Unanswered questions

In his closing statements, Public Defender Daniel Lewan pointed to inconsistencies in the state's case and remaining questions surrounding Jessica Lunsford's murder.

Pressured by their role on the national stage, law enforcement officials set out "on a one-dimensional quest to get John Couey," Lewan said. The fallout from their single-minded hunt: questions. "Questions that aren't answered by this trial," Lewan continued.

The state has relied heavily on physical evidence -- DNA samples and fingerprints -- to make its case against Couey. Yet a number of fingerprints and other DNA samples on evidentiary objects were never tested.

"Let's talk about the four other people in that trailer and their complicity in this case," Lewan said. The trailer's walls were paper thin. How could they not have known she was there? he asked.

There is no evidence Couey entered the Lunsford house and took Jessica. There were no screams. No struggle.

"All we know is that Jessica was gone and the dolphin was with her," Lewan said. How do we know she didn't go out on her own? What kept her at Couey's house?

"Was it a locked closet door? A locked bedroom door?" asked Lewan, pointing out that no such locks were found. "Why didn't she just walk home? Why didn't she at least cry out?"

Lewan asked jurors how Couey could have possibly buried Jessica given the number of police in the area. He also told them they should evaluate the credibility of witnesses presented by the prosecution. All statements presented by jail guards "come from media exposure and their own imaginations," Lewan said.

"These are the questions that make you doubt," Lewan said. "And if that doubt is reasonable, you must consider them in your verdict."

-- Elena Lesley

Comments

[Brenda]

No doubt in my mind. Even without his confession, DNA is overwhelming. The jury concluded on evidence presented. And, they reached the only correct verdict. The others in the trailer knew Jessica was there, they are guilty of murder in my opinion.