John Couey

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John Evander Couey

John Evander Couey (born September 19, 1958) is an American criminal.

Couey is presently on trial in Citrus County, Florida, and faces the death penalty.

On March 18, 2005, John Evander Couey confessed to having kidnapped and murdered Jessica Lunsford.

[1] [2] According to police reports, Lunsford was abducted after attending a local church service.

John Couey stated he went to Jessica's house at about 3am, entered through an unlocked wooden door, awoke her, told her (Exact Quote) "Don't yell or nothing" and had Jessica follow him.[3]

Couey occupied the trailer along with two other women. Couey admitted in his video taped and recorded deposition to having sexual intercourse with Jessica in his bedroom.[4] They then both slept nude together the first night at which time he then again assaulted her in the morning,[5] leaving her in the closet with the instructions not to leave. She stayed in the closet the entire day as John Couey reported for work at "Billy's truck lot",[6] never attempting to escape.

John Couey related that Jessica did not appear a virgin the first time they had sexual intercourse, stating she did not cry or yell out, and in fact smiled and said it felt like she was having her period.[7] The coroner's report stated that Jessica's vagina showed prior healed notches, clefts and scars in her hymenal remains in a 6, and 12 o'clock position that were present before John Couey's rape, though he stated in his court deposition that it could be of natural occurrence as well as molestation.[8]

On March 19, 2005 at exactly 12:13am, police found Jessica's body at a residence located on West Sparrow Court, buried in a hole approximately 2 1/2' deep and 2' circular, covered with leaves. The body was removed from the ground at exactly 3:37am and transported to the coroner's office.

Her body had undergone "moderate" to "severe" decomposition.[9] and according to the publicly released autopsy reports was skeletonized on 2 fingers that Jessica had poked through the bags before suffocating to death. The coroner ruled that death would have happened even in best circumstances within 2-3 minutes from lack of oxygen.[10]

In addition, Couey has an extensive criminal record that includes 24 arrests for burglary, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and indecent exposure. In 1991, he was arrested in Kissimmee on a charge of fondling a child under age 16. [11] During a house burglary in 1978, Couey was accused of grabbing a girl in her bedroom, placing his hand over her mouth and kissing her. Couey was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled in 1980. [12]