Jessie

[fritz]

No one in the courtroom, not even John Evander Couey, reacted Wednesday when a Miami-Dade jury convicted him of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

In the minds of most people there, the trial is only half-finished.

Couey faces the death penalty, and the judge, attorneys, jury and Jessica's family will all be back next week for the sentencing phase of the trial.

''We're almost there,'' Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father, said after the court adjourned. ``It ain't over yet.''

The evidence against Couey was overwhelming, including DNA that proved he had raped Jessica in his bedroom. His attorneys didn't even present much of a defense, a tactic experts say makes sense because Couey is facing the death penalty.

''Without saying it, they conceded the guilt-innocence issue and tried to position themselves to have a shot at saving this guy's life,'' said veteran defense attorney Milton Hirsch. ``They didn't antagonize the jury. They didn't insult the jury.''

Couey, a convicted sex offender, confessed to Citrus County detectives that in February 2005 he broke into Jessica's home in Homosassa, lured her out of her bedroom, took her to his home around the corner and raped her. Then he said he put the little girl in two garbage bags and buried her alive in his backyard.

She died clutching the stuffed dolphin her father had won for her the week before at a fair.

The jury never heard Couey's taped confession because Circuit Judge Ric Howard threw it out; Citrus County deputies violated Couey's rights when they questioned him after he had asked for an attorney.

The case was moved to Miami because too many people in Central Florida said they knew of the confession.

But prosecutors had the DNA -- Jessica's in blood found on Couey's mattress and Couey's found in semen mixed with the blood.

And they had evidence of another horrific crime -- little Jessica was buried alive, according to the medical examiner. After Couey covered her body with dirt, she poked her fingers out of the garbage bags.

GRISLY PHOTO

As court got under way Wednesday morning, prosecutor Pete Magrino propped up the picture that ran in newspapers and on television across the country: a smiling Jessica wearing a pink hat.

Then Magrino showed the jury a picture no one wanted to see. This one, taken a month later, showed Jessica's decomposed body.

''As a result of what the defendant did to Jessie, that's what she looked like. . . . That's a photo of Jessie in death,'' Magrino told the jury during his closing argument.

Twice he pointed out that Couey, 48, tricked Jessica into coming with him by telling her ``I'm taking you to your father.''

Magrino knelt down in front of the jury to show how she was stuffed into the garbage bags.

''Little 9-year-old Jessie suffocated in those bags,'' he said.

Defense attorney Dan Lewan spoke to the jury for only 15 minutes, urging them not to let the prosecution play on their emotions.

''The government started the case with the lady who cried and the family in a clear attempt to appeal to your emotions,'' Lewan said, referring to a family friend and Jessica's father and grandmother. All three testified on the first day of the trial.

NO OTHER THEORY

He questioned the investigation done by Citrus County sheriff's deputies, saying they pinned the highly publicized crime on Couey because they were under pressure to solve it.

Lewan called the investigation ``a one-dimensional quest to get John Couey.''

''They have not and will not consider any other goal,'' he said.

But Lewan didn't offer an alternative theory of how Jessica was killed and never claimed that his client was innocent.

The jury deliberated four hours before reaching the verdict.

Citrus County State Attorney Brad King, who came to Miami-Dade to observe the trial, said the decision didn't surprise him.

''Part of the reality of jury trials is the facts you have to work with,'' King said. ``We had the facts on our side.''

In next week's penalty phase, the evidence will be in dispute.

Lewan is expected to present expert testimony that Couey is mentally retarded, mentally ill and was abused as a child.

The prosecution is expected to present experts who will dispute the degree and nature of Couey's mental illness and attack allegations he is retarded.

This scum bag should get the same thing he gave Jessie buried alive

[IRiSHMaFIA]

I watched the whole case on Court TV and it just broke my heart. I kept thinking over and over how could anyone do such a thing to another human let alone a child.

His demeanor in the courtroom quite bothered me as well. He seemed to disassociate himself with the whole trial and sat there drawing and sketching like a child, and I suppose it was all in trying to make himself look like he was mentally damaged to get found mentally incompetent, but with all he had to say to prison guards etc it was obvious this man knew exactly what he was doing.

He's a monster and should never see the light of day again.

[Marcella-FL]

I have to say her father has been a class act through the whole thing considering he could have been a total trailer park asshole. He took the high road and gave her some dignity Couey didn't give her.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[girldorksrule]

If he does get the death penalty, they should simply shoot him on the spot.

[Marcella-FL]

[Marcella-FL]

Well - the jury recommended the death penalty. Again - the father was a class act:

[girldorksrule]

Too bad it'll take years and years for him to actually RECEIVE the death penalty.

[IRiSHMaFIA]

What he did to that wee girl was probably one of the worst things I've ever heard, but the thing I can't get out of my mind along with the horror of what he did is his mental state. He didn't seem to even know what was going on during the trial and coloured with crayons and was completely oblivious to everything. At first I thought it might be an act to look mentally disturbed but when the verdict was handed down he still looked like he didn't get it.

Since the jury already know he's going to appeal over and over isn't it best just to give him life so the family can start healing?

[pirtybirdy]

I'd rather spend thousands of dollars to keep a dog alive than to spend thousands of dollars feeding that sorry excuse for a human being. Death by lethal injection seems too humane for a monster like him. If ever there was a clear reason for the death penalty, this is it. That guy may be nuts, but he ain't retarded. Oof, these kinds of stories get my blood a boilin'. Grrrrr....... :-(

[Kezza]

I saw the coverage on Court TV as well, and I'll never forget the look on the father's face. It was chilling, angry and full of unimaginable pain and grief. An absolutely heartbreaking story.

[Gasman59]

Another reason I don't watch the news. Sick fucks like this litter the world and even sicker fucks try to defend them.