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Political newcomer will face Bilirakis

Chiropractor David Langheier said he will run against state Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, in the Republican primary for the 9th Congressional District seat being vacated by Bilirakis' father.

Langheier, 46, said voters should have a choice. Until now, it appeared Bilirakis would win the seat unopposed by any Republican.

Two Democrats are running, but Bilirakis is considered a strong favorite because the district is heavily Republican.

DADE CITY - Lured out of her home on a school night, she was stripped partially naked.

Hysterical, clad only in her favorite T-ball shirt, the 9-year-old girl cried as her attackers took turns raping her, and one viciously bit her shoulder.

They silenced her with a knife and maybe an ice pick or screwdriver. There were 46 stab wounds, nine to the head.

After giving jurors that account of Sharra Ferger's death eight years ago, Assistant State Attorney Jim Hellickson pointed to Gary Steven Cannon.

Cannon did more than just take part, the prosecutor said. He enjoyed it.

"Cannon (told a witness) the sexual act he commited on the little girl would gratify him for a long time," Hellickson said.

Jurors sat stoically through Wednesday's opening statements, through the gruesome depiction of the crime, through the sight of the body on the TV monitor and the testimony of the victim's mother, Karen Ferger Patti.

Cannon, 25, could get life in prison if convicted. He and Gary Elishi Cochran, 39, an uncle of the victim's, were indicted on first-degree murder charges in 2001. Cochran, who could get the death penalty, goes on trial in December.

What alibi did Cannon give the state? That he was home that Thursday, watching the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hellickson said. "But of course the game was on Sunday, not Thursday."