Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

News :: Opinion

TBO > News > Opinion

Sheriff's Detectives Got Lucky On Onstott

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

Hillsborough County residents are extremely fortunate that a child's killer is off the streets, probably for good.

For that, they can thank a conscientious group of jurors. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the killing of Sarah Lunde, didn't make it easy for them.

After more than 12 hours of deliberations, jurors last week convicted David Lee Onstott of second-degree murder in the death of the 13-year-old Ruskin girl. The next day Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta sentenced him to life in prison, with no possibility of parole.

The verdict and sentence were a relief, even though Onstott confessed to deputies that he had choked and killed the poor child. But sheriff's detectives denied his request to talk to a lawyer during lengthy interrogations, so his iron-clad confession became inadmissible in court.

Fortunately, jurors were able to connect the dots from other statements Onstott made to his mother and to a corrections deputy, which were fair game.

Though detectives were eager to protect the public, investigative misconduct cannot be tolerated by Sheriff David Gee or any other head of a law enforcement agency. The U.S. Supreme Court has left no room for doubt - when a suspect asks for a lawyer, questioning must come to a halt. By failing to follow this simple rule, Gee's detectives put justice at risk for the family and created the chance that Onstott could go free to harm someone else. Disciplinary action is in order.

Ironically, an identical violation occurred in the case of John Evander Couey, who brutally murdered 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in Citrus County, also in 2005. But jurors were able to convict Couey without benefit of his confession to sheriff's detectives, and he was sentenced to death.

In Sarah's case, Hillsborough detectives were fortunate. Their unchecked interrogation didn't create a risk to public safety. They may not be so lucky next time.

Share this: