The ripple effect

Jessica's disappearance and death left other children terrified, said Debra Harmon, a guidance counselor at Homosassa Elementary School.

Though Harmon never actually knew Jessica, she was called as a victim impact witness by the state.

Homosassa is generally a sleepy community, not the kind of place where children are abducted from their own homes, buried in a neighbor's yard, she said.

"It is a horrible reality," Harmon read from a prepared statement, her voice breaking.

After Jessica's death, many young students slept on the floors of their parents' bedrooms, or even in their beds. They no longer felt protected, and began to question their own mortality.

"It affected the innocence of our children's lives," she said.

-- Elena Lesley