How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

HOMOSASSA, Fla. (March 18) - A registered sex offender admitted Friday that he kidnapped and killed a 9-year-old girl who disappeared from her bedroom more than three weeks ago and told police where they could find her body, authorities said.

John Evander Couey, 46, had been arrested Thursday and named a ''person of interest'' in Jessica Lunsford's disappearance. He confessed to authorities after taking a lie-detector test, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said.

''At the end of the polygraph, he said, 'You don't have to tell me the results. I know what they are,''' Dawsy said. ''He apologized to the investigators for wasting their time.''

Authorities cordoned off an area Friday near the home of Couey's half-sister, who lived about 150 yards from the home Jessica shared with her father and grandparents. Dawsy would not comment on what investigators were doing in the area, but said it ''will take hours.'' Police had yet to recover a body.

A sheriff's spokeswoman who answered the phone at the Lunsford home Friday evening said the family declined to make any immediate comment. Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, has said the family did not know Couey.

Jessica's stepfather, Lonnie Bryant, told The Associated Press by telephone from Ohio that he and the girl's mother, Angela Bryant, planned to come to Florida soon.

''I'm going through agony right now,'' he said.

Jessica, a third grader, was last seen when she went to bed in her home Feb. 23. She was discovered missing the next morning, with the door unlocked and her stuffed animal gone. The clothes she had laid out for school were still in place, and none of her shoes were missing.



AP
John Evander Couey is arrested for failing to notify Florida officials that he was leaving the state, a requirement for sex offenders.

More than 100 police and volunteers, with help from bloodhounds and helicopters, searched the area about 60 miles north of Tampa for days following her disappearance. Jessica's family made emotional appeals on national television for her safe return.

Detectives grew interested in Couey while interviewing all registered sex offenders in the area. They tried to contact Couey at his home in Homosassa five days after Jessica disappeared and discovered he no longer lived there.

When investigators followed up with the half-sister, she denied that Couey had lived with her. But another relative confided to a detective that Couey sometimes stayed at the home.

Authorities said Couey left Florida on or about March 4 after telling relatives that police would be looking for him. He was arrested in Augusta, Ga., on a probation violation for failing to notify officials that he was moving, a requirement for sex offenders. He was awaiting extradition to Florida on Friday.

Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon and indecent exposure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. Records don't show how the case was resolved.

During a house burglary in 1978, Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth and kissing her, Dawsy said. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled in 1980.


03-18-05 20:25 EST



WHAT I FIND REALLY SICKENING ALSO IS HOW MANY TIMES HE HAS BEEN ARRESTED AND IN JAIL.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

Oh my Gosh!! I didn't know he admitted to kidnapping her. I am soo sad!!!! I cannot even imagine what the family is going through.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

I was actually starting to feel bad for the guy because the media started to make it seem like he was in fact innocent. People like this make me sick.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

this is why i do not believe in the rehabilitation of pedofiles/sex offenders

They should always be behind bars

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

i heard this last night. i am beyond sickened. my heart and prayers go out to this poor family.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

that poor family! and most of all, that poor girl! its so sad

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

That is so terrible. How truly sad.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

I feel so bad for this family.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

They found her body

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

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Posted by RedHead

this is why i do not believe in the rehabilitation of pedofiles/sex offenders

They should always be behind bars

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Message edited 3/19/2005 10:56:14 AM.

Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

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Posted by RedHead

this is why i do not believe in the rehabilitation of pedofiles/sex offenders

They should always be behind bars

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Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

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Posted by Goldi1021

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Posted by RedHead

this is why i do not believe in the rehabilitation of pedofiles/sex offenders

They should always be behind bars

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I agree with you. Pedophiles cannot be rehabilitated. Why do you think Michael Jackson keeps getting in trouble? The punishments need to be more severe. Just know one thing though. The ones who hurt children, tend to fare much worse in prison. Other inmates do not tolerate cruelty to children. He will be someone's bi*ch before you know it and boy does he ever deserve it.

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Re: How sad That little girl that was missing in Florida was killed.

Dh and I are sick to our stomachs I think all of these sex offenders deserve to be behind bars.

Message edited 3/19/2005 12:33:18 PM.