Thomas Markle Sr. Moved Into Care Home for Dementia Patients — Sparking Fears FBI's Probe into Child Abuse Allegations May Falter

Thomas Markle Sr. has moved into a care home specializing in "memory care" amid an investigation into his alleged child abuse, according to new claims.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the 82-year-old has been staying at a rehab center in Florida since May recovering from having his lower leg amputated, but has now been transferred to a new facility.

It has now emerged Meghan Markle's estranged father has been diagnosed with dementia after his son, Thomas Markle Jr., told police he had found a stash of indecent images of children among his father's belongings in the Philippines, where the pair had lived until former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Sr. returned to the U.S. after his amputation.

However, the care home move has sparked fears the FBI probe into the alleged images may be scuppered, as agents will face legal barriers in their bid to question him in a retirement community geared towards memory-loss patients.

Spencer Kuvin, a Florida-based lawyer who represents several victims of late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, told The Sun: "You can't just barge into a memory care facility and conduct an interview.

"Any decent lawyer would be able to get that interview struck and the FBI know that."

Prosecutors in the Philippines said that Markle would face the "full extent of the law" if found guilty of possessing the child abuse images.

Those convicted of the crime can face 12 years in jail.

The latest development in the case comes after RadarOnline.com revealed Meghan faces fresh questions about when she learned of allegations against her father, why police did not alert overseas authorities, and what investigators in the Philippines might uncover.

The Duchess of Sussex, 45, said last week she received correspondence in 2018 detailing disturbing claims about Thomas Sr, who denies any wrongdoing.

But London's Metropolitan Police subsequently identified January 2019 as the date it received the letter.

The central question is when Meghan first saw the allegations and what she was told about their credibility.

The author of the letter was Roslyn Loveless, Markle Sr.'s first wife, who died in 2024. Another unresolved issue is why the Duchess initially cited 2018.

Police records place receipt of the correspondence in January 2019.

Questions also surround the palace's knowledge.

It's been reported that information reached Meghan and Prince Harry, 42, in early 2019, but apparently was not circulated throughout the royal household.

Scotland Yard has acknowledged the allegations concerned conduct outside Britain and that it neither opened an investigation nor forwarded the letter to foreign authorities.

The force is reviewing its response and considering whether the Independent Office for Police Conduct should examine its handling.

Meghan's public descriptions of her father have prompted further scrutiny. In the couple's 2022 Netflix documentary, she recalled their once-close relationship.

She said: "I was a daddy's girl all my life."

The statement was retrospective and does not establish what she knew at the time. Meghan has said concerns about the allegations influenced her decision to keep her children away from their grandfather.

Observers say the timing matters because the couple's relationship with Markle Sr. deteriorated around their May 2018 wedding, after he arranged staged paparazzi photographs.

He missed the ceremony and later spoke repeatedly to the press about the estrangement. Meghan wrote to Markle Sr last December following his leg amputation in the Philippines.

Attention now turns to investigators examining devices and other possessions reportedly surrendered by Markle Jr. in Cebu.

Authorities must determine whether any illegal material exists, who was responsible for it, and whether evidence supports criminal charges.

Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla Jr. said "All signs point to a possible s-x offender of the grossest kind."