Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother has publicly apologised to the Duchess after allegedly discovering and surrendering a stash of child abuse material linked to their ailing father, Thomas Markle Snr, who denies the claims.
Thomas Markle Jnr, a 60-year-old window fitter, had been acting as a carer for his father in the Philippines. He now claims to have handed four boxes of material to police in Cebu City, following the discovery of hundreds, if not thousands, of depraved images and videos across phones, drives and DVDs.
Emotional apology to the Duchess
Issuing an emotional plea, Thomas Jnr told The Sun on Sunday: "I'm so, so sorry Meghan. I now know I have been protecting the wrong person for the past nine years. Having seen what I have seen, I believe the man I've been defending and caring for is a monster."
He added: "I now know exactly why you don't talk to him any more and why you won't let him meet Harry or his grandchildren. And I'm ashamed that I spent years taking his side when you fell out with him."
Thomas Jnr had spent years trolling Meghan online, even donning a frock and wig on YouTube to mock her following her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
Discovery of the material
The grim find emerged after 82-year-old Markle Snr suffered severe health woes, including a leg amputation, and was flown back to the United States for medical treatment. Thomas Jnr was boxing up his dad's belongings in storage when he began checking devices for a mobile phone.
Instead, he claims he discovered images and videos showing victims as young as ten. Recalling the moment, he said: "It was my dad's phone with my number and my sister's number in the contacts list - but it was contaminated with the worst images I had ever seen."
After local IT experts helped unlock hard drives, Thomas Jnr described the experience as stepping through the "gates of hell." One drive reportedly contained Markle Snr's Hollywood resume alongside a saved video clip of Meghan giving a speech at the United Nations. Stashed film negatives allegedly showing young girls also spilled from an old photography book.
Family rift and investigation
Thomas Jnr remembered padlocked, out-of-bounds rooms in every home they shared growing up, claiming his dad would "go absolutely crazy" if anyone went near his computer. Now cutting all ties, he said: "He's not a well man, he's 82, he lost a leg and he's living in a medical facility so he may not live much longer. But as far as I'm concerned, he's already dead to me and I won't be doing any mourning."
Following the revelations, Meghan revealed through sources that she had been alerted to "troubling" allegations regarding her father shortly after her wedding. Cebu's Women and Children's Protection Centre has launched a formal probe, while the FBI has received a full dossier. Thomas Snr, currently in a Florida rehab centre, denies all the claims.
