In a tape-recorded interrogation, played for Lunsford by Citrus County sheriff's detectives, Couey is heard describing how he lured Jessie from her bedroom in Lunsford's home, molested her over several days then buried her in a 4-foot grave.

The judge has deemed the recording inadmissible in court. The day before Couey gave detectives his rambling discourse, he had asked for an attorney. He asked for an attorney eight times in 46 seconds.

Detectives did not provide him with one.

Although Lunsford's testimony will be limited, he is expected to take the witness stand in the trial that is expected to run for the next few weeks. He can't mention what he heard on the tape. If he does, the proceedings would end in mistrial. Everyone would go home and the judge would set the date for a new trial.

Prosecutors, no doubt, will tell Lunsford he cannot talk about Couey, no matter how much he wants to, said Lunsford's attorney and friend Mark Gelman. Lunsford can discuss only what he saw.

He has never met Couey.

This morning, in Miami's Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, a few lawyers and a judge will begin picking the jury that will determine Couey's fate. Couey's attorneys declined to comment for this story but expert defense lawyers not working on the case say they don't envy the defense's task. A guilty verdict, they said, is highly likely.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Lunsford was asked whether life in prison would be sufficient punishment for Couey. He blurted out his answer before the question was finished.

"No," he said. "Me personally, I want the death penalty.

"If I could have gotten my hands on the man who did this to my daughter, there's no telling what I could have done."
Couey's Own Words

In a written transcript of his conversation with detectives, Couey says he walked into Jessie's room while her grandparents slept across the hall.

Couey told the detectives he almost turned around and walked out. Instead, he says in the transcript, he motioned for the girl to come with him.

In a mobile home 150 yards from the Lunsford home, Couey molested Jessie, he told detectives. Couey said he kept her in his closet for several days.

Eventually, law enforcement scoured the area looking for the missing third-grader. Couey grew afraid to let her go, according to the transcript.

He told detectives he had made a decision.

On the final night of her captivity, he forced her to have intercourse, Couey said in the transcript. Then, he told detectives, he asked Jessie to step into a trash bag and crouch down. He said he tied a knot at her head, put her into a second trash bag and tied it at her feet.

Outside Couey's bedroom window, which can be seen from the front porch of Mark Lunsford's home, Couey placed the bags into a hole and filled it with dirt, he said in the transcripts.

"She was alive," he told detectives in a bland tone. "I buried her alive. … It's stupid but she, she suffered."

Even though the jury will not hear those words, prosecutors and law enforcement officials have said they have more than enough evidence to convict on charges of first-degree murder, sexual battery on a child younger than 12, kidnapping and burglary with battery.

Jurors will hear that Jessie's body was found buried in Couey's yard, her fingerprints were found in Couey's closet and her DNA was found in blood on Couey's mattress.

Couey also volunteered statements to law enforcement that the judge said can be used against him at trial. Couey reportedly told a jail guard he didn't mean to kill Jessie. He also is said to have told a detective that he would plead guilty if that meant he could get life in prison, instead of the death penalty.

Prosecutors have refused to make any offers.
Experts Don't Expect Acquittal

Couey's public defenders have remained silent about their strategy. Several prominent defense lawyers not affiliated with the Couey trial said no one should expect an acquittal.

Criminal Law Professor Charles Rose, of Stetson University College of Law, said he would be shocked if the jurors found Couey not guilty.

"This is a death penalty case," Rose said. "It has nothing to do with whether he is guilty or innocent. It has to do with whether or not he will be put to death."

Couey's attorneys probably won't bother trying to persuade a jury to ignore the DNA, to ignore the fingerprints and to ignore Couey's words, Rose said. Instead, the defense probably will try to convince the jury that Couey deserves life in prison, not execution.

The trial will come in two phases.

In the first phase, jurors must determine whether Couey killed Jessie. If they find him guilty, the trial enters a second phase, where jurors determine whether he should die.

The first phase requires a unanimous vote. In the second phase, prosecutors try to persuade at least seven of the 12 jurors to vote for death. If six or more jurors vote against execution, a convicted defendant is sentenced to life in prison.

Rose said that given the circumstances and evidence, the defense will be hard-pressed to get six people to vote for life in prison.

One vocal death penalty opponent might be adamant enough to persuade several other jurors to spare Couey's life, Rose said.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty

With weighty evidence against them, some defendants have given up their right to trial, sending their cases directly to the penalty phase.

In 1990, for example, serial killer Danny Rolling pleaded guilty on the first day of trial. At the penalty phase, his attorneys begged jurors to vote for life. They voted unanimously for execution.

Rick Parker, the assistant public defender who represented Rolling, said the guilty plea was Rolling's idea. Parker said he rarely recommends a guilty plea when the death penalty is a possibility.

Although the evidence against Couey might seem obvious, Parker said, defense attorneys should certainly move forward to trial, hoping for a not guilty verdict. The prosecution, after all, must prove guilt. Couey does not have to prove he is innocent.

Hundreds of actions in the courtroom later could become part of an appeal, Parker said.

Clearwater defense lawyer David Parry, who has handled more than 30 death penalty cases, agreed with Parker that Couey probably won't plead guilty.

Parry said Couey's attorneys probably will not try to persuade the jury that Couey is innocent. If they do, and he is convicted, their words during the penalty phase would sound hollow. Why should the jury listen, Parry said, if they thought they were lied to in the trial's first phase?

Instead, Parry said, the defense might sit quietly through most of the trial's first phase.

"In the trial, a lot of the shock goes away," Parry said. "The jury can get rid of their anger by finding him guilty."

Then, when the prosecution argues for the death penalty, the defense can offer explanations. For example, court documents show that Couey has brain damage.

The possible brain damage might become a significant issue in the case. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday where Couey's attorneys are expected to argue to the judge that Couey is mentally retarded.

If the judge agrees, statements Couey made to jail guards could be ruled inadmissible. Also noteworthy is a Florida law that prevents the execution of the mentally retarded. That would not necessarily stop the penalty phase of the trial but could prevent the judge from imposing the death penalty even if the jury recommends death.
The Anger In Jessie's Dad

Mark Lunsford said he doesn't know whether he'll sit through the whole trial.

"They're not going to talk about anything I don't already know," Lunsford said. "I'd planned to be there the whole time, but a friend of mine called me the other day. His name is John Walsh. He begged me not to sit there when they show the photographs and stuff."

Walsh, host of the television show "America's Most Wanted," is the father of a murdered child.

For years, Lunsford was known for his silence, a self-described loner with few friends. After Jessie's death, Lunsford dedicated his life to helping other victimized children. To accomplish that, he learned to communicate. It's something he works on daily.

"That first time I testified before the Florida Legislature," Lunsford said, "I was so emotional, I couldn't get anything out."

Since then, through his hundreds of speaking engagements, Lunsford has never written a speech.

As his only preparation, Lunsford closes his eyes and says a prayer. He asks God for the words, for people to understand him and for Jessie to sit by his side when he needs her most.

It's the same prayer he will say before he takes the witness stand.

Spoken from the heart, Lunsford's words are powerful.

"I'll tell you," he said. "When something like this happens, it ruins your life. You know those people who are so close to you they would stick with you no matter what? Even those people go away from you."

Lunsford is quick-witted and personable. Still, he said, his friends could see his anger - and they hated it.

Lunsford figures he was too busy for friends anyway.

"What is grieving?" Lunsford asked rhetorically. "Maybe that's what I'm doing when I keep traveling, telling the same story over and over and over. Maybe that's therapy. Maybe it's not."

Tribune researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.