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Clues become problematic: A look at the main evidence
Posted September 14, 2003
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Prosecutors used five major pieces of evidence and one minor piece to help convict rookie police Officer Jimmy Duckett of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee. Here's the evidence in a nutshell:
THE HAIR -- The lone pubic hair found in the crotch of Teresa Mae McAbee's panties was the most damning piece of evidence used against Duckett. This evidence is under a cloud of suspicion of bungling by labs and possible fabrication by the FBI to favor the prosecution. If the case were tried today, most agree that a jury would not believe the FBI expert, Mike Malone, who federal investigators now say has testified falsely in other cases and exaggerated evidence. While he wasn't found to have lied in Duckett's case, his past behavior under oath puts a cloud over all of his work.
THE FINGERPRINTS -- Teresa's fingerprints begin 14 inches in on the hood of Duckett's police car, and they are positioned as if she sat on the hood and scooted backward. A few of Duckett's prints appear mingled with the girl's. The defense argued that Teresa could have jumped on the hood when Duckett wasn't looking.
THE TIRE TRACKS -- The tracks at the crime scene were found to be "consistent" with the tires of Duckett's patrol car. But decoding tire-track marks isn't an exact science. A specific match was never made, because the tires on the patrol car were new and hadn't developed nicks, cracks and unique markings to help police make a positive match.
THE WITNESS -- Lots of people saw Duckett talking to Teresa in his police car and then saw her get out and walk toward home. Only convicted felon Gwen Gurley claimed to have seen Duckett circle back in his patrol car and get Teresa again. At the time Gurley came forward with her story, she was a 16-year-old pregnant inmate in a Lake County jail looking for a break. Four years later, Gurley swore that the whole thing was a lie and that her motive was to get out of jail early.
WILLIAMS RULE -- There is a rule in cases of sexual misconduct that allows jurors to hear about other alleged bad deeds if they are similar enough to the case before them. It was under this rule that the jury heard the stories of three young women who said Duckett made sexual advances. An appeals court ruled that Circuit Judge Jerry Lockett made a mistake by letting the jury hear the testimony of a 16-year-old girl, because she willingly entered into a sexual affair with Duckett, unlike the two other girls who rebuked his advances. The court ruled that while this was an error, it didn't affect the outcome of the trial.
THE PENCIL -- Although never a big part of the case, it remained a nagging detail to the defense. The pencil that Teresa went to the store to buy was found broken in half, 10 days after detectives picked the crime scene clean. The defense argued that the pencil was planted to make a neat case for the prosecution and that the pencil looked new, showing no signs of being out in the Florida heat and rain.
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