Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced Thursday that executed Florida prisoner James Duckett was responsible for the 1987 abduction, rape, and murder of 14-year-old Jeanifer Weldon in Polk County.
Duckett, a former Mascotte police officer, was executed at Florida State Prison on Tuesday for the separate 1987 rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee in Lake County.
Authorities never formally charged Duckett in Weldon's case to avoid delaying his capital punishment proceedings.
Weldon vanished on Sept. 19, 1987, while walking to her Lakeland home.
A phosphate mine employee found her skeletonized remains on Oct. 2, 1987, in Fort Meade, with strangulation listed as the cause of death.
Sheriff Judd detailed the circumstantial evidence gathered over decades during a press conference at the PCSO Sheriff's Operations Center in Winter Haven, displaying an age-progression photo of Weldon.
"She wasn’t able to graduate from high school," said Sheriff Grady Judd. "She couldn’t go to college.
She never had the opportunity to marry the love of her life.
She never had the opportunity to have the children and raise the children and enjoy the wonders of being a mother.
She never had the opportunity to send her children away to elementary or kindergarten on their first day or to watch them graduate from high school.
Who knows?
Maybe she or her children would have been one who turned into the scientist that found the cure for cancer.
But, none of that happened."
Investigators noted Duckett left early for his phosphate mine shift the night Weldon vanished, arriving late and disheveled.
He lived near the dump site and brought home a stuffed kitten matching one Weldon bought that day.
"James Duckett viciously abducted, we suspect raped, and we know from circumstance, murdered, violently murdered this little girl," said Judd.
Sheriff Judd noted that despite testing over 10 clothing items as technology advanced, no usable DNA evidence or witnesses ever emerged.
"There was no obvious evidence at the scene," said Judd.
Detectives accumulated tens of thousands of hours on the investigation, but investigators never identified any other suspect.
Judd attempted to interview Duckett prior to his execution, but the inmate refused to meet with investigators.
"He was a psychopathic, murdering, egotistical, vicious child pedophile up to the very end," said Judd.
Family members and friends of Weldon attended Duckett's execution, expressing relief that the process concluded.
"Even though we know that Duckett killed her, they didn't have to let us be there," said Mindy Oakley, Jeanifer's best friend.
"They didn't have to let us attend the execution, and we're grateful to her family for giving us that closure."
Weldon's family reaffirmed their belief in capital punishment following the execution.
"Anybody who doesn't believe in the death penalty is crazy, because what if that was your daughter, your sister, your aunt, you know?
I believe in the death penalty and that was justice and if my mom was alive, she'd be good with it," said Amy Weldon, Jeanifer's older sister.
The execution took place on the birthday of Weldon's late mother. "She deserved the life she never got to see.
She deserves justice and so did our mother, so I just want to hold both of their memories on high today and always," said Hope Limansah, Jeanifer's younger sister.
Family members expressed absolute confidence that the responsible individual was held accountable. "I’m confident the right person was executed," said Amy Weldon.
"I don’t like how long it took. But I’m confident — 100% confident — the right person is dead."
The Polk County Sheriff's Office plans to meet with the State Attorney’s Office to officially designate the case as exceptionally cleared due to the death of the offender.
