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January 24, 2007
Couey's Statements In Jail Are Admissible, State Says
Topics: NewsBy JIM TUNSTALL The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jan 24, 2007
INVERNESS - Jail guards who may have heard John Evander Couey make incriminating statements should be allowed to testify at his murder trial because the evidence is critical to the case against him, the lead prosecutor said in documents filed Tuesday.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway said attempts to block the testimony are extreme and case law supports its use.
Ridgway said the defense was told of the evidence Jan. 11 and has had time to review it before Couey's trial in the death of 9-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford.
In one statement, Couey allegedly said he had never killed anyone until the third-grader was slain. It is unclear how many of the seven guards heard that or other incriminating statements.
Assistant Public Defender Dan Lewan last week asked Circuit Judge Ric Howard to block the guards' testimony on the grounds Lewan did not have sufficient time to prepare for it.
He also asked Howard to delay Couey's trial, now set for Feb. 12 in Miami.
Lewan could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Howard had thrown out statements Couey made shortly after his arrest, saying Couey asked for but did not get an attorney before making them. Statements later made to an investigator and a jail guard are admissible, Howard ruled.
Ridgway's filing also said there is no need to delay the trial, adding that Lewan's motion for a continuance failed to specify why he needs the additional time. Ridgway said the statements to guards are similar to ones Couey had made to other people.
Howard may issue a ruling this morning.
Couey, a 48-year-old convicted sex offender, is charged with first-degree murder, sexual battery on a child under 12, kidnapping and burglary with battery.
Authorities say he abducted the Homosassa girl the night of Feb. 23, 2005, carried her 150 yards to a mobile home he shared with other adults, raped her, then buried her alive.
A medical examiner said she died of suffocation.
Posted by admin at January 24, 2007 5:19 PM
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