Murder Suspect Accused Of Stabbing His Daughter And Girlfriend To Death Acts As His Own Lawyer
Murder Suspect Accused Of Stabbing His Daughter And Girlfriend To Death Acts As His Own Lawyer
A double murder suspect accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend and disabled nine-year-old daughter has been allowed to act as his own lawyer and on Wednesday he launched his defense screaming at the jury and interrogating his own son.
Ronnie Oneal III is accused of murdering his girlfriend Kenyatta Barron and his daughter Ron’Niveya in March 2018. Ron’Niveya suffered cerebral palsy and couldn’t speak. Police say he killed her with a hatchet.
At the time, his eight-year-old told police how he stormed around their Florida home in a rampage, screaming Allahu Akbar. The boy was also slashed but he survived.
Oneal was deemed fit to stand trial and he has been allowed to represent himself.
On Wednesday, he screamed at the jury:
I look alone. But I am backed by a mighty God,’ and he cross-examined the boy via video link, demanding that he tell the courtroom how he’d stabbed him. The evidence is going to show that I love my children. The evidence will not show you that my son witnessed me beat his mom to death, nor did he witness me shoot his mom. In fact, he didn’t witness much at all.
In another outburst, he screamed:
The evidence is going to show that law enforcement tampered with evidence to meet their high burden of proof. Because originally it wasn’t enough. So we had to tamper with evidence. Since it was such evidence already but we still had to tamper with evidence.
He said he was the victim of ‘some of the most vicious, lying, fabricating, fictitious government you have ever seen.’
The state cannot prove that I premeditatedly murdered anyone. When time is all said and done, you will see who is the mass murderers in Tampa Bay.
His defense is that his girlfriend attacked the kids and he stabbed her in self-defense.
During the cross-examination, he asked the boy:
Did I hurt you that night?’ The boy responded, ‘Yes.’ ‘How did I hurt you?’ Oneal asked. ‘You stabbed me,’ his son replied.
He also described how his father set fire to the house using gasoline. Investigators say the wounded boy came out of the burning house and described what had happened.
‘The first words that came out of this brave boy’s mouth: `My daddy killed my mommy,´ Assistant State Attorney Scott Harmon said.
After the attacks, police say Oneal set the family home on fire. The trial is expected to last through the end of next week.
On the night of the attacks, Barron fled into a closet after being shot multiple times. She called 911 then fled the home to go to a friend’s, all while shot, but he followed her and beat her to death.
He then went back into the family home and used a hatchet to kill their little girl, who had severe special needs, according to police. Prosecutors say he repeatedly stabbed the son.
Oneal had been represented by public defenders until two weeks ago when he suddenly announced at a pre-trial hearing that he wanted to represent himself.
The judge told him he faced the death penalty and that it was a high-stakes case but he said he was ‘ready’ to die like ‘Biggie.
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