Fake News: Pedophile's Decapitated Corpse NOT Found On Judge's Doorstep After Bail Hearing

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fake News: Pedophile's Decapitated Corpse NOT Found On Judge's Doorstep After Bail Hearing

Was a pedophile's decapitated corpse found on a judge's doorstep after a bail hearing? No, this is not true. In fact, it is an old recycled hoax apparently inspired by a real decapitation murder in Mississippi in June 2017. The image used in the story was taken from a local TV station website's report on the discovery of the headless body of Jeremy Jerome Jackson on the doorstep of someone who is not a judge. There is no indication that Jackson was ever accused of being a pedophile.

Despite being a recycled hoax, it is getting lots of sharing action on social platforms as measured by our Trendolizer tools. This newest version is a direct rip-off of an earlier hoax published by another well-known fake news publisher in September 2017.

The story originated from an article published on September 1, 2018 titled "Pedophile's Decapitated Corpse Found On Judge's Doorstep After Bail Hearing - cvikasdrv.com" (archived here) which opened:

The decapitated corpse that was found on a judge's doorstep in Dallas, Texas has been identified as belonging to a notorious pedophile who was recently allowed to walk free on bail by the judge, according to reports.

William Smith, 28, from Dallas, Texas was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday morning, decapitated and slumped against the front door of the judge who had granted him bail in August.

Smith was arrested last month following allegations by his then girlfriend that he had raped her 8-year-old daughter.

After a police investigation in which Smith was found in possession of child pornography, he was arrested on two counts related to child pornography and one count of child molestation.

Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:

Pedophile's Decapitated Corpse Found On Judge's Doorstep After Bail Hearing - cvikasdrv.com

The decapitated corpse that was found on a judge's doorstep in Dallas, Texas has been identified as belonging to a

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  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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