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Lunsford, Attorney Air Suit's Reasoning
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Published: February 25, 2008
Updated: 02/25/2008 10:59 pm
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TAMPA - TAMPA - The Citrus County sheriff "doesn't know about the problems" that prevented finding 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford before it was too late, her father, Mark Lunsford, said in explaining Monday why he intends to sue the office for negligence.
Last week, Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said that Lunsford had sent him a notice of his lawsuit, which is required at least six months before a suit is filed against a government agency. Dawsy said that any claim his office was negligent is unfounded, and that he was shocked.
"I know Jeff Dawsy. I like Jeff Dawsy," Lunsford said Monday. "But he doesn't know about the problems in his office. And there are problems, problems that could have prevented a death."
Lunsford said that he and Dawsy were never friends, and what viewers saw on television about the investigation and murder trial was mostly politics.
"This is the guy who heckled me when I wanted to run for office. I've never sat and had lunch with my sheriff. He doesn't come to my house and visit with my mom and dad," Lunsford said.
A phone call seeking comment from Dawsy was not returned.
Appearing Monday on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News, attorneys for Lunsford asserted that investigators went four times to John Couey's house in the days after Jessica disappeared, but did not search inside. Investigators, they say, didn't act quickly enough on suspicions about him.
Couey, a sexual offender, was ultimately convicted of the killing of Jessica "Jessie" Lunsford and sentenced to death.
Before the televised appearance Monday, attorney Mark Gelman said the sheriff's office did not execute a thorough door-to-door search in the neighborhood where the girl disappeared.
"Deputies went to Couey's house four times in the first two days after she disappeared," he said.
Gelman said sheriff's office records show witnesses reported suspicious activity at the trailer where Couey lived at 6647 Snowbird Lane, but it was ignored, he said.
One of the reports was called in by a neighbor on Feb. 25, 2005, one day after Jessica Lunsford's disappearance, Gelman said. Gelman described this report as the "smoking gun."
"Why didn't they search? I have no idea," he said. "You're reading these reports and you just have to scratch your head."
On the television show, Gelman said that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had contacted Dawsy about the sexual offenders living in the area, which included Couey. Dawsy, Gelman said, "knew Couey was living next to the little girl."
Detectives focused on Archie Lunsford, Jessie's grandfather, as a suspect for too long, Gelman said, and manipulated the family to implicate him.
"They lied to Mark and told him that Jessie's blood was on his father's underwear," he said. "I don't have a problem with them looking closely at the family in a case like this but the way they did it was wrong."
Gelman thinks Jessica was alive for at least three days before she died. "I think she was taken on the 24th and died on the early morning of the 28th," he said.
He said that forensics, Couey's testimony, and other testimony by Couey's roommates support his belief.
Gelman and co-counsel Eric Block decided to speak publicly for the first time on "The O'Reilly Factor" because host Bill O'Reilly has dedicated coverage to Jessie's Law, which aims to better track sex offenders and keep them away from children.
Gelman said it is possible Lunsford and his ex-wife, Angela Wright, may not follow through on the notice to sue, but it's not likely.
"I don't know in the history of Florida if any intent-to-sue notice has gotten this much attention," he said. "This is not about the money; this is about truth and accountability."
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( bbdt ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
"This is not about the money, this is about the truth and accountability" Is he serious? Well, we know the truth and that is Couey murdered Jessica. We have accountability because he was caught and has gotten the death sentence. So, the only thing left for the lawsuit to be about is money. Mr Gelman I wonder since you say it is not about money then are you and your client not going to request any? Maybe you will just be suing for policy changes, but I have a feeling that the money will be the choice. I feel for the family, but I dont think it is the fault of the police and I dont think that we the taxpayers should have to pay for this one.
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Posted by ( Vulcanized ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:41 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
bbdt: Well said!
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Posted by ( rkaeser ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
This man makes me ill!!! I have really never liked him. Poor Jessica most likely was dead before they even knew she was missing. Maybe if the mom didnt let nasty POS old men in her house this would have not happened! Jessica was a beautiful girl and it broke my heart with this story but her dad seems like he was all about making publicity for himself. It is NOT the police dept.'s fault she was murdered. It's the POS that her mother allowed in her home! It makes me sick that he is going to try and make himself wealthy over his daughter's death!
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Posted by ( mrstratz ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:48 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
At first I thought he was a creep. Then I felt sorry for him. Now I'm sure he is a creep and nobody feels sorry for him.
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Posted by ( TaraTaylor ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:52 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
You know what,....
If my daughter ever comes up missing (God forbid) maybe the Citrus County Sheriffs will be more willing to bring in the bloodhounds and find her. Maybe they will do more because of this. So, go for it, Mark. Who wouldn't bet that IF he receives any money, that it doesn't go for his daughter's foundation.
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Posted by ( Ryan_Levi_Lesswick ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The guy worked at a transmission shop before her death, and now he has a new bike / rv / hummer. nuff said
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Posted by ( Zmama ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Then dont ASK the jury to award any $ if you go to trial! This lawyer is a liar, Of course its about $. I think the Sheriff ought to open a criminal investigation on the alleged child porn found on Lunsford's computer. Sic him Sheriff!
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Posted by ( hotray59 ) on February 25, 2008 at 8:55 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Well, I guess Lunsford realizes that he is running out of the money that people have contributed and he is now faced with getting a job to support himself. Now he wants to sue so he can continue to be a useless piece of CRAP. Anyone who gives another nickle to this person is a fool. It's over, Lunsford...get a real job and quit trying to make a living off of this. Society has helped you enough already!
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
It's amazing that they are going for events prior to the abduction. There are several angles here, all the way back to Couey's parents. Had his mother not given birth........to every event up to the fateful day. Even If Couey had been properly registered at some address, that would not keep him from visiting somewhere and taking a child. It could have been any child, but he was thrown a bone by someone (Mark) that left their child unattended behind a unlocked door. I certainly hope that this backfires for him now. Even if he gets some money, he now has to give a large portion to a couple a-hole lawyers. More than the normal share, I'm sure, because he is not smart enough to know what is acceptable. Good luck Mark, you'll need it. Keep the barstool warm, that's the only place you'll be welcome, as long as you have $$$$$.
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Posted by ( watrudoing ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why doesn't he sue Couey's scumbag family members that lied and said they hadnt seen him, he wasnt there?
I guess because they are scumbags and there is NO money to get from them.
I wont even say Mark should have been home, but SOMEONE should have LOCKED the door before going to bed...dont you think? That could have saved her life! There would have been some sort of noise had the door been locked and Couey still tried to get in.
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Posted by ( tsommer ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:17 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Mark and his attorney's are losers!! I think O'Reilly didn't really show as much interest in them. Maybe these emails he is getting from people who are from here are working -- Mark Lunsford wasn't even there... I think Bill has been getting the message he has lost everyone's support. So keep letting O'Reilly know how we feel at: oreilly@foxnews.com..... These guys are ambulance chasers... how sad for the foundation that it will pay the price for Mark's greed and addiction to high price toys. He and his attorneys disgust me to no end... SICK SICK
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Posted by ( watrudoing ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
tsommer; Your right, I saw the same thing with O'Rielly, he didn't show much interest. Not only that, but Gelman didnt even seem sure of what he was talking about.
Did you notice at the end of the article above that their leaving room to cancel the suit. I have a feeling he may not go thru with this.
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Posted by ( tsommer ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:42 p.m.
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Posted by ( keldonhart ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:43 p.m.
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Posted by ( jagaka2 ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Let the guy sue. Why not scrutinize the sheriff's office? Just want to make sure they're not covering anything up, like Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office did recently. There were other people involved in this, where Couey was hiding, who never ever got in trouble. Bill talked about it tonight.
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Posted by ( ragator1ragator ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
MARK IF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN A TRUE PARENT, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN WITH HER.
SHE WAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, NOT YOUR MOM. YOU ARE AT FAULT NO ONE ELSE!!!!
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Posted by ( hillbillie317 ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:53 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I am sorry for Marks loose. I think the foundation is a good idea . but to now want to sue and blame everyone else makes me sick. My feeling is that the trailer trash where Couey was staying should be in jail along with him as they knew he had the girl and who's not to say that they didnt join couey in what he did to Jessica. and I also agree that its funny how a guy working in a transmission place can have all theses new toys and be able to run all over the country and not work!!!!
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Posted by ( keldonhart ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
http://billoreilly.com/jessicaslaw
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Posted by ( sayitstraight ) on February 25, 2008 at 9:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
OK...so a little girls turns up missing one morning, police start searching, they get information from neighbors that very day...of suspicious activity at the trailer across the street, and the cops don't follow it, and you all are OK with that!!!?? At least until its your kid. I give Mark Lunsford credit for trying to improve the system. Sometimes you have to pay a price for incompetence. Mark already paid his price, maybe the Sherriff's Dept should too.
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Posted by ( Chances_Are ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
His lawyer looks like a cocky punk POS! Someone needs to jack him up! This is a very sad story...
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Posted by ( SOMETHINKS2 ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
what the heck go for the gusto. it is done live with your actions. use all of this to make the man that did this pay .leavethe people alone that did all for you (jessica)alone. what happened to the low life people that were also involved in the death they had had to know she was there. why have they not been charged for anything? mark do what you have been doing for jessie make some law's work hard for you and jessie not a media show for a lawsuit
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:18 p.m.
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Posted by ( hillbillie317 ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:24 p.m.
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:32 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
C'non TBO nothing bad there. Let's try again minus the a-h word.
The two points that Mark's lawyers were: 1). The sheriff's dept. didn't search Couey's trailer soon enough.
It wasn't Couey's trailer, and the owner would not allow a search. This is liberal America, had they searched, all evidence would be thrown out. If they happened to save Jessica, then somebody else would eventually lose a child to this monster.
2.) They have some volunteers that had dogs that the sheriff told to stand down . Well imagine that, here you are the sheriff trying to find a missing girl, would you let any volunteer bring their dogs in when you have your own well trained dogs already on the case? If he had, he surely could be sued for crime scene contamination.
Mark. you have a couple of (rear end) holes for lawyers. It's a good thing that they didn't prosecute Couey, he would likely be free. Wake up.
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Posted by ( Dawnsview ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:32 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
With his lawsuit, he truth will come out. Mark must feel that he has a good reason for his decision to sue, and I don't believe that it is about money. I didn't see the O'Reilly show, but I have often wondered why it took so long to find her, when she was only 150' away from her own front door. If Mark gets rich from the lawsuit, so be it, but he has a pain that is far deeper than money will ever heal. He wants answers, and as happens too often in our society, he isn't getting them through his community activism and change in laws. The quickest and surest way to make change in our society is to create monetary consequence. He wants to know why his little girl was stolen from his house, and why she wasn't found for 3 weeks, and maybe he wil get his answers to that, in a lawsuit. Probably not, but at least he tries. I want to know the answers to that too, and I support him.
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Posted by ( rainsviolet ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:50 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
why must every one be so cold hearted. mark has been and always will be in the worst pain possible. i'm only shocked it took this long for a law suit. couey's home was not checked and it well should have been,but i know of a home that was and there was NO cause at all, so how does that make any sense!!! think of what YOU would be asking yourself if that had been the horrible death of your child !!! she may have been alive when the law choose not to check that home out - if she were then don't you think that there were some mistakes made that cost a life? let a jury decide, not the idea that this is all about money-it's about an innocent child who had every thing taken from her.
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
He doesn't want answers, he wants to blame somebody besides Couey, (who in my book bears 100% of the responsibility) and himself for his own shortcomings in not being there and the unlocked door.
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Posted by ( tsommer ) on February 25, 2008 at 10:53 p.m.
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Posted by ( butch ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
please mark go away take your daughters funds and just leave us alone. I have a better word than creep but I better not say it.
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Posted by ( richred43 ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:08 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I would just like to point out that Mr Lunsford wasn't home all night. Mr Couey probably observed the pattern and was just waiting for him to leave. Perhaps Mr Lunsford should take more responsibilty for his actions. How many nights was he not there with his daughter? It is all about money.
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:17 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
tsommer, His lawyers were a joke on TV tonight too. I felt and did so much for this man from day one, I'm done now. There has been things little by little for a while, but this is the straw that broke the camel's back for me.
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Posted by ( ProudLion ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
People have stated all sorts of professions for Mark - I thought he worked at a tavern at the time.
tsommer, where can the information you gave about Mark's abuse of the Jessica Foundation be documented?
Thanks
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:31 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
rainsviolet, It was NOT Couey's home, get your facts straight. The owner of the home would not allow a search. Constitutional right, any evidence would not be admissable in court, so Couey could be let go to kill another. The sheriff has to walk a legal tight rope in these cases. I believe he did as much as possible without the rearview mirror that everyone seems to be looking in now.
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Posted by ( Dawnsview ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:36 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
tsommer:
What you may say is true, I don't have the inside info to everything that you do, but I still want to know why a little girl was stolen from her home, and found dead and buried 150' away, 3 weeks later, at the hands of a state known and recognized, and "lost" phedophile. I want to know why she wasn't found sooner. If Mark wins millions and millions of dollars in his lawsuit, and vacations all over the world, and has hundreds of cars, and RV's, and parties with Hollywood celebs and Arab princes, I could not care. I have not a care in the world as to whether his front door was left open or unlocked, or if he knew those people or not, or smoked pot, or is the town drunk. I care that a man, no different than any other child killer, chose her and stole her, raped her and killed her. It is far too common in our world, and that I support any effort to stop it. I support that it stops, and if it takes a lawsuit to make it happen, so be it. Our society is not changing it, and it is worse everyday. If he is successful in his lawsuit, then society will change, firstly through governmental action and response. And, then, finally, we will stop the stealing and rape of our children, for sexual gratification. The Catholic church is only one example of the power of financial consequence to very bad actions, that came to light thru a lawsuit. He has every right to file a lawsuit, because that pervert was lost in our publice domain, and stole his daughter instead of being locked up. And, despite all that our police officers can do, they could not find her, within 3 days if she was still alive, and found her at 3 weeks. That is not okay with me, and I hope and pray that his lawsuit brings about something that makes that not happen again.
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Posted by ( tsommer ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
the documents were actually produced by a reporter on this media's website TBO.com. Go to archives and review the articles from late last week. It is a 501c3 organization which have public records. The report showed all the other data on expenses for office furniture $25,000, telephones $12,000, etc., etc., They reported all of that information right here....
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Posted by ( SOMETHINKS2 ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:45 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
i have read all coments from u. i am in agreement wtih the room . however this whole blame someone else for what was not done is a little to late move on for her not u . mark has made strides in alot of laws for the foundation and for other laws as well keep on keepin on .stop usong it for your gain. what is the problem?
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Posted by ( JimmyJazz ) on February 25, 2008 at 11:52 p.m.
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Posted by ( joeyg ) on February 26, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
TSOMMER and several others are dead on here. This LUnsford guy is a loser. I watched his attorney's on O'Reilly tonight. What a bunch of slimeballs.
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 26, 2008 at 12:05 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Dawnsview, Our liberal society has chosen to let these guys back on the street. A certain percentage are going to slip thru the cracks. A large percentage are going to re-offend.
But to ease overcrowding, our answer is early release, live with it or vote out the ones that support it.
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Posted by ( Miaa ) on February 26, 2008 at 1:35 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I am so tired of reading comments like that. Let's lock up all drunk drivers for life on the first strike - more kids are killed by them every year, and they have a much higher rate of offending than sex offenders.
I wish people would lean a little something before promoting these kinds of things!
There is no way to tell with certainty which sex offender is going to be one of the teeny tiny few who is going to go from molestation to kidnap/rape/murder.
However, in both this case and the one of Christopher Barrios/George Edenfield, there WERE markers that LE failed to act on.
If we actually used the laws and checks in place, we could possibly save lives. More laws won't solve the problem.
Neither will locking everyone up for life who commits one offense.
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Posted by ( Dawnsview ) on February 26, 2008 at 1:36 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
GF, I agree with you, that our liberal society does let these people back on the streets. And, when We Vote, our society is more likely to allow these same people with different coats back into office. I may be stupid, but the best way to get my attention is to take away what what feeds me and puts the roof over my head. You can tell me ten ways to Sunday how to be, and I will find 20 ways around that, but if you take away my way to make money, to eat, find shelter, etc., you have my attention. That is money, and you can scream at the world about the unfairness or injustice of anything, and only a handful of people will rally to that cry for help. You hit the pocket books of any organization, private or public, and succeed, you will make change. That is the way of this world, and to make radical change, inspiring and different change, you need money. Most of us don't have it, and we don't unite to make it happen, in giant ways, so it has to happen through lawsuits, when the peon mankind makes a wave. I'm not a fan of lawsuits, but I'm tired of what happens to our children, and the change won't happen through any elected official. There is no way to stop these sexual predators, and it will only happen by lawsuit, one after the other, against institutions that are either complicent or have their hands tied to stop it. Our politicians are too fat and bloated, and we can no longer tell them what to do. They do not listen to us any longer, and the only way to get their attention is through a lawsuit against our own government, the people that are supposed to represent me and you. To make changes on a reasonable scale, where Jessie wasn't stolen from her bed, and killed. I think that is reasonable to expect, and I support Mark Lunsford for his lawsuit. I may or may not sleep with my front door unlocked, and I may or may not smoke dope and drink and do drugs with friends, and I may or may not live a lot of different ways of my life, but I am a grown person and I would not like a man like Couey in my house for any reason in the middle of my night, and there should never be a reason that he would be. But, he was in her night, that night, and our laws and politicians did not stop that.
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Posted by ( Miaa ) on February 26, 2008 at 2 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
TSOMMER, I am not doubting you, but do you have anything that shows this:
"...he hung out with these same people (the ones who lived in that "trailer") and did drugs with them, he (or his mom/dad) left the DOOR UNLOCKED...."
The reason I ask is there seem to be a lot of things wrong with this situation in general.
I try not to be a conspiracy theorist - anything picked apart can seem to 'look strange' but something rubs me the wrong way about the whole situation.
If one were to be of a CS bent,,,,,one could wonder why Couey said that she was alive for days, that LE could have found her if they had looked in his place.
Evidence suggests otherwise. I don't know - there are too many things out of place for me.
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Posted by ( GatorsFan ) on February 26, 2008 at 4:20 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Lost in the miasma of all this is the near-hysterical frenzy Lunsford created in his campaigning to do everything to sex offenders but burn them at the stake. That he is a bitter and vengeful man is a certainty. Under his masquerader's cloak of being "a father seeking justice" lies a man perfectly at-home leading a mob carrying torches, pitchforks, and a hangman's noose.
He who searches for the bogeyman should first tend to the skeletons in his own closet. As has been shown countless times, those seeking "the truth, the whole truth, yada-yada, blah-blah-blah" with a firebrand's intensity are themselves hoping to hide a bit of unpleasant personal history.
As we are all now learning, there's a lot of dysfunction within the Lunsford household, allegations, accusations, and convictions that could very well be the warning signals of future behavior not unlike that evidenced by the murderer John Couey. To the practiced eye, such things cannot --and should not-- be dismissed by some off-handed "Oh, that's different" remark.
If, by some odd chance, Jupiter aligns with Mars and Lunsford et al prevail in their ill-begotten lawsuit against the Sheriff of Citrus County, it can only be hoped that the jury returns an ironic judgement of "One Dollar, and nothing more."
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Posted by ( JimmyJazz ) on February 26, 2008 at 4:25 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I almost hate to say this, but it seems like the best thing that ever happened to Mark Lunsford was his daughter being murdered. Now people may be angry by this statement, but many more may see the truth in it. And sometimes the truth may be sad. Ask yourselves this- who or what was Mark Lunsford before this event occurred? A nobody with a crappy life- someone who people looked down at by his appearance and demeanor. And how has his life changed since Jessica was murdered? Well, he turned into a so-called "Advocate" for murdered kids and has been lavished with money and material items. He now craves the spotlight and seems upset when the cameras turn away from him. Everything he does seems less about his beloved "Jessie" and more about himself. No one ever seems to mention that he was not home when his child was abducted and everyone acts as if he should be blameless. Well, Mr. Lunsford is no victim. He is an opportunist seizing on the gullibility of the very community he wishes to now sue. Why do people not see through his charade? This man is as addicted to the limelight as a moth is drawn to the flame! The best thing to do to this man is ignore him! That would destroy his illusion of self importance. The worst part is that his daughter was raped and murdered by the scum of the earth, yet Mark Lunsford profits on her corpse! Shame on you!
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Posted by ( TonyD ) on February 26, 2008 at 5:15 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Let him sue...a jury wil never award damages...and then, let's push for an investigation into how, without a job, Mr. Lunsford can afford the new vehicles, motorcycle, etc. etc. Jessie's Ride, hell....this is MARK'S RIDE.
This guy is a disgusting piece of trash.
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Posted by ( Been_There_Done_That ) on February 26, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Greed. Anyone who donated to Mark's fundraiser deserves a full refund.
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Posted by ( jagaka2 ) on February 26, 2008 at 7:22 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Let the guy sue. Why not scrutinize the sheriff's office? Just want to make sure they're not covering anything up, like Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office did recently. There were other people involved in this, where Couey was hiding, who never ever got in trouble. That little girl may have suffered needlessly. I say we take a closer look.
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Posted by ( Betty ) on February 26, 2008 at 7:58 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this is all about money and a man wanting to remain in the spotlight...all at the expense of the memory of poor little Jessica. Shame on you.
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Posted by ( GulfFrit ) on February 26, 2008 at 8:13 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Was so full of holes. Attorneys say the FDLE said Couey was somewhere in Citrus County before this happened. Well he didn't register and had people hiding him obviously. Why they're not charged for aiding him I'll never know. That's the only problem I have with it.
I agree with above poster; Some think police can search anywhere anytime they want? I think there would be many more lawsuits if that did happen.
This happened because a low-life in his 30's, living with momma and pappa still, leaves his child at home again and the house was obviously unsecure. So much that an old monster like couey could get in. They should be charged with neglect. That'll knock the charity paid teeth out of Mark.
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Posted by ( GF ) on February 26, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Dawnsview, Our laws and politicians cannot protect everyone from everything all of the time, and to expect such is liberalism at it's height.
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Posted by ( bigpete ) on February 26, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
GOD BLESS JESSICA - Her dad was doing so well and ALL the support in the world. Now he shows his true self.$$$$$$$$
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Posted by ( nickia2b ) on February 26, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
YOU HAVE LOST MY RESPECT!!! I guess all of the fame and the money ran out!!! You were supposed to help children and families and be a positive voice for the awful thing that happened to your daughter. NOW YOUR JUST A DOCKET NUMBER in the lawsuit system. Everyone still grieves over the loss of your daughter but are disgusted by your final actions. Just another piece of garbage trying to make a nickel.
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Posted by ( nickia2b ) on February 26, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
ONE MORE NOTE!! AT WHAT POINT DOES THE PARENTS GET CHARGED WITH CHILD NEGLECT AND GET ARRESTED FOR LACK OF PARENTING. I THINK PARENTS NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND TELL MARK THAT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND WE NEED TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF HIM. YOU CANNOT JUST HAVE CHILDREN, NOT TAKE CARE OF THEM, SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS AND BLAME EVERYONE ELSE BUT YOURSELF. ARREST HIM AND THE MOTHER FOR NEGLECT AND THEN TRY TO INVESTIGATE THE CHILD PORN FOUND ON HIS COMPUTER FOR ADDITIONAL CHARGES ON HIM.
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Posted by ( jagaka2 ) on February 26, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Get over your prejudices about Mark. It's about whether or not all was done, that could have been done, to save that girl. It might save another life in the future.
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Posted by ( nickia2b ) on February 26, 2008 at 10:17 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( jkatracoma ) on February 26, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Dawnsview writes: "If he is successful in his lawsuit, then society will change, firstly through governmental action and response. And, then, finally, we will stop the stealing and rape of our children, for sexual gratification."
I have one comment to make about that statement: "Firstly" it starts at HOME (teaching morals, values, etc. which apparently Mr. Lunsford wasn't taught himself.) It's not the government's job to do this!!
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Posted by ( Cindyr9 ) on February 26, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
rkaeser - Get your facts straight!! The mom did not even live here and Jessie lived with her Dad and grandparents!
You people who want to blame Mark... so you are perfect parents and have never made mistakes... plus when in the parent handbook does it say a child should never be left overnight with her grandparents! I guess since my granddaughter spends the night with me her parents dont love her and are not protecting her???!!!
Mark - keep your head held high and keep doing what you are doing for ALL OUR children - even if others dont seem to appreciate it!!!
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Posted by ( jagaka2 ) on February 26, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Hey, guess what? People should be able to go to sleep, even with unlocked doors and not expect a child predator to rape and kill your kid. Stop blaming Mark.
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Posted by ( theloneconsumer ) on February 26, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
So let's ask, WHERE WAS LUNGSFORD? At a girlfriends' house, or drunk on a couch? He WASNT HOME TO LOCK THE DOOR folks. Did he think, as a dump truck driver, his mommy was going to take care of his parental responsibilities?
Remember, COUEY walked into an UNLOCKED DOOR. Daddy was busy somewhere else.
Maybe Lungsford needs to know the musical chairs ended. No one needs laws if Daddy cant go home at night. A little prevention on his part.
Lunsford was promised great things, a Congressional seat. The music ended. We women that have a relationship end with the governor dont do this. But Lunsford likes the music.
Maybe he should have stayed home and locked the door...And Crist shouldnt milk a dead child to death in a campaign.
Couey needed therapy in prison. We need to treat them, and stop pretending somewhere a parent isnt responsible for being busy.
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Posted by ( captmomo ) on February 26, 2008 at 4:50 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
this is so sick. lawyer is behind this. if mark was smart(not likely) he'll stop now while he still has a few people behind him. couey is the killer, not the police. its all about the money. if you think other wise your dreaming.ask him or the lawyer if they are going to ask for no money settlement....fat chance...
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