John Couey
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John Evander Couey (born September 19, 1958), is a convicted murderer from Florida, USA who kidnapped, raped, and murdered nine-year old Jessica Lunsford in February 2005. The disappearance of Jessica, and Couey's subsequent confession and trial, received extensive media coverage. A jury recommended that he be put to death.
Past crimes
Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and indecent exposure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. 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. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled in 1980.
Abduction, rape, and murder of Lunsford
On 27 February 2005, Jessica Lunsford disappeared after attending church. Couey later states that he entered Jessica's house through an unlocked door at about 3 a.m. He awoke Jessica, told her "Don't yell or nothing" and told her to follow him out of the house.[1]
Couey occupied a trailer along with two women, 100 yards away, at the time of Jessica's abduction.[2] He admitted in his videotaped and recorded deposition to sexually assaulting Jessica in his bedroom.[3] She was kept in his bed that evening, where he raped her again in the morning. Couey put her in his closet and ordered her to remain there, which she did as he reported for work at "Billy's Truck Lot".[1] Three days after he abducted her, Couey bound the child's wrists together with speaker wire, placed her in a garbage bag, placed the bag containing her inside another garbage bag, and buried her alive in a shallow grave, where she suffocated to death.
On March 19, 2005, police found Jessica's body at a residence located on West Sparrow Court, buried in a hole approximately 2 1/2' deep and 2' circular, covered with leaves. The body was removed from the ground and transported to the coroner's office. Her body had undergone "moderate" to "severe" decomposition and according to the publicly released autopsy reports was skeletonized on 2 fingers that Jessica had poked through the bags before suffocating to death. The coroner ruled that death would have happened even in best circumstances within 2-3 minutes from lack of oxygen.
Criminal proceedings
On March 7, 2007, Couey was found guilty in Florida of all charges in relation to Jessica's death, including first degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, and sexual battery. The jury deliberated for four hours. Now the jury will recommend either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, the only two possible sentences available under Florida law. On Thursday March 14th, 2007 a jury recommended Couey be put to death by a vote of 10-2.
The trial was moved to Miami after officials were unable to seat an impartial jury in Citrus County where the trial was first scheduled to be held.[4]
References
- ^ a b Bruno, Anthony. Jessica Lunsford: Death of a 9 year old", CourtTV CrimeLibrary
- ^ "Drifter says he held girl three days", CNN.com, 24 June 2005
- ^ Partial transcript of Video Confession of Couey, CNN.com
- ^ Nesmith, Susannah A. "Wanted: Fair Jury...", pages 1A, 19A, The Miami Herald, 2007-02-11.
External links
- Court TV portal site with information detailing the trial of John Couey.
- CNN article "Search under way for girl's body"
- Tampa Tribune portal site with information concerning the Couey Trial including the history, trial, timeline, photo gallery from TBO.com
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