March 19, 200521 yr http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150890,00.html Cops: Couey Admits to Killing Jessica Lunsford Friday, March 18, 2005 HOMOSASSA, Fla.? ? A registered sex offender has admitted kidnapping a 9-year-old Florida girl from her bedroom last month and killing her, authorities said Friday. "I've got my man," Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy (search) told a news conference. Dawsy said John Evander Couey (search) confessed to investigators after taking a lie-detector test. The sheriff said Jessica Lunsford's (search) body had not been found, but Couey gave them a general area to search. Authorities cordoned off an area Friday near the home of Couey's half-sister, who lived about 150 yards from the home Jessica shared with her father and grandparents. Investigators said Couey sometimes stayed at the home, but Jessica's father said he had never met him. Couey, 46, had been named as a "person of interest" in the case but was not initially charged. He was arrested in Augusta, Ga., on Thursday on a probation violation for failing to notify officials that he was moving, a requirement for sex offenders. Authorities said Couey left Florida on or about March 4, about a week after the girl's disappearance, after telling relatives that police would be looking for him. Jessica, a third grader, was last seen when she went to bed Feb. 23 in the home where she lived with her father and grandparents. She was discovered missing the next morning, with an unlocked door and a missing stuffed animal serving as evidence of her disappearance. Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and indecent exposure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. Records don't show how the case was resolved. During a house burglary in 1978, Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth and kissing her, Dawsy said. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled in 1980. Sad story . Give this bastard the chair and I wouldn't be bothered in the least....
March 19, 200521 yr Author Didn't we retire ol' sparky? 714522[/snapback] Probably :lol I'm not quite a political expert here, just not a big fan of child's killers if you didn't notice.
March 19, 200521 yr I say throw him in jail with Bill Kamal. Bill is buff enough to have his way, and we all know what his way is.
March 19, 200521 yr I say throw him in jail with Bill Kamal. Bill is buff enough to have his way, and we all know what his way is. 714528[/snapback] lol
March 19, 200521 yr Didn't we retire ol' sparky? 714522[/snapback] yea, but we still have the lethal injection.
March 19, 200521 yr Even if he doesnt get executed, we all know child molesters arent very popular in maximum security prison. This guy has gonna get ass raped real badly.
March 19, 200521 yr 9 year-old girl..... that sick a**hole. The girl's father seemed so hopeful too...
March 19, 200521 yr 9 year-old girl..... that sick a**hole. The girl's father seemed so hopeful too... 714913[/snapback] I know. God, I feel horrible for him.
March 19, 200521 yr Tough news. Makes you wonder why these kind of things happen...there are some messed up people out there.
March 19, 200521 yr Author Update: They have now found her body. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...us/missing_girl Fla. Police Discover Missing Girl's Body By MIKE BRANOM, Associated Press Writer HOMOSASSA, Fla. - The body of missing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford was found early Saturday, a day after officials said a registered sex offender confessed to kidnapping and killing the girl. Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said Jessica's body was found during an overnight search in a densely wooded area, only about 150 yards from the home the girl shared with her father and grandparents. Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, visited the search scene shortly after sunrise and later gave a brief, emotional statement to reporters. "Everyone heard me say, time after time, that she would be home," Lunsford said, his eyes hidden behind dark black sunglasses. "She's home now." John Evander Couey, 46, confessed to kidnapping and killing Jessica after taking a lie-detector test Friday in Georgia, Dawsy said. She disappeared from her bedroom more than three weeks ago. "We're en route to bring him back home," said Dawsy, who added that he wants Couey to face the death penalty. "He's truly a piece of trash." Dawsy said Couey's half-sister and two other people were charged with obstruction for failing to notify police when Couey allegedly told them he had committed a crime. A fourth, the sheriff said, was picked up for questioning in the case but was charged only with failure to pay child support in an unrelated matter. Dawsy called the four "a bunch of druggies" and said he would urge prosecutors not to allow them to plea-bargain for reduced sentences. The three charged with obstruction were identified as Dorothy Dixon, 47, Couey's half-sister; Madie Secord, 27; and Matthew Dittrich, 31. All apparently lived in the home near the site where the little girl's body was found. The sheriff declined to describe their exact relationship with Couey, but he has previously said that a relative paid for a bus ticket for Couey to leave Florida and that the suspect had told other people he expected the police would be looking for him. Mark Lunsford has said the family did not know Couey, who was arrested Thursday. Crews worked through the night to search for Jessica's body in temperatures that dipped into the low 40s. Bright search lights were erected around the perimeter, and several candles left from a late-night vigil burned nearby. A stream of official vehicles came and went throughout the pre-dawn hours, and a state mobile forensics unit left the scene about 3:30 a.m. ? about the time Jessica's body was found and taken to nearby Leesburg for examination. At a news conference late Friday from Ohio, the girl's mother, Angela Bryant, repeatedly made the same vow: Couey, she said, "will pay." "This man's hurt too many people," she said through tears. "He's hurt too many children. And one of them is my daughter. He took her life from her and she didn't deserve it. He will pay. He will pay. For hurting them children out there and my daughter, he will pay." Bryant received word Saturday morning that Jessica's body was found, said Angela Broughton, Angela Bryant's sister-in-law. "She just broke down again and started crying and wondering why somebody could so something like that to her baby," Broughton said. Angela Bryant and her husband Lonnie will attend a benefit Saturday evening at a church in Lebanon, Ohio, and will drive to Florida on Sunday, Broughton said. Jessica, a third grader, was last seen when she went to bed in her home Feb. 23. She was discovered missing the next morning, with the door unlocked and her stuffed animal gone. The clothes she had laid out for school were still in place, and her shoes weren't missing. More than 100 police and volunteers, with help from bloodhounds and helicopters, searched the area about 60 miles north of Tampa for days following her disappearance. Jessica's family made emotional appeals on national television for her safe return. Detectives grew interested in Couey while interviewing all registered sex offenders in the area. They tried to contact Couey at his home in Homosassa five days after Jessica disappeared and discovered he no longer lived there. When investigators followed up with the half-sister, she denied that Couey had lived with her. But another relative confided to a detective that Couey sometimes stayed at the home. Authorities said Couey left Florida on or about March 4 after telling relatives that police would be looking for him. He was arrested in Augusta, Ga., on a probation violation for failing to notify officials that he was moving, a requirement for sex offenders. He was awaiting extradition to Florida on Friday. Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and indecent exposure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. Records don't show how the case was resolved. During a house burglary in 1978, Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth and kissing her, Dawsy said. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled in 1980.
March 21, 200521 yr Author Yeah, and now it's been proven the poor girl was sexually assualted . http://www.abcactionnews.com/stories/2005/...21missing.shtml New details emerge about Jessica Lunsford's abduction, murder an ABC Action News report 03/21/05 previous story: Four more arrests as missing girl's body found (3/19/05) HOMOSASSA - As Jessica Lunsford's family continues to mourn her death, they are beginning to take steps in an effort to prevent a similar crime from happening again. Over the weekend, more details about the 9-year-old's kidnapping and murder were revealed after her body was found and additional arrests were made. Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy had some choice words regarding John Couey (right), the sex offender who reportedly confessed on Friday to abducting and killing the girl. "This guy is not a quality person, by any means," Dawsy said. "He's truly a piece of trash." Mark Lunsford, the murdered girl's father, echoed those sentiments on Sunday. "I need everybody's support in pushing the death penalty upon this man," Lunsford said, his voice cracking. "He is scum. And anybody that acts like him or even resembles him is scum, and you do not deserve to be among us." To that end, the Lunsfords have joined other community members in starting a petition for tougher penalties for sex offenders like John Couey. Mark Lunsford says he hopes the man who killed his daughter 'rots in Hell.'? "We have to make some changes. This is too close to home. All the parents out there, everybody that's listening, we need to write our congressmen and we need to make some changes, people. This does not need to happen again," Lunsford continued. Couey was driven back to Florida from Georgia over the weekend after being arrested in Augusta late last week. When asked by Action News reporter Don Germaise if he had any comment, the 46-year-old remained silent. He remained behind bars with no bond Monday, facing charges of violation of probation and failure to notify police that he was moving -- a requirement of his status as a convicted sex offender. Couey could be charged in connection with Jessica's death later today or tomorrow. Jessica was last seen the night of February 23, when she was tucked in by her grandmother. When her father returned home early the next morning, his daughter had disappeared with seemingly no trace. With the discovery of the body on Saturday, investigators were able to confirm that Jessica was sexually assaulted before she was killed. Detectives believe that Couey entered the Lunsfords' Homosassa home through an unlocked door, headed into Jessica's room, and abducted her. John Couey is returned to Citrus County in handcuffs and a bulletproof vest.? Anything more detailed than that will be difficult to ascertain because investigators say that Couey was high on drugs at the time of the crime. Several other people -- whom Dawsy termed "druggies" -- were arrested over the weekend in connection with the case. The arrests included Couey's half-sister, who owned the trailer near the Lunsfords' where Couey allegedly hid the girl's body. Detectives say Dorothy Dixon initially lied to them about Couey's living arrangements and location during their investigation. Her daughter, Madie Secord, and boyfriend, Matthew Dittrich, were charged with obstruction of justice in the case for allegedly lying to investigators, along with Dixon herself. Related link: Jessica's petition: jessicaspetition.r8.org How ANYBODY could think this guy doesn't deserve the death penalty is beyond me.
March 21, 200521 yr Some folks think we have no right to take another person's life, no matter what. Seems legit to me. Some people also think that life in prison is a worse thing than the death penalty. Seems legit to me also. I still don't know how I'd feel, but personally I want the f***er dead.
March 21, 200521 yr absolutely ridiculous ... the scumbag has a history of breaking into homes and being a sex offender it seems like after the 20th conviction, they may of thought he wasn't a good guy to put back into a neighborhood feel really bad for the family ... rape and murder a 3rd grader?!?!
March 23, 200521 yr Some folks think we have no right to take another person's life, no matter what. Seems legit to me. Some people also think that life in prison is a worse thing than the death penalty. Seems legit to me also. I still don't know how I'd feel, but personally I want the f***er dead. 716800[/snapback] Letting innocent women starve to death is ok, killing murderers isnt
March 23, 200521 yr Some folks think we have no right to take another person's life, no matter what. Seems legit to me. Some people also think that life in prison is a worse thing than the death penalty. Seems legit to me also. I still don't know how I'd feel, but personally I want the f***er dead. 716800[/snapback] Letting innocent women starve to death is ok, killing murderers isnt 718815[/snapback] Oh come now, its a completely different situation. Terri Shchivo is practically a vegitable, her soul is trapped in her body. This f***er's soul needs to rot in hell for all of eternity.
March 24, 200521 yr 8 x 10 jail cell. bread and water. life. and be done with it. 718896[/snapback] Is he going to jail in mexico? In the U.S. they get much more than just bread and water. Humans have an innate will to live. He's better off in jail than dead.
March 24, 200521 yr 8 x 10 jail cell. bread and water. life. and be done with it. 718896[/snapback] Is he going to jail in mexico? In the U.S. they get much more than just bread and water. Humans have an innate will to live. He's better off in jail than dead. 719029[/snapback] that would be a deterrant to crime. that is what jail ultimately should be. this bulls*** about rehabbing criminals is just that. whats the point if they are in jail for life with no parole...rehabbing them for what?
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