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In 1987, the area surrounding this pump house and dirt road in Mascotte, Florida, became the scene of a crime with repercussions that are still being felt nearly 30 years later. Click through the gallery for details of the case, including more crime scene and evidence photos from CNN's "Death Row Stories." Florida State Attorney's office
Today, former Mascotte Police Department officer James Duckett faces execution for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa McAbee.
The night of May 11, 1987, Teresa left her mother Dorothy McAbee's home in Mascotte, walking alone to a nearby Circle K convenience store to buy a pencil. oourtesy Teresa McAbee
Later, a resident reported a girl's body floating in nearby Knight Lake, not far from the pump house and dirt road. It was Teresa McAbee. An autopsy showed she had been raped, strangled and thrown into the water. Florida State Attorney's office
Investigators found tire tracks along that road near the body. The tracks matched the pattern of police cars driven by the Mascotte Police Department, including Officer Duckett. Florida State Attorney's office
When Duckett arrived at the crime scene, his police cruiser was impounded for further investigation. Fingerprints matching Teresa's were found on the car hood. Lake County Sheriff's office
Police questioned Duckett, who denied that Teresa ever sat on the hood of his cruiser. He was charged with sexual battery of a minor and first degree murder. Jeanne Bragg
The prosecution's lead witness, Gwen Gurley, testified that she saw Teresa outside the Circle K the night of the murder. She also testified that she saw Duckett drive off with "a small person" in his patrol car. Lake County Sheriff's office
Duckett's police notebook appears to show Duckett visited another convenience store -- a Jiffy Stop -- around the time of the murder, providing him with a possible alibi. But the notebook was not introduced at trial. Veteran homicide detective Marshall Frank -- who interviewed Duckett for a crime novel -- told CNN's "Death Row Stories" the "Jiffy Stop entry wasn't in the same order as the other loggings. And I thought that was odd." courtesy Beth Wells,
An FBI agent who also was an expert hair examiner for the prosecution testified that a pubic hair found in Teresa's underwear had "exactly the same characteristics" as sample hairs taken from Duckett. After a trial, jurors found Duckett guilty. He was sentenced to death. Later a Justice Department report said the FBI agent had falsely testified about hair analysis in other cases, calling his testimony in Duckett's trial into question. After more than 25 years on death row, Duckett maintains his innocence.
Although Gurley later recanted her testimony in a sworn deposition, she pleaded the Fifth Amendment at a formal hearing, fearing perjury charges. Gurley now claims she was coerced into recanting. "The last time I saw Teresa McAbee, she was in James Duckett's police car," she told CNN's "Death Row Stories."
"We have an innocent guy here. This is crazy." Duckett's appellate attorney Beth Wells told CNN's "Death Row Stories." Duckett and Wells await a decision by Florida's Supreme Court on their request for an evidentiary hearing. "I'm 100% confident that when they evaluate this evidence they're going to say, 'You know what? We got it wrong. We have to give this guy a new trial.'" CNN
"I just want justice for my daughter. That's what I want," Dorothy McAbee told CNN's "Death Row Stories." "26 years -- I'm tired. I don't think I'm ever going to have closure, because he's never going to admit it." CNN
