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Forensic Experts Provide Graphic Details In Onstott Trial

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By THOMAS W. KRAUSE and RAY REYES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 15, 2008

TAMPA - Forensic experts testified Thursday during the second day of David Lee Onstott's trial, describing in graphic detail the fatal injuries 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde suffered and the crime scene where her body was found in 2005.

A medical examiner said the girl's body had "moderate to advanced" decomposition after being found submerged in an abandoned fish pond and weighed down with concrete blocks.

The body had been immersed in water for several days. A cracked skull from a blunt force was the cause of Sarah's death, said Christina Roberts, a former associate medical examiner in Tampa who now works in Virginia.

Roberts said she could not determine whether Sarah was choked or sexually assaulted but did not rule out those possibilities because the body was so badly decomposed.

"My opinion is that there was a high likelihood that she had suffered a sexual assault because of the positioning of her clothing and the way she died," Roberts said.

Defense attorneys pointed out tests were inconclusive and could not prove that Sarah was sexually assaulted.

Sarah was last seen alive April 9, 2005, a Saturday, when she returned from a church trip. Her mother, Kelly May, had been out of town, and when Sarah did not show up at school Monday, her mother reported her missing.

Sarah was found a week later in a muddy abandoned pond near her Ruskin home. Onstott, once the occasional boyfriend of May, is charged with murder in the teen's slaying. He also faces a charge of attempted sexual battery.

Court records show that investigators had no physical evidence linking Onstott, 40, to the crime.

An FBI geologist testified Thursday that she received soil samples from Onstott's shoes and compared them to samples with dirt in the area where Sarah's body was found. Maureen Bottrell said she could not rule out the possibility that the samples are from the same place.

The mineral content is the same, she said.

Aerial photographs displayed for jurors showed that the area where Sarah's body was found is mostly sandy dirt, with lots of brush.

"You do not say 'come from' or 'matched' - you say can't be eliminated," Assistant Public Defender Anna Frederiksen-Cherry said during cross-examination. "Is there any way for you to tell this jury how many other places in the world have the same type of soil we are talking about?"

Bottrell responded: "I cannot."

Also taking the stand Thursday was Jimmy Seaton, who wore an orange jail-issued jumpsuit and is being held at Orient Road Jail on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment. Seaton testified that a few days after Sarah disappeared, Onstott came to his home about 4 a.m. and fell asleep.

Seaton went to work, but when he got back, Onstott was still there. Onstott was watching news reports on various stations, Seaton said.

Sarah's sister, Rebecca Lunde, testified near the end of Thursday's proceedings that her brother, Andrew, told her Onstott came to their house the day Sarah disappeared.

She phoned Onstott, Rebecca said, and asked him whether he saw Sarah leave with anyone or saw anything unusual. Onstott first denied being there, she said, but later acknowledged he went to their home. He told her he did not see Sarah leave with anyone.

Prosecutors said they will question witnesses through Monday. The defense said it will take about a day to present its case. Closing arguments could come as soon as Tuesday afternoon, Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta said.

The trial continues at 8:30 a.m. today.

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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