EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle's Jailed Father Being Compared to Hollywood's Most Notorious Movie Killers

Thomas Markle Sr., the estranged father of Meghan Markle, has been compared to terrifying Hollywood horror villains after a prison mugshot emerged following his arrest on charges involving child sexual abuse material, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The 82-year-old former television lighting director was returned to custody in Florida after allegedly removing an electronic monitoring device just days after being released on bail.

His new mugshot, showing him glaring at the camera in an orange prison uniform, has prompted comparisons with Jack Nicholson's murderous character in the 1980 horror classic The Shining – including from his son, Thomas Markle Jr., 60 – as well as other movie killers including the clown from Stephen King shocker IT.

Markle Jr. said about the image: "I couldn't believe that mugshot – my dad looks just as angry and crazy as Jack Nicholson in The Shining."

The comparison has drawn attention to the disturbing allegations surrounding the Duchess of Sussex's father, who faces one federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material.

Online comparisons with horror characters, including Pennywise from It, are also spreading across the Internet.

Markle Sr. initially appeared before a federal court in Tampa, Florida, where he was granted conditional release requiring electronic monitoring.

However, prosecutors alleged that he removed the tracking device at approximately 1:45am, prompting his return to custody.

US magistrate judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin subsequently ordered him detained pending trial after finding he had "violated the conditions of his pretrial release."

The judge also directed he should be accommodated separately from the general prison population wherever practicable.

His previous accommodation at a dementia care facility was deemed unsuitable, while authorities confirmed he had surrendered his US passport and Philippine visa.

Markle Jr. has suggested his father's alleged decision to remove the monitoring device may have been motivated by concerns about receiving adequate medical assistance.

He said: "I'm not surprised he's being accused of removing the tag because he probably realised there's no one to take care of him if he stayed at home."

Markle Jr. added: "My sister Samantha was his carer but is now in a wheelchair and he wouldn't be able to cope on his own."

The father and son relocated to the Philippines in January 2025, before Markle Sr. returned to the United States for medical treatment following a blood clot that resulted in the amputation of his left leg.

Markle Jr. reportedly alerted authorities in the Philippines and the FBI after allegedly discovering illegal images among his father's possessions in Cebu City.

Meghan, 45, who has been estranged from her father since before her marriage to Prince Harry, 42, in 2018, has described herself as "deeply distressed" by the allegations.

Markle Sr. remains in custody awaiting trial.

A source told us: "Meghan is deeply shaken by the seriousness of the allegations surrounding her father. Whatever difficulties they have experienced over the years, nothing could have prepared her for seeing his name associated with something so disturbing. There is an enormous difference between a painful family estrangement and the possibility of a parent facing allegations of this magnitude.

"The situation is particularly distressing because Meghan has spent years trying to establish a separate life for herself and her children, away from the turmoil surrounding her relationship with her father. Now she is confronting another deeply upsetting chapter in that history, with the added knowledge that the allegations involve children. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could process something like this without feeling horrified.

"Her immediate concern will naturally be protecting her family from the publicity surrounding the case, particularly her children Archie and Lilibet. They are still young, and these are exceptionally serious and sensitive allegations. Whatever happens in court, there is an understandable desire to ensure that the children are shielded from the most distressing details."

"There is also the extraordinary personal dimension of seeing someone who was once such an important figure in her childhood facing criminal proceedings. Meghan's relationship with her father has been fractured for years, but that doesn't necessarily make the emotional impact any easier. The allegations remain unproven, and there will be a legal process, but the circumstances are profoundly upsetting."