The trial is expected to begin next month. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In addition to the cellmate's testimony, Onstott's public defenders have asked Circuit Judge Ron Ficarrotta to throw out statements Onstott made to his mother and to Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives.

The judge has not ruled on those statements.

Incriminating statements Onstott made to detectives came two days after he asked for a lawyer, his attorneys argue. Likewise, the conversation between Onstott and his mother was private and should not have been recorded, they argue.

The judge said he will accept more paperwork from lawyers on those issues and will rule in the next two weeks.

"These next two motions are very important," Ficarrotta said. "I want to get them right."

Without Onstott's words, the evidence against him is largely circumstantial. Sarah's brother said he saw Onstott at their home in the early morning hours on the day she disappeared. The brother said Onstott had mud on his shoes. Sarah was found days later, partially submerged in an abandoned fish-farm pond.

It is unclear exactly what Onstott told authorities, but prosecutors have said Onstott made "specific statements of guilt." Those statements have been sealed pending trial.
Cellmate Was 'Secret Agent'

The statements he made to his mother and the cellmate were more ambiguous.

Although Onstott never admitted guilt to his mother, he did say he felt like a "monster" and that he is a different person when he drinks.

"I don't know why it happened or why I threw away everything I had," Onstott said, according to a transcript of their conversation.

Onstott's cellmate, Robert Pollay, said detectives arranged for him to move in with Onstott in case he said anything incriminating. At the time, Onstott was a suspect in Sarah's disappearance, but he was also held in jail on another charge.

Pollay said another inmate walked into their area and asked about the search for Sarah. Onstott bolted upright and asked whether they had found a body, Pollay said.

Later, Onstott told Pollay that he had called his girlfriend and asked her to be his alibi for the night Sarah disappeared.

Assistant Public Defender John Skye argued that Pollay acted as an illegal "secret agent" of the sheriff's office. Detectives specifically told Pollay he could not ask Onstott questions, he could only listen. On the witness stand Friday, Pollay said he repeatedly asked Onstott questions.

The judge determined Pollay could testify about what he saw Onstott do, but he could not testify about what Onstott said.

Late Friday night, after the judge ruled on the Pollay matter, the lawyers concluded the three-day hearing by presenting their cases about Onstott's statements to his mother and to detectives.

Skye said two detectives interviewed Onstott on April 14, 2005, about a different case. Onstott said his attorney told him not to sign any more forms and he wanted to talk to his attorney before saying anything.

When another detective asked Onstott whether he wanted to provide a written statement about Sarah's disappearance, he said he would not unless he met with his attorney.

During the next two days, detectives met and questioned Onstott.

On April 16, 2005, Onstott was allowed to meet with his mother, then allowed a brief phone conversation with his lawyer. At that point, he gave a statement to the detectives.

Skye argued that the law is clear: Even though Onstott had asked for an attorney on a different case, from that point forward, detectives could not talk to him unless his attorney was present.

"Well, the fact is, they shouldn't have been talking to him on the 16th," Skye said. "He was by himself and should not have been by himself past the evening of the 14th."

Assistant State Attorney Patricia Turpin told the judge that Onstott has a strong knowledge of the legal system and knew his rights. Detectives read him his rights five times in five days.

Regarding Sarah's disappearance, Turpin said, Onstott said he would not offer a written statement without a lawyer. He did not say he would stop talking.

"It's clear, if we had obtained a written statement, it would not be coming in," she said.
'He Wanted The Death Penalty'

On April 16, 2005, Onstott waived his right to an attorney so he could talk to his mother, Turpin said. When his mother tried to tell him to speak with an attorney, he ignored her. At one point that evening, he told a detective he wanted the death penalty.

Even after Onstott spoke to his attorney, he gave a statement to the detectives, she said.

"Mr. Onstott is a man who did not want to see his attorney that day," Turpin said. "He wanted the death penalty."

Regarding the statements Onstott made to his mother, prosecutors have said the two had no expectation of privacy.

"There is no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Onstott was told that he would have a private conversation with his mother," Turpin said.

At several points in the conversation, Onstott leaned in and whispered to his mother, as if he were trying to prevent the detectives from hearing, Turpin said.

Defense lawyers pointed out that a detective told Onstott that detectives would not be in the room and "can't hear because the way the wall is."

Onstott's mother, Refugia Onstott-Whitten, took the stand Friday and said a detective specifically told her the conversation would be private.

Turpin said Onstott-Whitten's credibility was lacking, upon further questioning.

"She remembers nothing about that night except that she was told it would be a private conversation," Turpin said.

While Onstott-Whitten testified, a tape-recorded phone conversation was played in which she spoke to Onstott about the case. She told her son that Sarah and her brother were "stupid" for going out so late the night she disappeared.

The statements irked Kelly May, Sarah's mother, who was sitting in the courtroom at the time.

"She's just had too many years of trying to take his side and to make excuses for him," May said during a break. "That's what she's doing."

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.