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Ronnie Oneal III, a double-murder defendant who defended himself during his Florida trial, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder Monday evening, prompting the judge to recommend he secure a state-appointed attorney for sentencing.
"As you are aware, it gets no more serious for any defendant in any criminal courtroom in this country than what you are facing now," Judge Michelle Sisco told Oneal, according to Fox13News.com. "I’m really going to strongly encourage you to consider allowing counsel to now step in and represent you. I have to tell you, I think in another lifetime, you would have been an outstanding lawyer. ... However, as we move into penalty phase, I really am going to strongly encourage you to allow counsel to now step in and represent you."
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Oneal nodded when she made the comment.
Oneal was convicted several hours after shouting at Hillsborough County jurors and prosecutors and acknowledging he killed his then-girlfriend. The 12-member panel also found him guilty of attempted first-degree murder and arson. Jurors will reconvene later this week to recommend life in prison or the death penalty. Under Florida law, the decision for execution must be unanimous.
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Oneal admitted during closing arguments earlier Monday that he killed Kenyatta Barron but denied charges that he killed his disabled daughter and tried to kill his son.
"I want you to know the actual facts," he told jurors. Then, turning to prosecutors, he said, "I did kill Kenyatta Brown. But I want you to tell it like it is, if you are going to tell it."
During closing arguments, the judge intervened and warned the 32-year-old to stop using profanities.
The defendant spent most of his time Monday accusing the state of manipulating call logs and recordings for the night of the March 2018 killings. A state prosecutor called the claims "absurd."
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Oneal, who earlier in the trial cross-examined a sheriff’s detective before heartily thanking him for adopting his son, on Monday stridently criticized the move, suggesting it had prejudiced his son against him. The detective testified he worked the night of the attack but was not involved in the investigation.
Prosecutors say Oneal wounded Barron with a shotgun, then beat her to death. They say he used a hatchet to kill his 9-year-old daughter and wounded his son, then 8, with a knife. The daughter had cerebral palsy and could not speak.
Oneal is also accused of setting the family’s Tampa-area house on fire. The son survived and testified last week by remote video that he saw his father kill his sister with the hatchet and recalled his mother being shot.
Fox 13 reported that the son's cross-examination was a "gut-wrenching" moment.
"Did I hurt you that night of this incident?" Oneal asked.
"Yes," the boy replied.
"How did I hurt you?" Oneal continued.
"You stabbed me," the boy stated.
Prosecutor Ronald Gale said during his closing argument that the state had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Oneal was guilty of the double murder and attempted murder. Gale played a 911 call that included screams from Barron.
"This has been a very emotional case, and the evidence and testimony has been by turns gruesome and disturbing and just heartbreaking," Gale said, asking the jury to put those emotions aside and deliberate on the facts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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