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Jury Seated In Onstott Case After 2 Days Of Screening

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By THOMAS W.  KRAUSE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

TAMPA - After two full days of jury selection and more than 80 people interviewed, 12 people have been selected to hear the trial of David Lee Onstott, charged with murder in the 2005 slaying of 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde.

Four alternates were selected to serve in case some of the 12 cannot fulfill their duties. Eleven women and five men make up the panel of jurors and alternates.

Opening statements are expected to begin first thing Wednesday.

On Monday, the first full day of questioning, jurors were asked whether they had heard about the case. About half the jury pool had some knowledge. The Onstott trial has received a lot of publicity, in part because of the age of the victim and in part because of the numerous legal battles leading up to trial.

Onstott gave a statement to law enforcement that prosecutors expected to use against him. Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta ruled that the statement could not be used in court because Onstott had asked for a lawyer and was not provided one.

Any potential juror who had knowledge of the suppressed statement was excused from the jury.

On April 9, 2005, Sarah returned from a church trip. She briefly spoke with her brother and his friend, who then went out for food. Two days later, when Sarah did not show up at school, her mother reported her missing.

After a large-scale manhunt, Sarah's body was found in a muddy pond, anchored with concrete blocks.

Investigators immediately focused on Onstott, a sometimes boyfriend of Sarah's mother. Sarah's brother told law enforcement officers that Onstott was at their mobile home the night she disappeared.

Although prosecutors are expected to tell jurors about statements Onstott made to a jail deputy and to his former wife, they have no physical evidence linking Onstott to the slaying.

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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