An execution date has been set for a man convicted of kidnapping — and killing — a retired professor from the parking lot of a Fort Worth grocery store in 2004.
Edward Busby, 53, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on May 14, 2026, in Huntsville. He was condemned by a Tarrant County jury in 2005 for the murder of 77-year-old Laura Lee Crane, a former Texas Christian University education professor and director of the Starpoint School, a facility for children with learning disabilities.
In a statement, the Tarrant County district attorney’s office said Crane was abducted on Jan. 30, 2004, in the parking lot of a Tom Thumb. Her head was wrapped with duct tape before she was forced into the trunk of her own car.
Using her credit cards and a blank check, the statement said Busby stole more than $775.
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Crane’s body was found days later in Davis, OK. Her cause of death was asphyxiation.
According to Crane’s obituary, she graduated from Paschal High School before receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree from Sweet Briar College, and a master of arts from TCU.
“Her entire career was devoted to children with learning disabilities and special needs,” her family wrote.
Crane was also formerly a member of the Assembly Fort Worth Woman’s Club and the Fort Worth Junior League.
Busby previously faced execution in 2020 and 2021. His 2020 date was stayed amid public health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latter was halted after Busby argued he had an intellectual disability. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals later denied him relief.
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