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State says Jessica likely not alive long after taken

Prosecutors say John Couey gave several conflicting timelines of the 9-year-old's final hours.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published May 28, 2005

INVERNESS - Prosecutors doubt Jessica Lunsford was alive for long after she was kidnapped from her family's Homosassa home and say she may have been dead before sunrise.

"The physical evidence is inconsistent with her having been alive for any length of time," Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway told the Times Friday afternoon.

Ridgway's statement came the day after prosecutors released about 1,400 pages of documents and photographs in the case. Included was information that John Couey, the man accused in Jessica's slaying, told investigators he kept the girl alive for three days in a closet in his mobile home before killing her.

Jessica, 9, vanished from her bedroom late Feb. 23 or early Feb. 24.

Investigators say Couey, 46, a convicted sex offender, confessed to kidnapping, raping and killing her. Her body was found March 19, buried behind the mobile home where Couey lived.

But Couey has pleaded not guilty and is at the Citrus County jail awaiting trial. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.

The documents released Thursday raised more questions about how long Jessica was alive after the abduction and whether law enforcement officers could have saved her.

But prosecutors say the documents present an incomplete picture.

Not all of them have been released. They have dribbled out in the weeks since Couey's arrest, and more are coming. Couey's statement to authorities is not yet a public record.

Also, the investigators' statement that Couey kept Jessica alive three days is misleading, Ridgway said.

In interviews with investigators, Couey gave several different timelines of Jessica's final hours, Ridgway said. At one point, Couey said Jessica was alive for one day. Later, Couey told investigators she was alive for six.

"Other than Couey's inconsistent and implausible statements, there is no evidence she was in the house for any length of time," he said.

The physical evidence, Ridgway said, does not indicate that Jessica was inside the home for days. He would not provide specifics.

"(Couey's) statement is inconsistent with his self, with common sense and with the physical evidence," Ridgway said.

If Jessica did die shortly after she was taken to the mobile home, it is possible Couey's housemates did not know she was ever inside, Ridgway said. After all, the killer was able to slip into Jessica's home without waking her grandparents or rousing the family's dog, Corky, he said.

Documents released Thursday show a ladder was propped up to Couey's bedroom window for easy entry.

"(Couey) kept changing the period of time that she was alive," Ridgway said.

Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, is not convinced his daughter died before investigators came to Couey's mobile home to question housemates Dorothy Dixon, Madie Secord and Matthew Dittrich, said Lunsford's attorney, Herbert M. Cohen.

Cohen and Lunsford are eager to see autopsy reports. Cohen said Lunsford thinks it's likely Jessica was alive for days before she died.

Lunsford did not return a phone message left at his home Friday evening.

Cohen said he was concerned prosecutors seemed so certain she died the night she was snatched.

"I think it's prudent to wait for (the autopsy report)," Cohen said.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 352 860-7312 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 28, 2005, 00:08:13]