FORT WORTH — A Tarrant County judge has scheduled the execution of Edward Lee Busby Jr., the man sentenced to death for the 2004 kidnapping and murder of a retired Texas Christian University professor.
According to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, Criminal District Court No. 2 Judge William Knight signed an order setting Busby’s execution for Thursday, May 14, 2026. Busby, now 53, is currently housed on death row at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Polunsky Unit in Livingston.
Busby was convicted of capital murder for the death of 77-year-old Laura Lee Crane, a retired TCU professor who was abducted from a Tom Thumb grocery store parking lot at Hulen Street and Bellaire Drive in southwest Fort Worth on January 30, 2004.
Investigators said Crane was forced into the trunk of her car after her head was wrapped in duct tape, covering her nose and mouth. She was robbed of her credit cards and a blank check, which Busby later used to steal more than $775. Crane’s body was discovered several days later in Davis, Oklahoma. An autopsy determined she died from asphyxiation.
A Tarrant County jury found Busby guilty and sentenced him to death in 2005. His execution date has been delayed multiple times over the years due to legal challenges and procedural issues.
In May 2020, the execution was postponed amid widespread court disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Busby’s attorneys sought another delay, arguing that he was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. That claim was ultimately denied by the courts.
Court records show Busby had an extensive criminal history prior to Crane’s murder. He was convicted in 1997 for drug dealing in Potter County, again in 1998 for possession of a controlled substance in Potter County, and in 2000 for robbery with bodily injury in Tarrant County.
Another suspect in the kidnapping and killing, Kathleen “Kitty” Latimer, is also serving time. Latimer, now 61, was convicted for her role in the crime and is serving a life sentence at the Carol Young Medical Facility, a women’s prison in Dickinson, Texas. Prosecutors said both Busby and Latimer were regular crack cocaine users at the time of the offense.
With the execution date now set, Busby remains on death row as the case moves into its final phase, pending any additional appeals or court action.
