hours late, sweating, upset, and agitated, claiming he had experienced car trouble.
The following morning, Duckett gave his wife, Karla Duckett, a green bag containing candy and a gray stuffed kitten, telling her they were for their children. Detectives later confirmed those items belonged to Jeanifer. His wife also questioned scratches on his back, which Duckett claimed came from climbing a barbed-wire fence at work.
Following Duckett’s arrest in the unrelated murder of Teresa Mae McAbee, his wife told investigators he asked her to create fake car repair receipts and have his vehicle professionally cleaned. She refused.
Detective Jason McPherson reopened the investigation after joining the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit in 2017. Over the years, detectives repeatedly attempted to interview Duckett, but each time he invoked his right to an attorney and refused to answer questions.
Detectives made one final attempt to interview Duckett on Friday, July 24, just days before his execution, hoping he would confess or provide answers to Jeanifer’s family. He again declined to speak.
Duckett was executed by the State of Florida on Tuesday, July 28. According to Jeanifer’s family, when asked if he wished to make a final statement before his execution, Duckett replied, “No statement.”
Sheriff Judd said the case against Duckett remained entirely circumstantial because investigators never obtained DNA evidence or an independent eyewitness linking him to Jeanifer’s murder. While he said the evidence strongly points to Duckett as the killer, it was not enough to support criminal charges before Duckett’s death.
Jeanifer’s sisters, Amy Weldon and Hope Limansah, thanked Detective McPherson for his compassion and dedication throughout the investigation. They also credited Jeanifer’s lifelong best friend, Mindy Oakley, for never allowing her memory to fade and for refusing to give up hope that answers would one day be found.
SOURCE: SHERIFF’S GRADY JUDD PRESS CONFERENCE
