Killer of 9-Year-Old Sentenced To Die
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
INVERNESS, Fla. — A convicted sex offender was sentenced today to death for kidnapping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, raping her and then burying her alive in his yard.
John Evander Couey looked straight ahead as Circuit Judge Ric Howard told him he should be executed for the 2005 crimes that led to new laws in many states cracking down on convicted sex offenders.
Couey’s attorney had argued that he couldn’t legally be executed because he is mentally retarded, but Howard brushed aside that claim in a strongly worded ruling earlier this month.
The girl’s father, Mark Lunsford, teared up as he listened to the judge read a detailed history of the case for nearly an hour. He hugged relatives after the sentence was read.
The jury that convicted Couey in March recommended 10-2 that he die for his crimes, but the decision was left to Howard.
The jury convicted Couey of taking the girl in February 2005 from her bedroom to his nearby trailer, sparking a massive search. The third-grader’s body was found about three weeks after she disappeared in a grave in Couey’s yard, about 150 yards from her own home.
