Philippine Police Obtain Warrant to Search Thomas Markle's Seized Devices in Abuse Image Probe
Photo: New York PostPolice in Cebu, the Philippines, have obtained a court warrant to examine digital devices seized from the former home of Thomas Markle Sr., the 82-year-old father of the Duchess of Sussex, in an investigation into alleged child sexual abuse images, the BBC reported on Thursday, 29 October 2026. Four boxes of material, including computers, phones, hard drives and old videotapes, were handed to police last week by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., and officers needed a warrant before examining them. Markle Jr. says he found hundreds of images while looking for a phone in July, after his father had returned to the US for medical treatment, and reported them to the FBI and Cebu police. Markle Sr., now in a rehabilitation centre in Florida, has denied the allegations, calling them "sick lies". Cebu Regional Prosecutor Graeme Elmido told the BBC that Markle Jr. was adamant the case be investigated. The Sun on Sunday reported that Markle Sr.'s late ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, sent the Metropolitan Police a letter about 2019 allegations. The BBC understands the Duchess cut contact with her father last year.
Right-leaning outlets split in depth. The New York Post gives a short item built on the BBC report, labelling the news "reportedly" and focusing on the warrant and the child pornography probe. The Daily Mail, by contrast, leads with the warrant but spends most of its text on Markle Jr.'s account: the boxes, the video, the screensaver, descriptions of the images, and Markle Sr.'s denial about a photograph. Its headline stresses the alleged abuse images. The alternative source, BBC News, differs by adding Prosecutor Elmido, the Loveless letter and the Duchess's estrangement, and by giving less graphic detail. All three agree on the warrant, the age and the denial. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative outlets had.
How the sides differ Right sources stress the alleged material and Markle Jr.'s account in detail, or briefly relay the BBC report; alternative source adds the prosecutor and Loveless letter; left has not covered it.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
Not covering this story. None of the left-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.
BBC News leads with the warrant, citing Cebu prosecutor Graeme Elmido, Markle's denial and the Loveless letter to the Metropolitan Police, and notes the Duchess's estrangement from her father.
The New York Post briefly relays the BBC's warrant report, while the Daily Mail details Thomas Markle Jr.'s claims about the images and boxes, with Markle Sr.'s denial of a photograph.