Meghan Markle’s Father Thomas Markle Faces New Twist as Judge Orders Mental Fitness Evaluation
Thomas Markle was arrested last week, and the new update might complicate matters.
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of child abuse that some readers may find distressing.
Last week, Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, was arrested at a care home in Florida. In a sense, it would have been a path to much-needed closure after the disturbing allegations made against him. However, a recent update in his ongoing case has further complicated matters.
Judge Lindsay Griffin has ordered a psychiatric exam for Thomas, citing his "health condition," "advanced age" and "lack of recall" in an order issued on Friday. Further details were not provided. Griffith found “reasonable cause to believe” that he was suffering from a condition “rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense”.
The news came as Markle and Prince Harry traveled to Brussels on Tuesday to open the Lost Screen Memorial in the European Parliament. Initially, the couple was to give a rare joint keynote address. However, following her father’s controversy, the Duchess of Sussex pulled out of the speech. A source claimed that she was “not strong enough” yet. However, she has accompanied her husband on their first international joint outing since returning to the UK, though personal drama may have overshadowed it.
Thomas was arrested after his son found illicit images in his former Philippines home and reached out to the police. The FBI had also taken an interest in the case. The Justice Department stated that Thomas allegedly "kept child s*xual abuse material (CSAM), including s*xually explicit photographs of himself with prepubescent girls, in two Los Angeles-area storage units he rented for nearly two decades." The first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, called the allegations “extremely serious” and said authorities would prosecute Thomas to “the fullest extent of federal law.”
However, with a psychiatric exam now in play, the scandal could intensify further. Thomas has denied all the allegations, calling them “sick lies”. His son, who initially discovered the troubling images, was named a person of interest in the investigation by Philippine authorities. However, he is not yet a suspect.
The Duchess is certainly deeply disturbed by the entire ordeal. The scandal also exposed Met Police’s mishandling of the 2019 letter detailing the accusations against Thomas.
If you know of any children who are being subjected to abuse, please contact The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at (800) 422-4453
