James Duckett Death and obituary, police officer on patrol in the town of Mascot Cause Of Death
On the night of May 11, 1987, James Duckett assumed the sole responsibility of patrolling the town of Mascot, Florida as the only police officer on duty.
Around 10:00 p.m., 11-year-old Theresa McCabe ventured to a local supermarket to purchase pencils. Upon exiting the store, she engaged in a conversation with a 16-year-old boy near the vicinity.
Subsequently, Duckett arrived at the supermarket and, after inquiring about McCabe’s age from the clerk, approached McCabe and the boy. Following a brief interaction, Duckett instructed McCabe to return home and instructed the boy to wait for his uncle. Later, the boy and his uncle witnessed McCabe entering the passenger side of Duckett’s patrol car.
At 11:00 p.m., McCabe’s mother visited the supermarket to search for her daughter. The clerk informed her that McCabe had departed with Duckett, possibly en route to the Mascot Police Station.
When the Mascot Police Station yielded no information about McCabe, the distressed mother journeyed to the nearby Groveland Police Station to file a missing person report. Groveland authorities promptly reached out to Mascot police, prompting Duckett’s arrival at the Groveland Police Department within a span of twenty minutes. Duckett purportedly created a flyer with McCabe’s photo, intending to display it in local convenience stores, yet this initiative did not materialize.
The store clerk later revealed that police vehicles frequented the area every hour, with the exception of a prolonged absence on Duckett’s part between 9:50 p.m. and 12:10 a.m. Additionally, there were no radio transmissions made by Duckett during this duration.
Tragically, McCabe’s lifeless body was discovered the following morning in a nearby lake, located less than a mile from the supermarket where she was last seen. Medical investigations indicated that she had been subjected to sexual assault before succumbing to drowning. Further forensic examinations revealed the presence of blood and pubic hair, potentially linked to Duckett, in her undergarments, while traces of semen were detected on her jeans.
Compelling evidence emerged during the trial, including distinct tire marks matching those of the Mascot Police Department patrol car discovered at the crime scene. Furthermore, Duckett’s and McCabe’s fingerprints were identified on the hood of the vehicle, suggesting that McCabe was seated backward on the car’s hood during the incident.
During the trial, testimony from three young women, aged between seventeen and nineteen, surfaced, indicating that Duckett had sexually abused each of them within the six months leading up to the tragic murder. One of the witnesses even testified to having engaged in sexual activity with Duckett.
