John Couey's confession not admissible in murder trial

Monday, January 8, 2007

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Couey could face the death penalty if convicted.

Citrus County Judge Ric Howard decided during a hearing Friday that John Couey's taped confession he made in Georgia is inadmissible and will not be allowed as evidence in the upcoming trial.

Couey originally admitted to the February 2005 kidnapping, raping and murder of Jessica Lunsford in Homosassa. He gave the confession to two detectives who traveled from Citrus to Augusta, Ga., following his arrest in March 2005.

"I can't figure out why she didn't say nothing," Couey said in the confession. "Why didn't she beat on the walls. Why didn't she yell? She knew I was the only one in the room with her. It don't make no sense."

Howard broke down the motion into three parts Friday.

First, detectives argued that Couey's request for an attorney was unclear during the interrogation. However, Couey's attorney's disagreed, saying their client asked for a lawyer and didn't receive one. Howard agreed that

Reaction To The Hearing
	Click here for video of Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy talking about Friday's hearing. Click here for video of Bay News 9's legal analyst talking about how the rulings will affect Couey's trial.

Couey's rights were violated.

Next, the defense argued, because of the confession, the judge should have thrown out the evidence that was found after the confession. It said they wouldn't have found the body without the main confession in Georgia.

Howard disagreed and said the body would have been found without the confession based on DNA evidence. That motion from the defense was denied.

The third motion stated when Couey was in jail he mentioned remorse to jail guards and detectives about the crime. Howard said that was on his own and will allow that part of the confession.

Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said at a Friday morning press conference that he is happy about the outcome of the hearing.

"We built this case on the rock solid part of evidence," said Dawsy.

Mark Lunsford is still confident of a conviction.

"Evidence doesn't lie. I've got enough evidence to put John Couey to death and that's our next phase."

He said in all criminal cases, not all confessions are admitted in court.

"I'm glad this is behind us," Dawsy said. "We closed the door on this and now we move forward to prosecuting John Couey."

The outcome of the hearing didn't seem to bother Lunsford's father, Mark Lunsford.

"I don't care," he said. "They've got everything they need. And the prosecutors are confident and so am I."

Couey's trial is expected to start July 10 in Citrus County. A jury is being brought to Citrus from Lake County. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and Howard denied a defense motion Friday to declare the death penalty unconstitutional.