No points this week, even though we had a supercentenarian in the list. I’m sure a few of us had Richard O’Sullivan in our Waiting Rooms as well. Let’s unleash the Flying Monkeys!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Carla Jeffery, 33, American actress (Zombies, Curb Your Enthusiasm, American Vandal). 
• Gloria Steinem, 92, American feminist and journalist (New York, Ms.), co-founder of the Women’s Media Center. 
• Robin Morgan, 85, American poet, writer (Sisterhood Is Powerful) and feminist, co-founder of the Women’s Media Center, complications from Parkinson’s disease.
• Shigeko Kagawa, 115, Japanese supercentenarian
• Ada Yonath, 87, Israeli crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (2009). 
• Harold Gene Lucas, 74, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Richard O’Sullivan, 82, English actor (Man About the House, Robin’s Nest, Dick Turpin). 
• Chris Langham, 77, English actor (The Thick of It, Help), television writer (The Muppet Show) and sex offender, pancreatic cancer. 
• Cassandra Wilson, 70, American jazz singer, two-time Grammy winner.
• Erni Mangold, 99, Austrian actress (Before Sunrise, Therapy for a Vampire, The Forester of the Silver Wood). 
• Michael Mendl, 82, German actor (Downfall, 14 Days to Life, Dark), skin cancer. 

In Other News

Penny Lancaster has shared a health update on her husband Sir Rod Stewart, saying he will “come back stronger than ever” following a heart operation and the cancellation of his 2026 US tour. The 81-year-old singer had embarked on his final world tour when he underwent a coronary stent procedure and was forced to take four weeks off to recover. The development arrived after a year of health issues for Maggie May singer. His wife has reassured fans worried that “he’s back at full speed in his day-to-day activities, but doctor’s orders were to kind of postpone or cancel the current tour, because you know the risk factors involved”. She added that she “did have to explain to the doctor what Rod’s performances are like”, as “he doesn’t just sit down on a stool or behind a piano, he runs around for nearly two hours with four different costume changes because he’s sweating through everything”. Lancaster, 55, continued: “So, I compared him to either a boxer coming out of his dressing room on the way to the ring, or a horse coming out the blocks, I mean, he runs on and he’s like, you know, straight into it, 100 miles an hour and doesn’t stop. “It’s like running a sprint for him, so just for precaution, that tour unfortunately had to be cancelled, which he was devastated about.” Stewart, who called off a string of US and Mexico tour dates, including six nights at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, “can’t wait to see his fans again”, having had “so many wonderful well wishes and support”. She also said the doctor’s orders have stretched to home life, and he’s received “strict instructions about the level of workout he could do”. “I mean, he does not sit down,” Lancaster said. “I can never find him, he’s, you know, he’s got his hobbies. But he’s going to come back stronger than ever. He feels like he’s got a new lease of life.”  

Bruce Campbell, the actor known for his role in the Evil Dead franchise, has revealed doctors have given him a prognosis of five years “give or take” amid his cancer battle. The 68-year-old, who played Ash Williams in the horror series, revealed the sad update six months after he told the world his diagnosis. “I’m in a five-year prognosis,” Campbell said. “With the type of cancer that I have, which I don’t want to get into, the current thing is a five-year deal.” But the prognosis isn’t going to stop him living life to the full. “It’s a fascinating thing that takes place because cancer messes with your head, too. I’ve decided though, pretty specifically, to live with it, not die from it,” he explained. “You can go down a massive rabbit hole. The cancer rabbit hole is enormous. You can go into focus groups of 10,000 guys who have exactly what you have. I won’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.” Campbell is now focusing on his work, including promoting his new project Ernie & Emma. “When I promote this movie, I have nothing. I’m free and clear when I promote this movie,” Campbell said. “You have to make this decision of, ‘Oh OK, but do I have to stop everything I’m doing because of this?’ Well no. So, it’s a sort of whack-a-mole life, literally. Cancer compromises shit inside your body. You don’t die from cancer, you die from what cancer does to you. It does weird shit and then you address it and move on.  

Lionel Richie is reportedly back home in Los Angeles and ‘feeling OK’ after his latest health scare, which saw the 77-year-old singer hospitalised and treated in an intensive care unit in St. Louis following his 29th August concert at The Muny. The latest Lionel Richie health update comes after the singer checked himself into a hospital following the show, where he appeared to struggle during the final song and completed the performance while seated. Reports said doctors were conducting tests related to possible cardiac issues and dehydration as a precaution, though no official diagnosis has been announced. This is the second time in just over two months that Richie has been taken to hospital after falling ill on stage. On 24 June, during the opening night of his Sing a Song All Night Long tour with Earth, Wind & Fire in St. Paul, Minnesota, he told the crowd he felt ‘dizzy’ and ‘strange,’ sat down mid-performance, and was later transported by ambulance for evaluation. According to sources close to the family, Richie’s three children are deeply worried about his health. One source said the siblings are ‘worried he could have serious heart issues’ and are now ‘like moms to him,’ urging their father to prioritise rest over work. Another source said the family is ‘doting’ on him at home, with Richie described as optimistic and in his ‘usual jovial mood’ despite the alarm. It is worth noting that no official diagnosis has been released. While early accounts pointed to ‘slight dehydration,’ later reporting indicated doctors were also investigating possible cardiac-related issues during his ICU stay.  

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging, along with 11 other defendants in a major drugs case, according to reports. Khalifa, 39, was among 12 defendants given the death penalty by a Cairo court on Saturday. Nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment and seven were acquitted, according to Egypt’s state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. She is best known for hosting Mission Impossible, a television programme focused on crime and security. She also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that organises parties and events. Prosecutors said the group had formed an organised criminal gang that imported materials from abroad for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, with different members allegedly responsible for importing raw materials, manufacturing the narcotics, and distributing them. Investigators seized more than 750kg of narcotics and materials used to manufacture them, Al-Ahram reported. They also found two apartments that were allegedly being used as drug laboratories, as well as unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Khalifa has denied the allegations against her. During a court appearance last September, Khalifa told the judge she had never seen drugs until she was photographed with them inside the anti-narcotics authority’s offices. The prosecution’s case was based on statements from 20 witnesses as well as technical and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos that prosecutors said documented the group’s activities. Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 in connection with the investigation, and an arrest warrant was issued later the same year. The death sentences were referred to Egypt’s Grand Mufti before the final judgment. This is required under Egyptian law in capital cases, although the Mufti’s opinion is advisory and does not bind the court. Khalifa and the other defendants sentenced to death can appeal to Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court for criminal cases. Egypt retains the death penalty for offences including premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offences, and drug trafficking. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms recorded 541 death sentences in the country in 2025.

On This Day

• 1901 – Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed anarchist shoots and fatally wounds US president William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
• 1952 – A prototype aircraft crashes at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing 29 spectators and the two on board.
• 1972 – Munich massacre: Nine Israeli athletes die (along with a German policeman) at the hands of the Palestinian “Black September” terrorist group after being taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games. Two other Israeli athletes were slain in the initial attack the previous day.
• 1992 – A group of hunters at the Stampede trail near Healy, Alaska came across a male corpse in abandoned bus, later identified as Christopher McCandless.
• 1997 – The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London. Well over a million people line the streets and 2.5 billion watch around the world on television.
• 2022 – Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and is replaced by Liz Truss. Their meetings with Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle were the Queen’s final official duties before her death two days later.

Deaths

• 1998 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1910).
• 2007 – Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (born 1935). 
• 2018 – Liz Fraser, English actress (born 1930).
• 2018 – Burt Reynolds, American actor, director and producer (born 1936).
• 2019 – Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (born 1924).
• 2021 – Michael K. Williams, American actor (born 1966).

Last Meals

On August 13th 1976, 16-year-old Jill Piper was shot and killed by 24-year-old Harold Gene Lucas at her home in Bonita Springs, Florida. Lucas, who was Piper’s ex-boyfriend, killed Piper as revenge for breaking up with him. In addition to killing Piper, Lucas shot and wounded two of Piper’s friends, Terri Rice and Richard Byrd Jr. 

In February 1977, a court sentenced Lucas to death. He was executed by the state of Florida on September 1st 2026, after spending approximately 50 years in prison, the longest interval between conviction and execution in the United States. 

By the time of her murder, 16-year-old Jill Piper had been in an on-and-off relationship with Harold Gene Lucas, then aged 24. The relationship reached an end in August 1976, after months of deteriorating dynamics, including Lucas’s substance dependence. He had been using drugs since the age of 17, beginning with smoking marijuana and consuming “all kinds of substances” by 1976, including LSD, cocaine, heroin, hashish, THC, and animal tranquillisers. After Piper decided to break up with him, Lucas began harassing her as well as threatening her with death, which had forced her to call the police and request the protection of her two friends, Terri Rice and Richard Byrd Jr., then aged 17 and 19, respectively.

On August 13th 1976, Lucas had been drinking and abusing drugs with his friends since the early evening. That same night he got into a fight at a gas station and was seen by relatives and other witnesses who described him to be “totally out of it” by 11:15 p.m. Around this time he drove to Piper’s home in Bonita Springs. The girl had asked Rice and Byrd to stay with her for the night because she was scared of Lucas. Although they gave different accounts, Rice and Byrd testified about Lucas shooting them with a rifle. When he reached them inside the house, Lucas had already murdered  Piper, who begged for her life and sustained defensive injuries during the assault. She was shot multiple times, with a gunshot to the head being a fatal wound. Lucas was arrested the following day by Lee County Sheriff Department officers. 

Lucas was charged with the first-degree murder of Jill Piper and the first-degree attempted murder of Terri Rice and Richard Byrd Jr. He was convicted in February 1977, and sentenced to death for the killing, additionally receiving two sentences of 30 years in prison for the attempted murder charges, which were ordered to run consecutively to each other. 

On July 30th 2026, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Lucas’s death warrant. The following day, during a hearing with the circuit court, Lucas declared that he wished to waive further proceedings, noting: “I am seventy-five years old. I’ve been on death row for fifty years and I have no desire to carry this any further. The sooner it’s over, the better I’ll enjoy it. I am tired. That’s basically it.” 

A spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections  told media on the morning of the execution day that Lucas had woken up at 5:45 a.m. and that he was visited by his sister. The official added that Lucas declined to meet with a spiritual advisor and that he was served with a meal of steak, French fries, biscuits, pie, ice cream and milk.

Lucas was executed by lethal injection on September 1st 2026, at the age of 74. When asked if he had any final statement, Lucas replied “no”, and the proceeding was carried out without complications. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Mathew Horne (48), Idris Elba (54), Michael Keaton (75), Paddy Considine (53), Rose McGowan (53), Carice van Houten (50), George Lazenby (87), Michael Berryman (78), Beyoncé (45), Charlie Sheen (61), Keanu Reeves (62), Salma Hayek (60), Zendaya (30), Burn Gorman (52), Lily Tomlin (87), Steve Pemberton (59), Gloria Estefan (69), Richard Gere (77), and Chris Tucker (55).

Quite a deadly and upsetting week, the world has lost some truly amazing people last week. Unsurprisingly, as a much loved celebrity nobody listed Dolly, but because we knew Tim Curry was unwell, Laura U and Mark K score 70 points, however Shân had him down as her cert, so scores an amazing 170 points. Well done everyone! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• James Lew, 73, American stuntman (Big Trouble in Little China, Inception, Luke Cage) and actor.  
• Storm, 61, American reality television competitor (American Gladiators). 
• Tim Curry, 80, English actor and singer (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue, It). 
• Dolly Parton, 80, American singer-songwriter (“Jolene“, “I Will Always Love You“) and actress (9 to 5), eleven-time Grammy winner, cancer. 
• Peter Cullen, 85, Canadian voice actor (Transformers, Winnie the Pooh, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers). 
• Samuel Monroe Jr., 52, American actor (Menace II Society, The Players Club, Tales from the Hood), complications from meningitis.
• Yayoi Kusama, 97, Japanese contemporary artist, multiple organ failure. 
• Ratko Mladić, 84, Bosnian-Serb military officer and convicted war criminal (Bosnian genocide, siege of Sarajevo), complications from multiple strokes. 
• King Harald V, 89, Norwegian monarch (since 1991), complications from hemolytic anemia and a bloodstream infection. 
• Rukidi IV of Tooro, 34, Ugandan traditional ruler, Omukama of Tooro (since 1995), cancer. 

In Other News 

Glenn Close’s latest social media video has sparked concern among fans, with some questioning whether the 79-year-old actor is unwell. The Fatal Attraction star shared a quiet video from her home, but its timing, combined with several recent celebrity deaths, led some viewers to interpret the post as something more serious. However, there is no indication from the video that Close is seriously ill. The actor appeared to be sharing a personal moment with her followers rather than announcing a health problem. Close posted the video from her home in Montana, appearing without the heavy makeup and styling often associated with celebrity appearances. She was wearing her late mother’s shirt and spoke about enjoying the breeze and watching the sunset. She closed the video by saying she felt blessed and saying goodbye to her followers. That final “bye” particularly concerned some fans, who interpreted it as sounding unusually final. The reaction was also influenced by the recent deaths of several well-known entertainers. Dolly Parton died at 80, followed by Tim Curry at 80 and Peter Cullen at 85, according to the reports cited in the original material. The succession of celebrity deaths appears to have heightened anxiety among fans about another beloved star. There is no evidence in the video that Glenn Close is currently ill. Close previously revealed that she had contracted COVID-19 in 2024, but her latest post does not announce a new illness or serious health diagnosis. Instead, the video appears to be a simple personal update. Close spoke about being at home, wearing her mother’s shirt and enjoying the evening with her dog, Pip.

Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner has died aged 61 just one year after her son and co-star Sam was killed in a car crash. The mother-and-son duo appeared on the BBC travel show’s second series in 2020, racing across South America from Mexico City to Ushuaia in Argentina. Jo died following a ‘long and courageous battle with cancer’, her family said in a statement. ‘She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves,’ they said. ‘She was blessed with countless friends, drawn to her extraordinary magnetism. Somehow, each one felt as though they were among her very best.’ The family added: ‘To us, she was more than all of these things. She was our family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure. ‘As we grieve, we ask for privacy, but we also ask everyone who knew and loved Jo to do exactly what she would have wanted: tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full. She was one of a kind. There will never be another her.’ Sam, who appeared alongside his mum on Race Across the World, died aged 24 after losing control of his car. Jo had chosen to take part in the BBC show because she wanted to experience an adventure with Sam, who had ADHD. The pair were among five teams competing in the series, which saw contestants travel thousands of miles without flying. 

A 41-year-old man has died and at least six other people have been injured after a large sign fell in what can only be described as an Act of God at a Christian  festival in West Sussex, police have said. The man, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at the Big Church festival near Steyning on Friday afternoon. His next of kin have been told and are being supported by specialist officers, Sussex police said. The force added that at least six other people had been taken to hospital for treatment. DCS Richard McDonagh said: “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts go out to the man’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.” Anyone with any information or relevant video footage has been asked to contact police. In a post on Instagram shortly after 5.30pm, organisers told attenders that the show had been cancelled and all day visitors “must leave the site now”. Organisers later said they had decided to cancel the rest of the festival, which had been scheduled to run until Sunday. “We are devastated by the serious incident that took place at Big Church festival 2026 today, in which a sign fell, injuring at least seven people, one of whom tragically lost their life,” the festival said in an online statement. “First and foremost, all of our thoughts are with those who have been affected, their families and friends, and everyone who witnessed what happened. Following today’s incident, we have made the decision to bring Big Church festival 2026 to a close.” Officers remained at the scene on Friday night and people were advised to avoid the area. The incident has been reported to the Health and Safety Executive and local authority, Sussex police said. McDonagh added: “I recognise the immense distress this will have caused people at the festival, and we are working with a number of partners as we seek to establish exactly what happened. We know there were thousands of people at the festival and we’re urging anyone with any information, or any relevant video footage, to please come forward.”

On This Day

• 1916 – Ernest Shackleton completes the rescue of all of his men stranded on Elephant Island in Antarctica.
• 1936 – The RMS Queen Mary wins the Blue Riband by setting the fastest transatlantic crossing.
• 1963 – The Moscow–Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union goes into operation.

Deaths

• 1938 – Max Factor Sr., Polish-born American make-up artist (born 1877).
• 1979 – Jean Seberg, American actress (born 1938).
• 2003 – Charles Bronson, American actor and soldier (born 1921).
• 2015 – Wes Craven, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (born 1939).
• 2019 – Valerie Harper, American actress and writer (born 1939).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cameron Diaz (54), Michael Chiklis (63), Carla Gugino (55), Rebecca De Mornay (67), Elliott Gould (88), Lenny Henry (68), Jack Black (57), Luis Guzmán (69), Barbara Bach (80), Billy Boyd (58), Brian Thompson (67), Aaron Paul (47), Peter Stormare (73), Peter Mensah (67), Reece Shearsmith (57), Chris Pine (46), Melissa McCarthy (56), Macaulay Culkin (46), Alexander Skarsgård (50), Blake Lively (39), Tim Burton (68), Tom Skerritt (93), Joanne Whalley (65), Jared Harris (65), Rupert Grint (38), Steve Guttenberg (68), and Stephen Fry (69).

A truly shocking week, the Flying Monkeys outdid themselves. Unsurprisingly, nobody scored last week. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Hayden Panettiere, 36, American actress (Heroes, Nashville, Scream 4). 
• Frank Beard, 77, American Hall of Fame rock drummer (ZZ Top). 
• Barry Mitchell, British bassist (Queen). 
• Phyllida Law, 94, Scottish television, film and stage actress, Parkinson’s disease..
• Ray MacDonald, 49, Thai actor (Fun Bar Karaoke, Phobia 2, Opapatika). 

In Other News

Norway’s King Harald V has been admitted to hospital and is on sick leave for two weeks, the country’s royal household announced on Monday. The 89-year-old, who is one of Europe’s longest-serving monarchs, has been treated in recent weeks with cortisone for rare blood condition haemolytic anaemia. It causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced and leads to fatigue and shortness of breath. The palace said the monarch was admitted due to “fluid retention in the body that requires treatment in hospital”. It added that Crown Prince Haakon, aged 53, will serve as regent while his father is on sick leave. Norway’s royal household said in April 2024 King Harald would make a “permanent reduction” to his public engagement “out of consideration for his age”. The king ascended the Scandinavian country’s throne in January 1991 and has openly ruled out abdicating. He was taken to hospital in February on the Spanish island of Tenerife while suffering from an infection and dehydration. In 2024, the king was fitted with a pacemaker having fallen ill on holiday in Malaysia. Queen Sonja was also admitted to hospital in May this year for examinations and observation due to heart problems, the palace said. The king and queen’s health problems come after a turbulent time for the Norwegian royals. In March, Crown Princess Mette-Marit – wife of Crown Prince Haakon – told national TV that she wishes she had never met late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The crown princess had exchanged hundreds of emails with the disgraced Epstein between 2011 and 2014, and stayed in his Florida house when he was not there. “It is incredibly important for me to take responsibility for not checking his background more carefully,” she said. Three months later in June, her son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was found guilty of two counts of rape and sentenced to four years in prison.    

Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell has revealed that his cancer has returned after a donor stem cell transplant failed, forcing him to resume treatment more than a decade after his initial diagnosis. The Belfast-born musician, 62, disclosed in 2013 that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma while undergoing a six-month course of chemotherapy. After years of treatment, including stem cell therapy, immunotherapy and a donor transplant, Campbell announced he was in remission last year. However, the veteran rocker has now said he is undergoing further chemotherapy after the disease returned, marking another chapter in his 12-year battle with the blood cancer. “There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me. In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening, and I realised at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive.” He also revealed the stem cell transplant ‘failed to stick’ after it was carried out in January of last year. “So the cancer has returned, and I’m continuing treatments to manage it”, he explained. The seasoned guitarist, who began his lengthy career with rock band Sweet Savage in the 1970’s before joining heavy metal pioneers Dio in the early ’80’s, says music has helped him stay positive through the darkest moments. “I do think that that’s what helped me, even when I was at a really low ebb with cancer treatment,” he said. “The fact that I could still continue to work, that gives me something to live for. Something that you enjoy, that you’re passionate about, that you can wake up in the morning and look forward to. I think that deflects, that takes away from focusing too much on cancer.” Campbell has previously told fans he is not afraid of death, deciding to “just live his life” after being diagnosed more than a decade ago. 

Dolly Parton revealed that she is still working while battling new health challenges just days after canceling her Dollywood event. “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton told the Flying Monkeys, referring to her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who passed away in March 2025. He was 82. The Jolene singer said that she has made it through health issues in the past, noting that she was “down for several months with female issues” in the early ’80’s. “It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton said. However, she believes social media exacerbates fans’ concerns for her well-being. “I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago,” she said, adding, “I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI!” But Parton, 80, emphasised that she is “still working” despite still being in the process of healing. Since she no longer has the energy for a traditional tour, Parton said she is in the “early stages of development” with companies that create “avatar performances.” The Grammy winning artist was forced to step back from the limelight in September 2025 after suffering kidney stones. “Turns out there was an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling around this minute, so you need a few days to get better,’” Parton said in a video when she couldn’t appear in person for another Dollywood event at the time. 

On This Day

• 1973 – A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathise with their captors, leading to the term “Stockholm syndrome”. 
• 1991 – The World Wide Web is opened to the public.
• 2023 – A business jet carrying key leadership members of the Russian private military company Wagner Group crashes, killing all ten people on board.

Deaths

• 1305 – William Wallace, Scottish knight and rebel leader (born c.1270). 
• 1926 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (born 1895).
• 2005 – Brock Peters, American actor (born 1927).

Last Meals

Francis Clifford Smith was given his last meal eight times.

But after being spared execution each time, he went on to be regarded as the longest serving prisoner in the US before dying in June at 101 years old.

Convicted of murder in 1950 when he was 25, he always maintained his innocence, those who knew him told the Flying Monkeys.

Andrius Banevicius, the public information officer for Connecticut’s Department of Correction, recounted how Smith used to feed the birds while in Osborn prison, earning him the nickname The Birdman of Osborn.

“He would stuff as much bread as he could … in his clothing,” Banevicius said, adding: “Everyone kind of turned a blind eye to it because they knew he was just feeding the birds.” 

Smith was a young petty criminal when he was accused in 1949 of the murder of Grover Hart, a night watchman at a Connecticut yacht club. He was one of two men who were arrested over the killing but the other took a plea deal and gave evidence against Smith, who was later found guilty of first-degree murder.

Smith’s guilt and the evidence on which he was convicted have been questioned over the years – namely after witnesses recanted their statements and another inmate later confessed to the murder.

One of the officers who had interrogated Smith after his arrest later testified that he believed Smith was innocent.

“I’m not even sure he was present at the murder,” Major Leo Carroll announced to the Board of Pardons.

These doubts earned him a reprieve from his many scheduled executions.

In 1954, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Smith served more than 70 years behind bars – other than three short stints of freedom.

He escaped from prison in 1967 but was recaptured 12 days later. In 1974, we went home for Christmas Eve and returned the next day, Banevicius said.

Then, in 1975, he was granted parole and was out for about 10 months – but he was soon arrested for petty larceny and possession of a weapon, which was a violation of his parole.

Richard Sparaco, former executive director of what is now called the Board of Pardons and Paroles, said that Smith rejected several attempts afterwards to go back on parole until 2020, when he was granted supervised parole and moved to a care home for elderly people within the justice system.

Dr Stephanie Prost, a researcher in older adults and prison settings at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, said that most prisons have an inmate like Smith.

“We’re not the only jurisdiction that’s facing that ageing-related crisis, because similar issues are percolating in Australia and England,” she said. 

“It’s an international issue in terms of the population. Although, of course, we have a larger number of individuals in the US.”

According to a 2025 study, the number of people aged 55 and older in prison increased by nearly 400% between 1991 and 2021.

The US Census Bureau forecasts that by 2030, at least one-third of the incarcerated population will be over 50 years old.

Researchers like Prost are pushing for better solutions and what they call “smart de-carceration”, similar to Smith’s case. That could include policies such as compassionate release and elderly or medical parole.

Such programmes take age and care into consideration as elderly inmates deal with higher rates of costly medical concerns that make it difficult to function in a highly regimented prison setting, including fall risks, incontinence and hearing impairments.

But there are few facilities like the one Smith was sent to that are willing to take on convicted prisoners, experts said. 

Smith was one of the first to be cared for under the MissionCare Health scheme, which focuses specifically on providing care to incarcerated individuals. It currently has three facilities in the north-eastern US.

David Skoczulek, spokesman for 60 West – the facility where Smith lived in his final years – said that Smith passed away in his sleep there in June and was later cremated.

“Essentially, he died of old age,” he said. “He had very limited family involvement around his passing but we assured it was appropriate, met his wishes and was dignified.”

Skoczulek said that the facility’s role was to provide Smith with the skilled nursing and long-term care services he required.

Research shows that imprisonment can lead to “accelerated ageing”, and that conditions such as dementia may arrive “significantly earlier” than they would for people not in prison.

“We frequently say that a person coming from a long period of incarceration can be 60 but have the health status of a 90-year-old,” Skoczulek said.

Smith reportedly had dementia at the end of his life. Banevicius would not confirm this to us but said Smith was dealing with issues associated with old age.

“He was 101 and a half,” Banevicius said. “He did pretty well as far as longevity is concerned.” 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Ray Park (52), Charley Boorman (60), Kristen Wiig (53), Richard Armitage (55), Ty Burrell (59), Mark Williams (67), Dua Lipa (31), James Corden (48), Hayden Panettiere (37), Kim Cattrall (70), Cariad Lloyd (44), Amy Adams (52), Andrew Garfield (43), Ke Huy Quan (56), John Noble (78), Ben Barnes (45), Misha Collins (52), Joan Allen (70), Ray Wise (79), James Marsters (64), Demi Lovato (34), Sylvester McCoy (83), David Walliams (55), Jonathan Frakes (74), Jim Carter (78), Diana Muldaur (88), Ian McElhinney (78), Simon Bird (42), Madeleine Stowe (68), Edward Norton (57), Christian Slater (57), Roman Polanski (93), Robert De Niro (83), Austin Butler (35), and Sean Penn (66).

A few tragic deaths this week, alas no points. I think it may be time to send out the Flying Monkeys to reap a big name for next week! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Reggie Bannister, 80, American actor (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep, Wishmaster), complications from Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease.  
• Cheryl Hall, 76, English actress (Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Bill). 
• Ben Jones, 84, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Primary Colors) and politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, heart attack. 
• Derry Brownson, 55, English musician (EMF), brain tumour. 
• Mark Rydell, 97, American film director (On Golden Pond, The Rose, The River). 
• Jeremy Williams, 42, American convicted child rapist and killer (Murder of Kamarie Holland), execution by lethal injection. 
• Jason Arday, 41, British academic and writer (Great and Unfortunate Things: A Memoir). 
• Finlay Tarling, 19, Welsh racing cyclist, traffic collision. 

In Other News

Highlander actor Christopher Lambert suffered a medical emergency while attending the Steel City Comic-Con in Pittsburgh. At the annual convention on Saturday, the French actor, 69, was signing autographs for fans when he “suddenly collapsed,” a witness the Flying Monkeys. Lambert was then placed in an ambulance and transported to a local hospital. The Steel City Con also released a statement about the incident, saying Lambert “had to leave the event due to a personal issue.” The comic book and pop culture convention also announced that Lambert’s photo op was canceled. A rep for star told us that he is “perfectly ok” and resting in his hotel room. The spokesperson claimed that Lambert did not get enough sleep the night before the convention and hadn’t eaten much during the day, which prompted his blood sugar to drop. It’s unclear whether Lambert will attend the convention on Sunday; however, the outlet was told that he will be well enough to make his scheduled appearance at FAN EXPO in Chicago next week. Last year, Lambert suffered a health scare when he injured his back after falling down a flight of stairs at his hotel. Due to the severity of the injury, the Highlander star had to drop out of an appearance at the Swedish festival SciFiWorld last March. “As an actor, filming and promoting his films are an absolute priority and has always been, and while he has the highest respect for people organising events and fans who attend,” his reps said at the time. “Unfortunately this time he will not be able to attend the comic con,” they added.  

The Office star Lucy Davis has revealed she has been diagnosed with “incurable” stage four breast cancer. The 53-year-old actor, who is the daughter of comedian Jasper Carrott, played the role of receptionist Dawn Tinsley in the BBC’s mockumentary The Office. Her character’s will-they-won’t-they romance with Martin Freeman’s office slacker Tim Canterbury contributed to the show’s global success, becoming the blueprint for similar relationships in international versions. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Davis said she had been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer a year and a half ago but it has since “metastasised to my bones, specifically to my spine, right hip, and my ribs. The cancer is incurable, and too late for chemo,” she continued. “The initial lump that I felt, wasn’t a ‘lump’ as such; rather a kind of hard spot. Really tiny. I almost didn’t bother getting it checked. So I guess I’m saying don’t ignore anything – get everything checked out. As of now, I’m trying to live out whatever might be left of my life in as fun a way as I possibly can. I always like to find the teachable moments in anything negative that happens. And cancer has not disappointed in that regard; there’s a lot I have learned from it, and I’m grateful for that..” Davis also said that she sometimes needs to use a wheelchair as “standing and walking for too long a time can be hard” due to the pain. “If you see me toddling around in one, feel free to give me a push!” she continued. “The thing that has been most vital to me is humour. I asked my friends and family to make fun of me as much as possible (which they’re really good at, and most importantly of all to not treat me like a sick person. There’s nothing that will make you feel more unwell than being treated as if you’re unwell… I’m not scared of whatever comes next. I’m at peace with it.” Davis added that she’ll see her late dog Gracie “sooner than expected” and that leaving her “physical body just means going home”. “Any and all grieving is for my family; it’s far harder for them than for me,” she continued. “I’m still going to keep up all my work for animal rights. It’s so important to me. And I still would like to keep working. I’m perfectly able to do so, and acting is one of the biggest joys in my life… For those of you on a similar journey to mine, I do wish you well. Cancer asks a lot from us, physically and mentally. And we all get to do it however we choose… Much love to you all.” Davis, who also appeared in 2017’s Wonder Woman, shared her diagnosis alongside a video of her ringing a hospital cancer treatment bell and reciting a rhyme common in many cancer treatment centres to celebrate the end of treatment. 

Jeanne Gibson, one of the women who came to represent the enduring legacy of the Rosie the Riveter campaign during the Second World War, has died at the  age of 100. Gibson was recognised for her work as a shipyard welder during the war, helping construct United States Navy destroyers at a time when millions of women stepped into industrial jobs to support the Allied war effort. Her death marks the passing of another member of a remarkable generation whose contributions reshaped both the workforce and the role of women in American society. In 2024, Gibson and thousands of fellow women who served as Rosie the Riveter workers were collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the United States’ highest civilian honours, in recognition of their extraordinary service during the war. During the Second World War, labour shortages created by military enlistment opened opportunities for women to work in factories, shipyards and other industries traditionally dominated by men. More than six million American women answered that call, manufacturing aircraft, ships, weapons and military equipment that proved essential to the Allied victory. Gibson became one of those workers, serving as a welder in a shipyard where she helped build destroyers for the United States Navy. Welding required precision, physical endurance and technical skill, making the work both demanding and critical to wartime production. Her efforts formed part of the enormous industrial mobilisation that allowed the United States and its allies to sustain military operations across multiple fronts. 

Former gangster and Krays rival Eddie Richardson has died at the age of 90. Richardson, part of the notorious Richardson mob in Sixties London, was one of the last surviving villains of his generation. Eddie’s sister Elaine Richardson said her brother died in the Princess Royal University Hospital, Bromely, south London, having been admitted with pneumonia a few days ago. She said: “We are all very sad. He had his 90th birthday in January. Eddie was a family man and he had a lot of friends, he was very loyal to his friends. “We know he was 90 but we are all going to miss him.” Asked if Richardson had remained involved in criminality in his old age, a source said: “He was such a staunch old fella that he could have been up to something but you would never have known.” With his older brother Charlie, Eddie led the south London “Torture Gang” which feuded with the east London Kray twins more than 60 years ago. In 2015 Richardson, then 79, described the twins as “like lost sheep” in jail and added: “We never even considered them to be rivals.” He said: “They were small-timers who played up to the gangster image. They were not hard enough to take us on until we were all banged up. The Krays had watched too many US gangster films. They wanted to be like Al Capone but didn’t have the brains to do anything major league. It amazes me how much interest there is in them. They just wanted to play at being gangsters. It was all acting. There was nothing glamorous about it and by no stretch of the imagination were they ever legends.” But Eddie, who hired “Mad” Frankie Fraser as his enforcer, added: “There was no war between us, that’s a myth. The truth is they didn’t fancy us at all. The Krays didn’t dare take us on until we were all under lock and key — then they started taking liberties.” Eddie served a total of more than 23 years in jail, in two stretches, before his final release in 2002. Born in Camberwell, south London, on January 21, 1936, he used a scrap metal business and fruit machine company as fronts for a criminal empire involving drug dealing, protection and extortion rackets. But his criminal empire came crashing down on July 30, 1966, the day England won the World Cup, when the Richardson gang were rounded up during mass police raids. The following “Torture Trial” made headlines as rival criminals told how they were beaten and electrocuted. Anyone who crossed the Richardsons were said to be subjected to a kangaroo court, with Charlie presiding and then handed over to Mad Frankie for punishment. He pulled out teeth with pliers and nailed people to the floor using six-inch spikes. His specialism was torture by electrocution of the genitals.

On This Day

• 1819 – Peterloo Massacre: Seventeen people die and over 600 are injured in cavalry charges at a public meeting at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester, England.
• 1906 – The 8.2 Mw Valparaíso earthquake hits central Chile, killing 3,882 people.
• 1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachutes from a balloon over New Mexico, United States, at 102,800 feet setting three records that held until 2012: High-altitude jump, free fall, and highest speed by a human without an aircraft.

Deaths

• 1948 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (born 1895). 
• 1956 – Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-American actor (born 1882).
• 1977 – Elvis Presley, American singer and actor  (born 1935). 
• 2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan field marshal and politician, President of Uganda (born 1928).
• 2018 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter (born 1942). 
• 2019 – Peter Fonda, American actor, director, and screenwriter. (born 1940). 
• 2021 – Sean Lock, English comedian and actor (born 1963).

Last Meals

On December 13th 2021, a young girl residing in Columbus, Georgia, was found murdered in Phenix City, Alabama. On the night before her death, the 5-year-old girl, Kamarie Holland, was brought out of her home in Georgia, and taken to the abandoned house of its 37-year-old former owner, Jeremy Williams. Before this, Holland’s mother Kristy Marie Siple, who had a sexual relationship with Williams, agreed to Williams’ request to rape Holland. Siple allegedly asked Williams to pay her $2,500 in exchange for raping her daughter, but they reduced the payment to $1,300 after some negotiations, although Williams never paid Siple the reduced payment of $1,300.

After Holland was taken into Williams’s vacant house, Williams raped the girl and also engaged in sodomy and oral sex, and he personally filmed the sexual acts, and also forced the girl to consume methamphetamine. After doing so, Williams used a ligature to strangle Holland and therefore killed her by asphyxiation. Even after Holland died, Williams went on to commit further sexual assaults on her corpse and similarly filmed the necrophilic acts.

Meanwhile, on the morning after the murder, Holland was reported missing by her mother, who lied to the police that she last saw Holland before she went to sleep about midnight and awoke to find her daughter gone and the front door open. An extensive search was conducted, and on that night itself, Holland’s body was found inside the same house where Williams raped, sodomised and murdered her. The police were able to identify Williams as the prime suspect and arrested him for the murder shortly after. 

In March 2022, a Russell County grand jury formally indicted both Williams and Siple for their respective charges of murder and other offences pertaining to the rape and murder of Holland. Williams was indicted on eight charges, including four counts of capital murder for kidnapping, rape, sodomy and for killing someone under the age of 14, as well as sex trafficking (two counts), producing child pornography and abuse of a corpse. Siple was indicted on three counts of felony murder and two counts of sex trafficking.  

On June 16th 2026, the Alabama Supreme Court authorised the death warrant of Williams, and the case was forwarded to the Alabama governor Kay Ivey, who was tasked with scheduling an execution date for Williams. Two days later, Governor Ivey scheduled Williams’ execution to take place by lethal injection on August 13th 2026, with a 30-hour window during which his death warrant will remain active. 

On Thursday, 42-year-old Jeremy Williams was put to death by lethal injection at 6:16 pm in Holman Correctional Facility. When asked if he had a final statement, Williams stated, “I want to thank God for forgiving me for my sins so I can meet him in peace. Goodnight.” For his final meal, Williams requested a cheese pizza. Williams is the first condemned person put to death in Alabama in 2026, as well as the first person in the United States to be executed for a murder occurring in the 2020’s.  

Last Week’s Birthdays

Steve Carell (64), James Cameron (72), Taika Waititi (51), Madonna (68), Julie Newmar (93), Evanna Lynch (35), Jennifer Lawrence (36), Ben Affleck (54), David Zayas (64), Natasha Henstridge (52), Tony Robinson (80), Jim Dale (91), Mila Kunis (43), Steve Martin (81), Halle Berry (60), James Buckley (39), Joseph Marcell (78), Sebastian Stan (44), Cara Delevingne (34), Bruce Greenwood (70), Jim Beaver (76), Chris Hemsworth (43), Anna Gunn (58), Ian McDiarmid (82), Joe Rogan (59), Antonio Banderas (66), and Rosanna Arquette (67).

Apologies that there wasn’t an issue last week, I was myself fighting the Grim Reaper, well, maybe not that dramatic, but I was indisposed health-wise. So this means a double-bubble this week, aren’t you lucky! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Bill Oddie, 85, English wildlife presenter (Springwatch, Birding with Bill Oddie) and comedian (The Goodies).  
• William Orbit, 69, English musician, songwriter (“Feel Good Time“), and record producer (Ray of Light, 13). 
• Gunther von Hagens, 81, German anatomist, inventor of plastination, cerebral haemorrhage complicated by Parkinson’s disease.
• Ronnie Le Drew, 78, Canadian-born British puppeteer (Rainbow, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Labyrinth). 
• Sulemana Abdul Samed, 32, Ghanaian record holder, nation’s tallest man. 
• Glen Hansard, 56, Irish musician (The Frames), songwriter (“Falling Slowly“), and actor (Once), Oscar winner, traffic collision. 
• Nirmal Purja, 43, Nepalese-British mountaineer, victims of the 2026 Broad Peak avalanche. 
• James Aren Duckett, 68, American convicted child murderer and sex offender, execution by lethal injection.  
• Allan Nascimento, 34, Brazilian mixed martial artist (UFC), heart attack.
• Franco Baresi, 66, Italian footballer (AC Milan, national team), world champion (1982). 
• Vincent Pastore, 80, American actor (The Sopranos, Gotti, Shark Tale). 
• Rod Liddle, 66, British journalist (Today, The Spectator) and broadcaster. 
•  Jimmy Cricket, 80, Northern Irish comedian. 
• Jean Lodge, 99, British actress (Death of an Angel, Brandy for the Parson, Glad Tidings). 
• Peter Katsis, 69, American music manager (Backstreet Boys, Korn, Jane’s Addiction), congestive heart failure.  

In Other News

Singer Carly Simon has revealed she has been diagnosed with  Parkinson’s disease and cancer. The 83-year-old You’re So Vain singer said in a statement that her most recent absence from the spotlight has been due to her ongoing health issues. Ms Simon said: “So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease. It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly.” She added: “Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.” Ms Simon, who lives on a 25-acre Martha’s Vineyard estate in Massachusetts, said her health problems started with arthritis in both knees and one hip. She said she eventually had all three joints replaced with “delicate bouquets of metal and plastic”. The Grammy-award-winning musician said after three replacement surgeries, she assumed her struggle walking was “simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process”. She said, however, that her mobility continued to worsen. Ms Simon said: “I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm. Overstuffed furniture became my enemy. Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently, like a guest who had badly overstayed her welcome. Eventually, there were periods when I could not walk without considerable help. My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.” The star said she started treatment, including taking medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms. Describing how it affects her day-to-day life, Ms Simons said that the “apathy is particularly strange”. She said: “You can find yourself lying there like a starfish drying in the sun, arms pointing in all directions, while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, write, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all.” The artist said she had also received treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a common type of cancer that starts in the top layer of skin, on her face. She said it was removed but the surgery affected her appearance and made her more self-conscious about being seen in public. She said: “I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written You’re So Vain, and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material.” Ms Simon, who is also a children’s author, said that “between my mobility issues, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction”. Despite health issues relating to the condition, she said she has not stopped working and began recording a new album, Comes in Waves, in the middle of it all.  

A hospital intruder dressed up as the ‘Grim Reaper’ and glared at patients, a court heard. Leon Gillespie, 26, donned an all-black hooded outfit and stood overlooking the entrance to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hospital in Denbighshire, North Wales.  Luckily for me, I was at a different hospital or I might have had a fright! Four police cars and a fire crew were sent to apprehend Gillespie after he stayed on the roof for nearly an hour on Saturday. Hospital visitors were shocked at the sight of him standing motionless and brandishing what appeared to be a long blade. No explanation was given for the stunt when Gillespie appeared in front of magistrates in Llandudno. His outfit was also described in court as being a ‘crow’. Gillespie was fined £200 after pleading guilty to causing a nuisance at a hospital. A spokesman for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: ‘The health board has previously stated it has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, aggression or nuisance within its hospital sites.’ Gillespie also admitted separate offences of stealing £30 of cat food and cat litter from Pets at Home on March 26th, and food and drink from Sainsbury’s on May 28th. Both were committed in Llandudno. He was ordered to pay £50 in compensation, £100 in fines, and £100 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.  

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been rushed to hospital after his TikTok followers reported a concerning livestream. Worried viewers reportedly saw Hilton, 48, self-harm in a video streamed on the social media app on Tuesday (2nd August), following which emergency services swiftly arrived at his house in Miami. He was “safely recovered” and transported by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to a local hospital, where he is receiving medical attention. Hilton’s team shared a statement Wednesday on the blogger’s website, saying: “Many of you have reached out with concern for Perez, and we are incredibly grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers. “We can confirm that Perez is receiving medical care, and our family’s focus right now is on his well-being,” the statement continued. “We kindly ask that you respect Perez’s privacy, as well as the privacy of his family, during this difficult time. If and when we are able to share any updates, we will do so with everyone as soon as we can. Thank you for your compassion, understanding, and continued support,” the statement concluded, signed by “The Perez Hilton Team and Family.”  

Joe Amabile revealed he underwent successful brain surgery. On Thursday, August 6th, the Bachelor alum, who is widely known to fans as “Grocery Store Joe”, posted photos from his hospital bed on Instagram after having a brain tumour removed, just weeks after revealing he was diagnosed with an early-stage glioma. “They got it all!” he captioned the post. Amabile, 40, had his wife, Serena Pitt, by his side after the procedure and called her his “rock.” She later shared a health update on her Instagram Stories.  “The best update: they were able to remove the entire tumour and Joe is recovering very well,” Pitt, 28, wrote alongside a photo of her holding her husband’s hand. “We’re feeling so grateful🤍.” Ahead of the brain surgery, Amabile said that he was feeling “pretty good” and keeping a positive mindset throughout the ordeal. He also thanked his followers for their love and support. The former reality star first revealed on July 13th that doctors discovered an early-stage glioma, a slow-growing brain tumour, after getting a full-body MRI scan with Prenuvo. The Bachelor in Paradise couple said they were remaining optimistic and hoping that sharing their journey publicly can help others.

On This Day: 2nd August

• 1934 – Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany, doesn’t end well… 
• 1973 – A flash fire kills 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
• 1990 – Iraqi invasion of Kuwait: Iraq invades Kuwait and temporarily establishes the Republic of Kuwait puppet state on the orders of Saddam Hussein, eventually leading to the Gulf War.

On This Day: 9th August

• 1173 – Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa (now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa) begins; it will take two centuries to complete. 
• 1945 – World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. Thirty-five thousand people are killed outright. 
• 1969 – Followers of Charles Manson murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate. 
• 1974 – As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first president of the United States to resign from office. 

Deaths: 2nd August

• 1876 – “Wild Bill” Hickok, American sheriff (born 1837). 
• 1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish engineer, invented the telephone (born 1847). 
• 1976 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1890).

Deaths: 9th August

• 1948 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (born 1885). 
• 1996 – Frank Whittle, English soldier and engineer, invented the jet engine (born 1907). 
• 2008 – Bernie Mac, American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer (born 1957). 
• 2016 – Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster (born 1951).

Last Meals

James Aren Duckett was an American convicted child murderer, sex offender and suspected serial killer sentenced to death in Florida. Duckett, a former police officer under the Mascotte Police Department, was charged with the kidnapping, rape, and murder of 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee on May 11th 1987. Duckett was said to have abducted the girl, who was raped and later strangled, and her body was found abandoned near a lake. Apart from McAbee’s murder, Duckett was also a suspect in the 1987 unsolved murder of 14-year-old Jeanifer Shyan Weldon and 22-year-old Ronette Lynn Peterson in 1986. Duckett was convicted of McAbee’s murder and sentenced to death. 

On the night of May 11th 1987, 29-year-old James Aren Duckett first encountered 11-year-old Teresa Mae McAbee. He spotted McAbee walking out of a convenience store with a 16-year-old boy. Duckett apparently asked the convenience store clerk about the girl’s age before he approached both McAbee and the boy, questioning them before he instructed McAbee to go home. 

The boy later returned to the convenience store where he was met by an uncle, and the pair witnessed Duckett and McAbee standing near Duckett’s patrol car. According to the boy and his uncle, Duckett and McAbee entered the police car and departed the scene. It was the last time McAbee was seen alive.

A fisherman discovered McAbee’s body the following day near the shore of Knight Lake. Duckett was named as a suspect because he was the last person seen with McAbee and he was also the only police officer on duty the day of the murder. As a result, Duckett was suspended from the police force and he was fired three days later, ending his seven-month employment as a police officer.

Investigators found three key pieces of circumstantial evidence that led to Duckett’s arrest and conviction. The first was a pubic hair left at the scene of the crime that matched Duckett. DNA tests on the police car showed that the palm prints of Duckett and McAbee were on the hood of his police vehicle, and investigators matched tire tracks near the crime scene to that vehicle.

Based on this circumstantial evidence, investigators deduced that Duckett had not sent McAbee home, but instead had kidnapped the child, raped her, and strangled her. 

Five months after Teresa McAbee’s death, a Lake County grand jury formally indicted Duckett for her murder. Duckett stood trial before a Lake County jury for first-degree murder, and the prosecution confirmed they would seek the death penalty.  

On June 30th 1988, Lake County Circuit Judge Jerry Lockett sentenced Duckett to death by the electric chair. 

At 1:19 pm on July 28th 2026, 68-year-old James Aren Duckett was put to death by lethal injection in Florida State Prison. Duckett declined to make a final statement, saying “No sir” when prompted. 

Duckett received a final prison visit from four family members on the night before his scheduled execution, and on the day of his scheduled execution, Duckett woke up at 4:45am in his prison cell, and was served his last meal of eggs, grits, bacon, biscuits and chocolate milk and conversed with a spiritual adviser. 

After the execution of Duckett, the family members of Teresa McAbee, whom Duckett killed back in 1987, stated that they had suffered for decades while waiting for justice to be served, and McAbee’s mother broke down as she told the press that she waited for nearly 40 years to finally see Duckett executed, while one of McAbee’s cousins expressed she was glad to see Duckett executed, and stated that Duckett “took advantage of his badge” when he murdered her cousin. McAbee’s cousin additionally stated that Duckett got off too easy and should be executed with more pain like what McAbee suffered before her death, and it should not have taken about four decades for her aunt to witness justice

Previous Week’s Birthdays

Sam Worthington (50), Kevin Smith (56), Edward Furlong (49), Charli XCX (34), Michael Biehn (70), Wesley Snipes (64), Dean Cain (60), J.K. Rowling (61), Christopher Nolan (56), Arnold Schwarzenegger (79), Terry Crews (58), Hilary Swank (52), Laurence Fishburne (65), Lisa Kudrow (63), Jean Reno (78), Frances de la Tour (82), Carel Struycken (78), Wil Wheaton (54), Hannah Waddingham (56), Anya Chalotra (31), Elizabeth Berkley (54), Harry Kane (33), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (56), Donnie Yen (63), and Taylor Schilling (42).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Bill Skarsgård (36), Sam Elliott (82), Rhona Mitra (50), Eric Bana (58), Anna Kendrick (41), Gillian Anderson (58), Melanie Griffith (69), Audrey Tautou (50), Dustin Hoffman (90), Charlize Theron (51), Sasha Calle (31), Harold Perrineau (63), Michael Shannon (52), David Duchovny (66), Tobin Bell (84), M. Night Shyamalan (56), Michelle Yeoh (64), Geri Halliwell-Horner (54), Mark Strong (63), Billy Bob Thornton (71), Meghan Markle (45), Barack Obama (65), Lee Mack (58), Stephen Graham (53), Evangeline Lilly (47), Martin Sheen (86), John C. McGinley (67), and Mamie Gummer (43).