The Brief
- An execution date has been set for Edward Lee Busby Jr., 53, who was convicted of the 2004 murder of retired TCU professor Laura Lee Crane.
- Busby is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, May 14, 2026, for the capital murder conviction.
- Prosecutors said Busby robbed the victim of over $775, then abducted her and drove her to Oklahoma, where she died of asphyxiation.
TARRANT COUNTY, Texas – An execution date has been set for a man convicted of robbing and suffocating a retired TCU professor, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office. Edward Lee Busby Jr., 53, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Retired TCU professor murdered
The backstory:
Busby was convicted in 2005 of killing Laura Lee Crane, 77, after abducting her from a Fort Worth grocery store parking lot in January 2004. Investigators believe she was a random target and that robbery was the motive.
During the trial in 2005, prosecutors said Busby and his companion used Crane’s credit cards and a blank check to rob her of more than $775 before driving Crane’s car to Oklahoma with her in the trunk. …