Jessica Marie Lunsford (October 6, 1995 – February 24, 2005) was an American nine-year-old girl from
Homosassa, Florida
Homosassa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,578 at the 2010 census.
History
Homosassa is derived from a Seminole Indian name meaning either "river of fishes" or "pepper ridge".
In ...
, who was murdered in February 2005. Lunsford was
abducted from her home in the early morning of February 24, 2005, by John Couey, a 46-year-old convicted
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
who lived nearby. Couey held her captive over the weekend, during which she was
raped
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...
and later murdered by being
buried alive
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive.
Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of t ...
. The media extensively covered the investigation and trial of Couey.
Jessica Lunsford's murder influenced the introduction of legislation in Florida known as
Jessica's Law
Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law, as well as laws in several other states, designed to protect potential victims and reduce a sexual offender's ability to re-offend. A version of Jessica's Law, known as the Jessica ...
, designed to protect potential victims and reduce a sexual offender's ability to re-offend, which has since influenced similar legislation in 42 other states.
On August 24, 2007, a judge in
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
convicted Couey for the
kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
,
sexual battery
Battery is a criminal Offence (law), offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact.
Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more general ...
, and
first degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
of Lunsford, and sentenced him to
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
. However, Couey died of
natural causes
In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
in 2009, before his sentence could be carried out.
Investigation
Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford disappeared in the night on February 24, 2005, from her home in
Homosassa, Florida
Homosassa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,578 at the 2010 census.
History
Homosassa is derived from a Seminole Indian name meaning either "river of fishes" or "pepper ridge".
In ...
. After approximately three weeks of intense searching for her around the area of her home, John Evander Couey was arrested in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, for an outstanding warrant of
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
possession, but was released after questioning because it was only a local warrant. Couey was a 46-year-old long-time resident of Homosassa with an extensive
criminal record
A criminal record, police record, or colloquially RAP sheet (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) is a record of a person's criminal history. The information included in a criminal record and the existence of a criminal record varies between coun ...
, listing dozens of arrests for
burglary
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
and was a convicted child
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
. Due to the laws at the time, Couey received only short sentences and was not monitored after release, despite his record of being an experienced
trespasser
In the law of tort, property, and criminal law a trespasser is a person who commits the act of trespassing on a property, that is, without the permission of the owner. Being present on land as a trespasser thereto creates liability in the tr ...
and his repeated sexual offenses against children.
On March 12, Couey was arrested in
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
, at the request of the
Citrus County
Citrus County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 153,843. Its county seat is Inverness, and its largest community is Homosassa Springs.
Citrus County compris ...
Sheriff's Office, for questioning about Jessica Lunsford's disappearance due to his residence on West Snowbird Court in Homosassa, only 65 yards from the Lunsford's home, and his criminal record. Couey stated he did not have anything to do with the nine-year-old's disappearance and had moved to Georgia to find a job, only knowing about it from the television news. He was released from police custody after being interviewed.
On March 14, Couey's half-sister Dorothy Dixon gave permission to police to search her trailer at West Snowbird Court in Homosassa. Couey had lived at the West Snowbird Court residence with Dixon, her boyfriend Matt Dittrich, her daughter and son–in-law, Madie and Gene Secord, and her two-year-old grandson, Joshua. During the search a blood-stained
mattress
A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a lying person. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, conta ...
and pillows were found in Couey's
closet
A closet (especially in North American usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closet ...
in his room, and forensic analysis discovered both Couey's and Lunsford's
DNA on the mattress.
On March 17, Couey was arrested and charged with the murder of Jessica Lunsford, and transported to the Citrus County jail in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
Couey's confession
![John_Couey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/John_Couey.jpg)
On March 18, 2005, Couey made an audio-recorded and videotaped
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
to having
kidnapped
Kidnapped may refer to:
* subject to the crime of kidnapping
Literature
* ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
* ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
d and
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
ed Lunsford.
In his confession, Couey said that he had previously seen Lunsford playing in her yard and thought she was "about six years old". On the night of the abduction, Couey had intended to just burglarize the Lunsfords' home, but saw Jessica and "acted on impulse and he took her". He entered Lunsford's house at about three o'clock in the morning through an unlocked door, awakened Lunsford, told her "Don't yell or nothing", and told her to follow him out of the house.
[Bruno, Anthony]
Jessica Lunsford: Death of a 9 year old"
, CourtTV CrimeLibrary At the time, he occupied a trailer along with two women, about away.
CNN.com, June 24, 2005 Couey admitted to
raping
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...
Lunsford in his bedroom, keeping her in his bed that evening, and raping her again in the morning. Couey put her in his closet and ordered her to remain there as he reported for work at "Billy's Truck Lot", which she did.
Three days after he abducted her, Couey tricked Jessica into getting into two garbage bags by saying he was going to "take her home". He instead
buried her alive as he decided he could do nothing else with the girl.
Discovery of Lunsford's body
On March 19, police found nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford's body at the residence on West Snowbird Court in Homosassa, buried in a
plastic bag
A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, c ...
in a hole approximately deep and circular, covered with leaves. Lunsford's body was removed from the ground and transported to the coroner's office, where it was recorded to have undergone "moderate" to "severe" decomposition. According to the publicly released
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
reports, Lunsford had poked two fingers through the bags before
suffocating to death, and the fingers had
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
ized. The coroner ruled that death would have happened even in best circumstances within 2–3 minutes from lack of
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
.
After the discovery of Lunsford's body at the residence, Dixon stated that a week earlier she had given Couey money for a bus ticket, and that he had telephoned her to say he had moved to
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
. Additionally, Dixon and the other residents of the trailer claimed to have never seen Lunsford at the home or noticed anything strange from Couey's room, which had not been used since he was last there.
On June 30, 2006, a judge ruled that Couey's confession was inadmissible in court because when it was recorded police had not granted Couey's requests for a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
, thereby rendering the confession invalid and unreliable under the
Fifth and
Sixth Amendments of the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
. Over Couey's objection, the trial court ruled that all evidence collected after the confession, including the recovery of Lunsford's body, would be admitted, as would incriminating statements allegedly made by Couey to investigators and a jail guard.
Conviction
Criminal proceedings
The trial was moved to
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
after officials were unable to seat an impartial jury in Citrus County where the trial was first scheduled to be held.
On March 7, 2007, Couey was found guilty of all charges in relation to Lunsford's death, including
first degree murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
, kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery upon any person, and capital
sexual battery
Battery is a criminal Offence (law), offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact.
Battery is a specific common law offense, although the term is used more general ...
. The jury deliberated for four hours, tasked with recommending either
life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
without the possibility of
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
or the death penalty, the only two possible sentences available under Florida law. A week later, after about one hour and 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury recommended Couey be put to death. The case was appealed to the
Florida Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...
.
On August 11, 2007, a jury overseeing the Lunsford case voted 10-2 that Couey be eligible for the death sentence. Defense for Couey argued that he had suffered from a lifetime of
emotional abuse
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. E ...
and had a below normal
IQ, which would enable him to avoid a death sentence under a 2002
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
ruling prohibiting the execution of mentally handicapped people. However, the most credible intelligence test rated Couey's IQ at 78, above the standard accepted level of
intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
, which is 70.
On August 24, 2007, Couey was sentenced to death, in addition to three consecutive
life sentences
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
. However, on September 30, 2009, before the sentences could be carried out, Couey died of
natural causes
In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
.
Aftermath
Jessica Lunsford Act
Following her death, her father, Mark Lunsford, pursued new legislation to provide more stringent tracking of released
sex offender
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
s. The
Jessica Lunsford Act was named after her. It requires tighter restrictions on sex offenders (such as wearing electronic tracking devices) and increased prison sentences for some convicted sex offenders. "Jessica's Law" refers to similar reform acts initiated by other states.
Wrongful death and negligence lawsuit
On February 19, 2008, almost three years to the day after her kidnapping and murder, Jessica's father was represented by
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
lawyers in a pre-trial brief filed against the
Citrus County Sheriff's Office
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency servicing a population of 138,143 in of Citrus County, Florida.
History
The sheriff's office began operations on June 2, 1887, when Citrus County was created with ...
and the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities and ...
. After receiving notice of the pending suit, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy stated that he believed the case to be "baseless... There is only one person in the world that should be held responsible for Jessica Lunsford's death and that's John Couey."
Following complaints and suggestions from Citrus County residents that the pending litigation was being pursued out of greed and that had he been a better father his child may still be alive,
Mark Lunsford and Jacksonville-based attorneys Eric Block and Mark Gelman held a news conference in Jacksonville, where it was stated that the pending litigation was "not for the money... but for change." Lunsford stated that changes were needed in procedures and policies. It is alleged that Couey had Jessica Lunsford alive in the trailer while Citrus County officials visited the trailer, that police dogs indicated Jessica was being held in the direction of the trailer and were ignored, that Citrus County officials actively pursued Mark Lunsford's father as their prime suspect while evidence pointed elsewhere, and that had Citrus County officials followed up on an outstanding warrant issued by Georgia, that Citrus County officials could have entered Couey's residence and possibly saved the child.
Other media
Mark Lunsford becoming an activist for children's rights after the murder of his daughter Jessica is the subject of the 2011 documentary film, ''Jessie's Dad''.
The abduction of Jessica Lunsford was covered in 2013 on the TV series ''
FBI: Criminal Pursuit'' in the episode "Lurking Menace".
References
External links
Court TV coverage of Jessica Lunsford caseCourt TV coverage of Jessica Lunsford case (Archived)CASE NO. SC07-1636 Appellee's Answer BriefCouey Trial State's arguments*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunsford, Jessica
2005 in Florida
2005 murders in the United States
2000s crimes in Florida
2000s missing person cases
Deaths by person in Florida
Deaths by live burial
February 2005 crimes
February 2005 events in the United States
Incidents of violence against girls
Premature burials
Rape in the 2000s
Rapes in the United States
Sexual assaults in the United States