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

[mysteriew]

Last week, about 1,500 pages of court documents were made public in the pending murder trial. Defense attorneys withheld about 300 more pages, asking that they remain private. Ficarrotta has said he would review the documents, listen to legal arguments, then decide what to do with the records.

Defense attorneys have argued that too much pretrial publicity and the release of certain records will prevent Onstott from getting a fair trial.

http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGB2YPRQTDE.html

 

[mysteriew]

Two days after family and friends last saw 13-year-old Sarah Lunde alive, David Onstott knocked on a friend's door just after 4 a.m., looking for a place to hide.

He told co-worker Jimmy Seaton he had been fighting with his girlfriend over another woman, and needed a place to stay.

Seaton had not yet heard the rumors connecting Onstott to the missing Ruskin girl. His clock was "fixing to go off at 5 a.m." for work. He opened his door and said, "okay."

By the end of the day, Seaton would play a crucial role leading deputies to Onstott, court records released Wednesday show.

The documents, made public by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office, include autopsy results that show Sarah died from crushing blows to the head, even though investigators earlier said Onstott had confessed to choking her to death.

On May 4, Onstott was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in connection with Sarah's death.

In jail, Onstott wept as he spoke with his mother, the records said. And he spoke briefly with his attorney by phone.

Then he agreed to talk once more with investigators.

Raising his handcuffed arms in the air, he said, "I did it." And then, "I'm guilty of murder."
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/27/Hillsborough/Court_papers_say_defe.shtml

 

[mysteriew]

Before David Lee Onstott was arrested in the death of a 13-year-old girl, he called his mother, Refugia Whitten, in Michigan.

"Mom, I didn't do it," Whitten later told sheriff's detectives, quoting her son.

The conversation was recalled in court records released Wednesday.

Onstott told his mother that with his previous rape and driving under the influence convictions, prosecutors would send him to prison.

"Mom, I'm scared," Whitten said, quoting her son. "I don't want to go back to prison."

Onstott told his mother he was going to run and meet her at her Flint, Mich., home. She told him not to run.

A few days later, after Onstott's arrest, Whitten came to Florida to meet him at the jail. Before they could meet, Onstott's attorney called.

Detectives told Onstott he could speak with his attorney but probably would not be allowed to talk with his mother afterward. Onstott told them he didn't want to talk to the lawyer, just his mother.

After a 1 1/2 -hour, tape-recorded conversation between Onstott and his mother, Onstott called his attorney.

He spoke to his mother again, then sat down with detectives. "I did it," detectives quote him as saying.
http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGB5VWXIAFE.html

 

[mysteriew]

After a tearful conversation with his mother in jail, a sex offender accused of killing 13-year-old Sarah Lunde and sinking her body in an abandoned fishing pond admitted to authorities that he committed the crime, court documents said.

State attorney's office documents released Thursday in the case against David Onstott also included autopsy results that show Sarah died from crushing blows to the head, even though investigators earlier said Onstott had confessed to strangling her.

The autopsy found that her killer fractured her skull and broke her jaw before dumping her in an abandoned fishing pond near her home and church in rural southeastern Hillsborough County in April.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...02705,0,2455934.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

 

[mysteriew]

Remember the semen found in Sarah's bed? It wasn't David Lee Onstott's. It belonged to her brother and an unknown female, and to a frind of her older brother. A former prosecutor says that will not make a difference in the case, because they have Onstott's confession.
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBXHUFC9JE.html

Sarah's mother facing drug charges.
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/31/Tampabay/Slain_girl_s_mom_face.shtml

 

[Beyond Belief]

TAMPA - Authorities released another report today showing negative results on potential DNA evidence in the case of David Lee Onstott.

Onstott is scheduled to go on trial in March on charges he killed 13-year-old Sara Michelle Lunde.

So far, authorities have found no physical evidence linking Onstott to the crime, according to documents released by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/newswire/comments/no_dna_link_found_in_lundes_case/

 

[becca]

this is not good. Did they charge the wrong guy? I hope not. But there has to be something that ties this to Sarah.

becca

 

[Beyond Belief]

TAMPA – Attorneys representing David Lee Onstott, the man accused of killing Sarah Michelle Lunde, have asked that his upcoming trial be moved out of the Tampa Bay area.

In asking for the trial to be moved, assistant public defender John Skye wrote in a motion that Onstott could not get a fair trial because of “intense media coverage.” The motion includes a couple hundred pages of summaries of articles from local newspapers, television stations and even national outlets.

Skye argued that in many of the reports, Lunde’s killing was “juxtaposed with two other recent notorious child kidnapping and murder cases,” – citing the Jessica Lunsford case and the murder of Carlie Brucia.

Onstott’s attorney contends that the news stories, which often refer to Onstott as a sex offender, have prejudiced any jury the could be seated in Hillsborough County.
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/newswire/story/attorneys-want-onstott-trial-moved/

 

[Beyond Belief]

TAMPA - Two years ago, Kelly May's wounds were open for the community to see.

Her 13-year-old daughter, Sarah Michelle Lunde, had disappeared. Six days later, Sarah's body, partially submerged and partially clothed, was found in an abandoned fish pond near their Ruskin home.
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBDCL0MGYE.html

 

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder if this guys mother will agree to testify against him. He admitted to her that he murdered Sarah. I think that she encouraged him to tell the truth as he admitted what he had done right after he talked to his mom. If he were my son I would testify. I wouldn't want him out there to hurt another child.

I hope that the defense doesn't get their way and the confession and everything else is kept out. By the sounds of it this guy tried to have sex with Sarah but for some reason didn't suceed. She probably fought him like mad. She wasn't a tiny girl. He probably killed her when she was fighting him.

 

[mysteriew]

Sarah Lunde kept a diary and in that diary she talked about someone named Chucky and listed a cell phone number for him. Police are now looking for him. (after all this time.)

Also talks about the times that Onstott confessed, but police were unable to use it because of procedural problems (didn't get his Miranda rights, he asked for an attorney and it wasn't heeded, etc.)

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/24/Hillsborough/Girl_s_diary_intrigue.shtml

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I hope that the subpoena for the person who belonged to the cell phone number is just for the sake of being able to combat a defense attorney's claim that investigators had blinders on and only looked at their client. I can't imagine what they would be doing looking for that information now - nearly 2 and a half years later.

 

[fran]

Amazing how slow the wheels of justice can be. After all this time and they're just going to trial in August.


fran


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GIRL_SLAIN?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

May 29, 8:54 AM EDT


Man won't face death penalty in girl's death


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Prosecutors say the man charged with killing a 13-year-old Tampa-area girl in 2005 won't face death row if he's convicted.

Hillsborough County prosecutors filed notice Friday that they won't seek the death penalty. David Lee Onstott's public defender calls the decision a good one.

 

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder why they won't ask for the death penalty?

 

[fran]

I wonder why they won't ask for the death penalty?

I'm not sure. Just my opinion, but I believe their case is rather weak without the confession and it's probably easier to get a guilty verdict when there's no threat of the DP. I believe he did it alright. It's just a shame the confession is being thrown out.

fran

 

[Bobbisangel]

I'm not sure. Just my opinion, but I believe their case is rather weak without the confession and it's probably easier to get a guilty verdict when there's no threat of the DP. I believe he did it alright. It's just a shame the confession is being thrown out.

fran

I get really angry with LE when things like this happen. If a person asks for an attorney...let them get one. Make sure their rights are read to them right off the bat. This happens in to many cases and then the info the person shared like a confession goes down the drain and LE know it. They have to abide by the rules too or they screw everything up. I don't understand it at all.

 

[Bobbisangel]

Didn't Sarah's mother wait for days before she even realized that her daughter was missing? Didn't she just assume that Sarah was staying for a few days with a friend? Was she that used to Sarah being gone for days without checking on her or Sarah checking in? Maybe she liked it that way then Sarah was out of her hair!

 

[concernedperson]

Didn't Sarah's mother wait for days before she even realized that her daughter was missing? Didn't she just assume that Sarah was staying for a few days with a friend? Was she that used to Sarah being gone for days without checking on her or Sarah checking in? Maybe she liked it that way then Sarah was out of her hair!

I don't remember all the details but I do remember that detail. Yes, I would say that Sarah was not cared for properly by many.

 

[Bree0372]

I'm not sure. Just my opinion, but I believe their case is rather weak without the confession and it's probably easier to get a guilty verdict when there's no threat of the DP. I believe he did it alright. It's just a shame the confession is being thrown out.

fran

I think it could be a blessing to not get the DP. If he received that then he would be isolated from the general population. Let'em know that he is a child killer and he will get his in the end - one way or another, IMO.

 

[fran]

I get really angry with LE when things like this happen. If a person asks for an attorney...let them get one. Make sure their rights are read to them right off the bat. This happens in to many cases and then the info the person shared like a confession goes down the drain and LE know it. They have to abide by the rules too or they screw everything up. I don't understand it at all.

I'm not sure if I remember this correctly or not, but I THINK what happened here was the same thing that happened with Couey. Remember, they were both in the same time frame, within a month or two or each other, IIRC. To LE, time was of the essence. As it turned out, she was not alive; but LE didn't know that at the time.

That's the same reason Couey got his thrown out for Jessica Lunsford. Although the perp had asked for an attorney, they thought there was still a chance to save Jessie.

I love our country and I love the law, but throwing a confession out because his Constitutional Rights were violated just seems so wrong. What happened to victim's RIGHTS?

IMO, I don't give a dam* about his right to an attorney when they commit such a henious act on a child and CONFESS.:furious:

JMHO
fran