About The Case And The Key Players

The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 9, 2007

After weeks of intense searching, investigators found the body of 9-year-old Jessica Marie “Jessie” Lunsford on March 19, 2005, in John Evander Couey's back yard. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of raping and killing Lunsford. Here's a rundown of some of the important figures in Couey’s trial.

THE CASE

For the state: Prosecutors lost a key part of their case when Circuit Judge Ric Howard ruled statements Couey made to sheriff’s investigators couldn’t be introduced at trial because he had been denied an attorney. But jurors can hear two subsequent statements by Couey and be told about physical evidence that includes discovery of Jessica's body in Couey's back yard and her DNA and fingerprints inside his mobile home.

For the defense: Couey’s attorneys possibly will present little evidence at trial, instead focusing on tactics to keep the jury from voting for the death penalty. If convicted, Couey’s defense will likely focus on claims of childhood abuse.

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THE PLAYERS

Circuit Judge Ric Howard

Age: 54

Law school: Stetson University College of Law, 1978 graduate

Experience: Private practice and assistant state attorney in the 5th and 6th judicial circuits; appointed to the 5th circuit criminal bench in 2000

High-profile experience: Presiding judge in the trial of John and Linda Dollar, a Citrus County couple sentenced to 15 years in prison last fall for torturing five of their eight adopted children.

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Ric Ridgway, Chief Assistant State Attorney

Age: 55

Law school: University of Miami, 1978 graduate

Experience: 29 years, including more than 25 as a prosecutor in the 17th and 5th judicial circuits

High-profile experience: Earned three of the six death sentences for Aileen Carol Wuornos, the hitchhiking serial killer who was executed in 2002 and later portrayed by Charlize Theron in the film "Monster"

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Pete Magrino, Assistant State Attorney

Age: 55

Law school: Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, Fort Lauderdale

Experience: Worked as a law enforcement officer in the Miami area for 8 1/2 years before becoming a prosecutor. Prosecuted cases in Broward County for 20 years before moving to Brooksville, where he currently works.

High-profile experience: Prosecuted Seattle Seahawks player Brian Blades, who was charged with shooting his cousin in 1995. The jury found Blades guilty of manslaughter but the judge overturned the decision and acquitted him. Blades had maintained that he was trying to intercede in a fight when the gun accidentally fired.

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Dan Lewan, Assistant Public Defender

Age: 58

Law school: Florida State University, 1982 graduate

Experience: 25 years of defense experience, including more than 13 years as a public defender in the 5th Judicial Circuit

High-profile experience: Defended James Utsey, a Citrus County man who was convicted but avoided the death penalty in the Dec. 27, 2000, slaying of his mother, who was gunned down in a store parking lot

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Alan Fanter, Assistant Public Defender

(If Couey is convicted, Fanter will handle the penalty phase of the trial where jurors will decide if he deserves the death penalty.)

Age: 50

Law school: Stetson University College of Law, graduated 1981

Experience: Started his career as a prosecutor and an assistant public defender before working in private practice for a few years. In 1987, joined the Hernando County Public Defender’s Office where he has worked since 1987.

High-profile experience: Represented John Smith, a black teenager tried in 1990 with the beating death of a white teenager. Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, an all-white jury convicted Smith of a lesser charge – third-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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John Evander Couey

Age: 48

Education: 9th grade

Occupation: Former laborer

Criminal history: Served three years in prison for exposing himself to a 5-year-old in 1991; later registered as a sex offender

Charges: Murder, kidnapping, sexual battery, burglary with battery

Statements attributed to him that the jury won't hear: "I didn't mean to kill the little girl. ... I was too scared to let her go."

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Jessica Marie Lunsford

Age: Died at age 9

Education: Third-grader at Homosassa Elementary School

Family: Lived with father, Mark, and paternal grandparents, Ruth and Archie

Hobbies: Loved stuffed animals, the color pink, fried cheese and hot-buttered noodles; was beginning to show an interest in boys

Cause of death: Suffocation