Murder of Jessica Lunsford

The abduction of Jessica Lunsford was covered in 2013 on the TV series FBI: Criminal Pursuit in the episode "Lurking Menace".

Mark Lunsford becoming an activist for children's rights after the murder of his daughter Jessica is the subject of the 2011 documentary film, Jessie's Dad.

On February 19, 2008, almost three years to the day after her kidnapping and murder, Jessica's father was represented by Jacksonville, Florida lawyers in a pre-trial brief filed against the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. After receiving notice of the pending suit, Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy stated that he believed the case to be "baseless... There is only one person in the world that should be held responsible for Jessica Lunsford's death and that's John Couey."

On August 24, 2007, a judge in Inverness convicted Couey for the kidnapping, sexual battery, and first degree murder of Lunsford, and sentenced him to death. However, Couey died of natural causes in 2009, before his sentence could be carried out.

On March 7, 2007, Couey was found guilty of all charges in relation to Lunsford's death, including first degree murder, kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery upon any person, and capital sexual battery. The jury deliberated for four hours, tasked with recommending either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, the only two possible sentences available under Florida law. A week later, after about one hour and 15 minutes of deliberation, a jury recommended Couey be put to death. The case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.

On August 11, 2007, a jury overseeing the Lunsford case voted 10-2 that Couey be eligible for the death sentence. Defense for Couey argued that he had suffered from a lifetime of emotional abuse and had a below normal IQ, which would enable him to avoid a death sentence under a 2002 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the execution of mentally handicapped people. However, the most credible intelligence test rated Couey's IQ at 78, above the standard accepted level of intellectual disability, which is 70.

On August 24, 2007, Couey was sentenced to death, in addition to three consecutive life sentences. However, on September 30, 2009, before the sentences could be carried out, Couey died of natural causes.

On June 30, 2006, a judge ruled that Couey's confession was inadmissible in court because when it was recorded police had not granted Couey's requests for a lawyer, thereby rendering the confession invalid and unreliable under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Over Couey's objection, the trial court ruled that all evidence collected after the confession, including the recovery of Lunsford's body, would be admitted, as would incriminating statements allegedly made by Couey to investigators and a jail guard.

Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford disappeared in the night on February 24, 2005, from her home in Homosassa, Florida. After approximately three weeks of intense searching for her around the area of her home, John Evander Couey was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, for an outstanding warrant of cannabis possession, but was released after questioning because it was only a local warrant. Couey was a 46-year-old long-time resident of Homosassa with an extensive criminal record, listing dozens of arrests for burglary and was a convicted child sex offender. Due to the laws at the time, Couey received only short sentences and was not monitored after release, despite his record of being an experienced trespasser and his repeated sexual offenses against children.

On March 18, 2005, Couey made an audio-recorded and videotaped confession to having kidnapped, raped and murdered Lunsford.

Jessica Marie Lunsford (October 6, 1995 – February 24, 2005) was an American nine-year-old girl from Homosassa, Florida, who was murdered in February 2005. Lunsford was abducted from her home in the early morning of February 24, 2005, by John Couey, a 46-year-old convicted sex offender who lived nearby. Couey held her captive over the weekend, during which she was raped and later murdered by being buried alive. The media extensively covered the investigation and trial of Couey.