TAMPA, Fla.(Fox 13) - Closing arguments began & ended Monday for prosecutors and a double-murder suspect representing himself in trial.
Jurors are now tasked with determining the fate of Ronnie Oneal, accused of murdering his girlfriend & 9-year-old daughter & attempting to kill his 8-year-old son. Oneal & prosecutors spent all of last week making their cases.
Prosecutors began their closing arguments Monday morning the same way they began their opening remarks: with the 911 call from 33-year-old Kenyatta Barron, Oneal’s girlfriend, as she pleaded for her life. Prosecutors said, by then, she had already been shot and, while the recording continued, Oneal can be heard beating her with a shotgun.
Much like his opening statements one week ago, Oneal yelled as he spoke to jurors, saying his son's statements were inconsistent and he believes his son was likely coached by the Hillsborough County detective who later adopted him.
"I did kill Kenyatta Barron, but I want you to tell it like it is if you’re going to tell it," he said.
It was a week of emotional and difficult testimony from first responders, neighbors & even Oneal’s own son, who testified as a witness.
On Friday, before the state & defense rested their cases, jurors saw images of Oneal taken the night of the murders. The lead detective on the case testified when he arrived at the scene, saying Oneal was covered in blood & smelled like gasoline.
Earlier in the week, Oneal’s son told jurors his father had poured gasoline on him after stabbing him, then lit him on fire.
As part of his defense, Oneal called one of his former neighbors to the stand, who described watching O’Neal’s girlfriend, Kenyatta Barron, try to run to another neighbor’s home for help but said she never made it.
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