FL - Sarah Lunde, 13, murdered, Ruskin, 9 April 2005

[joanofarc]

Yeah, kind of like put all the axe murderers on an island with a crate full of axes and see what happens...lol

That would be an interesting study....

 

[Timex]

well, one of the problems I see is, we dont know who these people are until they have hurt a child. Its a bit late then. By studying them, my hope would be we would eventually be able to identify them BEFORE they hurt a child, which would hopefully, someday, lead to a way of "curing" these folks so we wouldnt have such fear in our lives. Of course, the penal colony would NOT be an option for anyone that killed a child. Those folks deserve nothing less than death IMO.

 

[MistyGirl]

Part of the whole problem with this case is exactly what someone said in their post in this sentence "....I don't blame Sarah's brother but as parents if we don't teach our children from little on how to be" (I didn't quote the whole thing....my point is the PARENTS

This Mother (sorry but I use this term lightly) leaves to go out of town and ASSUMES her daughter is on an all weekend retreat etc with the church. Ok 1st there are few things that as a RESPONSIBLE parent should do: (Yes I would)

1. Check make sure there is really a church activity that your child is attending, do not just take your child word for it.
2. Confirm when it leaves, when it returns, do they need money, what shoud she pack or bring with?
3. When they return will she be dropped off or will she need to be picked up?

Poor Sarah was neglected and she was only a 12 year old girl can we really expect this 17 year old to know how to handle these types of situations? Remember he was rtaised by the same mother eas Sarah who she failed to protect. I am sure he had to fend for himself as Sarah has etc. Children are a product of their parents they only know what they are taught etc and if these people are going to have children and not take care of them in responsible nature they should not be reproducing in the 1st place. (Back to my same saying....you need a license to fish, drive a car but anyone can just start breeding............THERE are RESPONSIBILITIES THAT COME WITH BEING A PARENT)

The perpertrator is the persons who killed sweet Sarah but her mother also failed hugely in protecting her.

I have a 13 year old daughter and she doesn't go anywhere with out me making sure where she is going when she comign back etc....never would I ever leave her alone over night NEVER. Further more what the hell kind of mother comes home Sunday and AFTER her son tells here Sarah was home and then she was gone I don't know where she is. For her own mother to ASSUME she was at a friends house and not follow up is NEGLET how hard is it to pick up a phone and call and say is Sarah there??????????????????? Then to wait all they way until early afternoon on Monday to check at school if she showed up and then reports her missing is NEGLECT.

This poor child never had a chance, this just break my heart. I pray for her and for her mother as I am sure she will live with this for the rest of her life.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I'm Catholic - watchin' for that white smoke...lol

Ask and ye shall receive, huh?

I really wish I had a solid position on this stuff. I used to have it all figured out, and then I grew up - lol! Now I'm all wishy-washy. I used to be compassionate, and so I got myself a psychology degree. Now I feel like these criminals should be tossed away. I don't even feel like giving them therapy. And trust me, I know how horrible that sounds; I struggle with it every time I think about it. And I'm not sure why I feel that way other than being sick & tired of watching good & innocent people suffer.

I think a penal colony is a great idea. And cheaper textbooks would be a God-send! If only there was some way to do it without getting the ACLU up in arms. I agree with the person that said that if you strip someone else of their civil liberties, then you've lost your right to yours as well. It's time for people to stop worrying about the people that have done wrong until we can guarantee safer communities for those that haven't.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Newsday.com: Sheriff Thought Slain Girl Hadn't Run Away

... Onstott was not under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections and (prosecutor) Ober said it doesn't appear that "the system failed."

If the system didn't fail then Onstott is proof positive that these guys should never be released from prison.

 

[MistyGirl]

Newsday.com: Sheriff Thought Slain Girl Hadn't Run Away

... Onstott was not under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections and (prosecutor) Ober said it doesn't appear that "the system failed."

If the system didn't fail then Onstott is proof positive that these guys should never be released from prison.

I agree, they shold never step foot out on the street again!!! EVER

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, Fla.

... Now with the Lunde case in the headlines, Florida lawmakers are ready to act.


... lawmakers are ready to support the legislation even if it carries a hefty price tag in terms of more expensive monitoring, more probation officers and more prison beds.

"I just haven't found an expert yet who can put a cost on the life of a young person," Dean said...


Under the House and Senate bills that will be considered this week, the new provisions include:

* Mandating lifetime imprisonment or lifetime monitoring for felons convicted of sexually assaulting children under the age of 12.

* Requiring the electronic monitoring of felons leaving prison who have been convicted of sexually assaulting a child. Sex offenders who are not on monitoring now but who violate their probation can be placed on monitoring.

* Expanding the time a sexual predator can petition to have the designation removed from 20 years to 30 years.

* Making it a felony for someone to harbor a sexual predator or offender.

* Increasing the penalty for sexual offenders who fail to register and requiring twice-a-year "in person" check-ins at the local sheriff's office for predators and offenders...

 

[joanofarc]

I hear you JG...and a new Pope it is...and he is "old fashioned"......yeah!!!!

It is hard not to close our hearts and minds to what is really going on in the world today- It is much simpler to get up every morning, go to work, work 8 hours, come home and plop down on the couch - turn on the T.V. and escape the reality of our lives by tuning into someone elses.

Problem is: that is the problem...we are too complacent...not many want to take a stand and challenge the norm or majority....as we get older the "fight" we used to have when we were younger somehow is harder to access...it is just easier to give in to the pressures from whoever/whatever....thus we do become wishy, washy in our beliefs...sometimes the problems are way too big to solve...so we say to ourselves...why even bother??

We need to change this....but where do we start...GOD only knows.....:innocent:

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Problem is: that is the problem...we are too complacent...not many want to take a stand and challenge the norm or majority....as we get older the "fight" we used to have when we were younger somehow is harder to access...it is just easier to give in to the pressures from whoever/whatever....thus we do become wishy, washy in our beliefs...sometimes the problems are way too big to solve...so we say to ourselves...why even bother??

I see what you're saying, for sure, but I don't mean that I'm complacent. In fact, quite the opposite is true. But as I get older, the answers just don't seem as clear. Things aren't as cut and dried.

 

[joanofarc]

I see what you're saying, for sure, but I don't mean that I'm complacent. In fact, quite the opposite is true. But as I get older, the answers just don't seem as clear. Things aren't as cut and dried.

No, never meant that you are...complacent...just speaking in general terms...you are WAY more outspoken on issues that concern you than I am and I admire that ........Keep going strong, I have faith....

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Yahoo! News - Parental supervision key to safety

Parents are more important than the registries, says Nancy McBride, national safety director of the non-profit National Center for Missing & Exploited Children...


McBride and other experts on crimes against children say attackers are far more likely to be known by their victims than they are to be strangers.

"That's why, for instance, when I talk to single mothers I say, 'You've got to check out that boyfriend,' " McBride said. "You need to make sure you know his motivation..."


And some offenders, McBride says, will choose victims from families where they know the parents aren't paying attention to their children's whereabouts and aren't likely to have checked the registries.

"They'll go for the opportunities that allow them to do what they want to do," she said, "and they're going to stay away from situations where they're probably going to get caught."

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Tampabay: Murder suspect has violent past

David Onstott ... has a lengthy history (including) an alleged sexual attraction to a former wife's teenage daughter...

--He once beat a man with a baseball bat; later, he was accused of attacking another man with a machete.

--He allegedly stalked a former girlfriend in 1995, scaring her so badly that she moved to a different city and got an unlisted phone number.

--He spent six years in prison after raping a woman that same year.

--He physically abused one of his wives and allegedly wrote love letters to her teenage daughter.

--He drank heavily and used cocaine...

 

[joanofarc]

Records show he has fathered at least three children by different women and has defaulted on thousands of dollars in child support payments for each one.

Man this guy is one scary dude....likes older women too by the sound of it....

So sad, three children who will one day have to admit, my dad is a KILLER.....

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Tampabay: Murder suspect has violent past

Only weeks ago, a former girlfriend was granted an injunction against Onstott, forbidding him to come near her for a year...

Hartman told a judge that Onstott abused alcohol and drugs and that his violent past worried her. "I am a single mother with a 9-year-old girl and I want to have a safe life for us," Hartman wrote.

"David is violent and seriously unstable and honestly I am scared to death of him."

(So at least one mom recognized that he was dangerous. But she did say that it took her a while to see past his smooth exterior.

I wonder if he only dates women with children ... ?)

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Law Enforcement Faces Tough Task Of Issuing Alerts - from TBO.com

When children disappear, when should the public be alerted? ...

The bodies of Lunde and Lunsford were found by law enforcement investigations, not through public alerts.

But can any civilian notification system ever be expected to save children in similar situations? Police and missing children experts cite numerous success stories...

 

[kk's mom]

Wow, this guy gives me the creeps, big time. You know, I've only been divorced now for a little over a year and really don't have the desire yet to get out into the dating scene again. I'm not one of those women (and I have a few friends like this) that need a man in their lives all the time. I'm quite content being a single-mom, working hard, and spending whatever free time I do have (when not working) with my daughter.

Reading about this guy, though, whoa, seriously scares me about even entering the dating scene again, when I am ready for that. Seriously, I think I would have to run a thorough background investigation on anyone I wanted to get to know. Know what I mean? And to top that off, I wouldn't even introduce my daughter to anyone I was dating until at least 6+ months into the relationship.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Slaying Suspect's Story Is Doubted - from TBO.com

When David Lee Onstott ... decided to confess to detectives this weekend, he didn't ask for his lawyer.

He asked for his mother...

While Onstott confessed to the killing, there is more to the story he isn't telling, Gee said Monday...

"I have my doubts that that is the entire story,'' Gee said Monday.

"Him saying he went in there and had an argument ... that's his version and I seriously doubt that's the whole story.'' Gee wouldn't elaborate about his doubts on the record...

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Onstott Has A Troubled Past Dealing With Women - from TBO.com


... Shortly after midnight on May 29 that year, Onstott came to the apartment of an adult female friend. She later accused him of throwing her on the floor and forcing sex. She said he slapped and choked her and she suffered bruises, had a patch of hair ripped from her scalp and was bitten on her hip...


Last month, Onstott began to show up at the store where his ex-girlfriend works, at one point coming in drunk and buying a ``sexual enhancement product,'' the restraining order petition said. Days later, he tried to return the product saying, ``It just doesn't work anymore.''

Then, she got a call from Onstott's estranged wife who warned her that he might harm her. ``She told me he never got over me and he would get me back,'' the restraining order petition said...

ETA: Last week, after sheriff's officials questioned Onstott about Sarah's disappearance, he got into a fight with a friend and allegedly pulled a screwdriver.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Reading about this guy, though, whoa, seriously scares me about even entering the dating scene again, when I am ready for that. Seriously, I think I would have to run a thorough background investigation on anyone I wanted to get to know. Know what I mean? And to top that off, I wouldn't even introduce my daughter to anyone I was dating until at least 6+ months into the relationship.

I was thinking the exact same thing a few days ago. I'm married in a 'sometimes good -sometimes not so good' relationship but I find myself very happy lately just knowing that I don't have to worry about leaving our children with my spouse. The not so good stuff doesn't seem so bad anymore. At least I know that my babies are safe.

I think your ideas of a background check & not introducing your child early on to anyone you're dating is a very, very good idea. But most importantly, as you know, listen when she speaks. Give her the freedom to dislike him, and question her reasons if it would ever come up. Children are often better judges of character than we are.

 

[kk's mom]

I was thinking the exact same thing a few days ago. I'm married in a 'sometimes good -sometimes not so good' relationship but I find myself very happy lately just knowing that I don't have to worry about leaving our children with my spouse. The not so good stuff doesn't seem so bad anymore. At least I know that my babies are safe.

I think your ideas of a background check & not introducing your child early on to anyone you're dating is a very, very good idea. But most importantly, as you know, listen when she speaks. Give her the freedom to dislike him, and question her reasons if it would ever come up. Children are often better judges of character than we are.

Absolutely!