Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

From the mouth of Jessica's grandma

By MICHAEL KRUSE
Published February 12, 2007

Jessica Lunsford was always a grandma's girl. Ruth Lunsford was like a mother to her after her parents divorced when she was 1.

"If Grandma was sick, she was her little nurse," said Archie Lunsford, her grandfather. "She'd say, 'Grandma, I'll take care of you.' She loved everything Grandma done, and Grandma loved everything she done."

Here, then, is a different way to look at the story of Jessica Lunsford - through the words of her grandmother, the person who might have known her best.

Feb. 24, 2005

"Of course, Jessie knew, knows that FCAT's coming up. It's not making her nervous or upset or anything like that. She says, 'I can do it.' "

"She's not aggressive with other people, you know, she's not one that will take up with you real quick and go off somewhere with you. ... She'd have to know you and then she might be a little leery about that. And she wouldn't do that unless she said, 'Grandma, is it okay?' "

"Jessie don't like other people go in her room. She don't like it. She's just ... no, that's my room ... and that's the way I have taught her, that your bedroom is your room, it's your privacy."

"She don't like the dark. I'm taking it that she don't like the dark because she always has wanted a flashlight in her room, which she has. But I've got night-lights all through the house, her room, the kitchen and our room, and, uh, got it in the bathroom. ... She didn't like the dark for some reason. But then all of her life I've always had a night-light for her, even when she was a baby."

"I just don't think I can make it if anything permanent was to happen to her. I just don't think I can make it. She's meant my life. I've been her life, and I just don't think that I can make it."

Feb. 25, 2005

"She wouldn't go anywhere without telling us. When God made Jessie, he made an angel. We always called her princess. I know she's out there."

Feb. 28, 2005

"I love you, Jessie. Come home, Jessie."

March 19, 2005

"I don't understand how anyone could do this to a little child."

"I'd like to say she had no enemies. She loved everyone and everyone loved her. I just can't say no more."

May 15, 2006

"I kept her from the time she was a year old up until she left this world."

July 8, 2006

"She was not a cusser. She was never hateful.

"I wanted her to be clean. I wanted her to be nice. I wanted her to have good manners. I wanted her to be a lady."

Feb. 2, 2007

"She never threw any fits. Never nothin' like that. You know how a lot of kids will fall on the floor and scream and holler and carry on? She never done nothin' like that."

"People would brag on her because she was so well-mannered. She never said 'huh.' 'Beg your pardon,' 'Yes, ma'am,' 'No, ma'am,' 'No, sir.' "

"I taught her to crawl. I got down on my hands and knees on the rug, and I'd say, 'Come on, Jess.' "

More coverage

- John Couey's trial in the death of Jessica Lunsford starts today in Miami. As jury selection begins, some questions about the case remain. See story, SECTION A.

- For complete coverage of the Lunsford tragedy, check tampabay.com/couey. The page will feature live updates from the courtroom, video reports and more.

About this story

The comments from Feb. 24, 2005, come from Ruth Lunsford's statement to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. The comments from Feb. 25, 2005; July 8, 2006, and Feb. 2, 2007, come from interviews with Times reporters. The comment from Feb. 28, 2005, comes from an interview with CNN. The comments from March 19, 2005, come from a press conference the evening after Jessica Lunsford's body was found. The comment from May 15, 2006, comes from a deposition.

[Last modified February 11, 2007, 19:51:56]