Suspect Admits Killing Missing Florida Girl

[Dee3]

[quote=By Mike Branom AP,

HOMOSASSA Fla. (March 18)
A registered sex offender admitted Friday that he kidnapped and killed a 9-year-old girl who disappered from her bedroom more then three weeks ago and told the police where they could find her body,authorities said.

John Evander Couey, 46 had been arrested Thursday and named a person of interest in Jessica Lunsford's dissapearance. He confessed to authorites after taking a lie-detector test,Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy

At the end of the the Polygraph he said "you don't have to tell me the results. I know what they are". Dawsy said he apologized to investigators for wasting our time.

Authorities cordoned off an area Friday near the home of Couey's half sister, who lived 150 yards from the home Jessica shared with her father and grandparents. Dawsy would not comment on what investigators were doing in the area,but said it would take hours to Police have yet to recover a body.

A sheriff spokeswoman who answerd the phone at the Lunsford home Friday evening said the family declined to make any immdiate comment. Jessica's father,Mark Lunsford,has said the family did not know Couey.

Jessica's Step-Father, Lonnie Bryant, told the Associated Press by telephone from Ohio that he and the girls mother,Angela Bryant planned to come to Florida soon.

"Im Going though agony right now."

Jessica a thrid 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 shcool were still in place ,none of her shoes were missing .


More then 100 police and volunteers,with help from bloodhounds and helicopters, searched the area north of Tampa for days following her dissapearance. Jessica's Family made emotional appeals on national televison for her safe return.

Detectives grew interested in Couey while interviewing registered sex offenders in the area. They tried to contact Couey st his home in Homosassa dive days after Jessicas disappeared and discoverd he no longer lived there.

when investigators followed up with the half sister she denied that Couey lived with her. But another confided to a detective that Couey sometimes stayed at her home.

Authorities said Couey left Florida on or about March 4 after telling relatives that police were looking for him. He was arrested in Augusta, Ga,, on a proation violation for failing to notfy officials that he was moving, a requirement for sex offenders. He was awaiting extrodition to Florida Friday.

Couey has an extensive crimanal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary carrying a concealed weapon and indecent expossure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondeling a child under the age of 16. Records don't show 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 but was parloed in 1980.]

This guy is a real dirtball, My heart goes out to the family her poor father must be devistated by the news. He was so desperate on the TV. The sad thing is I kinda saw it coming usually in these cases the kids turn up dead. It also reminds me of the Poly Klass case.

The funny thing is on the message boards people seem to bring up race and politics into this where it doesn't belong.Sometimes I wonder about our justice system how can we let dirtballs such as Couey out.

[Alex]

"Couey has an extensive crimanal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary carrying a concealed weapon and indecent expossure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondeling a child under the age of 16. Records don't show the case was resolved."
Bullshit that this guy was free with that many arrests, and look what happened because of this.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally Posted by Alex

"Couey has an extensive crimanal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary carrying a concealed weapon and indecent expossure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondeling a child under the age of 16. Records don't show the case was resolved."
Bullshit that this guy was free with that many arrests, and look what happened because of this.

You can bet if he'd had 24 drug trafficking arrests, he'd never see daylight again, but because he only did such minor things as armed burglary and sexual molestation of minor, here he is.

Fucked up legal system, all I have to say about it.

[Dee3]

I know it's discusting. I hate to think of what he did to poor Jessica and her family is going to hear every detail in court.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally Posted by Dee3

I know it's discusting. I hate to think of what he did to poor Jessica and her family is going to hear every detail in court.

Well, if he confesses, we can hope he enters a plea of guilty to at least save them that. Or maybe we'll get lucky and he'll get shivved while in custody.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by JeffreyWKramer

You can bet if he'd had 24 drug trafficking arrests, he'd never see daylight again, but because he only did such minor things as armed burglary and sexual molestation of minor, here he is.

Fucked up legal system, all I have to say about it.

Heres another question.
He was living in that neighborhood, he molested a kid.
Why the fuck didn't they know about it? I thought they had to make that information known?

[Dee3]

Originally Posted by JeffreyWKramer

Well, if he confesses, we can hope he enters a plea of guilty to at least save them that. Or maybe we'll get lucky and he'll get shivved while in custody.

Maybe, one can only hope. The poor thing was only nine years old.

[Dee3]

Originally Posted by Alex

Heres another question.
He was living in that neighborhood, he molested a kid.
Why the fuck didn't they know about it? I thought they had to make that information known?

I really don't know Alex.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally Posted by Alex

Heres another question.
He was living in that neighborhood, he molested a kid.
Why the fuck didn't they know about it? I thought they had to make that information known?

"Making it public" in many places means a little note on page 37 of the local paper, or some obscure internet posting or something. Doing things like putting up big billboards of such scumbags is seen as "unnecessarily punitive".

Fuck that. I'd be all for tattooing "sex criminal" on their foreheads in fluorescent ink.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Dee3

I really don't know Alex.

I swear to god, if this guy doesn't get death, then i will lose what little faith i have left in the courts.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally Posted by Alex

I swear to god, if this guy doesn't get death, then i will lose what little faith i have left in the courts.

If he enters a plea, he can't get death. If he's tried, he will get it. This is FL. But then he hangs around for another decade at least, like Bundy and other such slugs.

The problem is, he didn't get life without parole long, long ago.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by JeffreyWKramer

If he enters a plea, he can't get death. If he's tried, he will get it. This is FL. But then he hangs around for another decade at least, like Bundy and other such slugs.

The problem is, he didn't get life without parole long, long ago.

Then they can fix the mistake now.

[Dee3]

Then again he could always find a great Defense Attorney.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Dee3

Then again he could always find a great Defense Attorney.

Yeah, id love to see the guy who defends an admitted child murderer and lifetime criminal.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Originally Posted by Alex

Then they can fix the mistake now.

Yeah. After some 9 year old girl is raped and murdered. Better late than never, I suppose, but "not late" would have been lots better.