Onstott trial began today. Jury selection underway

Onstott trial began today. Jury selection underway.
Monday, August 11, 2008

David Onstott, 40, was arrested for first degree murder and attempted sexual battery for the murder of Sarah Lunde in 2005.

Jury selection is underway and could take up to one week. The court has called I think they said at least 200 potential jurors for questioning.



Prosecutors ruled out the death penalty after their case took a series of hits. The biggest hit was the decision of a judge to throw out Onstott’s confession. Onstott claims investigators refused to let him speak to an attorney when he asked to do so or should I say Onstott attorneys said they refused to let him speak to an attorney.
Even though the case has taken some hits, prosecutors are prepared for court and will continue to fight for the admission of the confession.

Now David Onstott pleads not guilty. What a piece of trash. He admitted to killing a 13 year old girl and wants to plead not guilty. People want to talk about problems with the system; here is a prime example of problems with the system. A killer confesses and still given the option to plead not guilty. If someone confesses to the crime not guilty should not be an option.

Now before I get too far off track here, the case started back in 2005. Sarah Lunde went missing and her case drew national attention.



Sarah Lunde had a tough life. She survived foster care, violent family fights and hospitalization for mental illness. She was the most happy when surrounded by her church friends, just being an everyday teenager.

Friday, April 8 Sarah attended a youth group outing with members of the First Apostolic Church. She returned home on Saturday evening and asked her brother to go get her something to eat.

She apparently wanted to go with her brother and he told her no, that he would not have room for her in his car since he was going to pick up some of his friends. Andrew Lunde returned home at 4 am and Sarah was missing.

Apparently he was not alarmed that she was gone at that hour, so he went to bed. Shortly after he went to bed, David Onstott showed up at his house at 05:00 hrs wanting to speak to his mother. Andrew told him his mom was gone for the weekend.
This happened on April 10, 2005.

Andrew said Onstott came in and got a beer and left.

It’s bad enough for the brother not to be alarmed, but when the mom returned home on the evening of April 10, 2005, she assumed Sarah was at a friend’s house. Sarah’s mom, Kelly May did nothing until the next day when she called the school and learned Sarah had not shown up for classes and then she elects to call the sheriff’s office.



This is when the case drew national attention. As thousands searched for Sarah Lunde other groups became involved as well. Even the Yankees pitched in for missing children. The Yankees decided that amber alerts will be posted on their billboard at Legends Field.

David Onstott was arrested for threatening a man with a screwdriver on April 12, and when it was discovered he was wanted in Michigan for a DUI warrant, the judge raised his bond to 250,000 on April 13.

Then on April 16 Sarah Lunde’s partially clad body was found in an abandoned fish farm. She had been missing just over a week when she was found.
Later that evening David Onstott confesses to Sarah Lunde’s murder. He was then charged with first degree murder and attempted sexual battery.

In October 2005 the medical examiner ruled Lunde died from a blunt trauma impact to the head, which fractured her skull. It was also revealed when Lunde's body was found in a Ruskin pond; it was weighed down with concrete pieces.
When those documents were released, they also included an interview with Onstott ex-wife who told authorities Onstott molested their daughter when she was 14 or 15 years old.

In 1995, a jury found Onstott guilty of raping a Ruskin woman. He was jailed for six years before being released on probation. In 2002, he was arrested and charged with slicing a man's face with a machete. He was acquitted of that charge. If scum attorneys did not get this man acquitted, Sarah may still be alive today. Talk about problems with the system. This man has a violent past, rape charges in the past and a sexual offender for molesting his own daughter when she was 14-15, why should he be walking the streets?

Now in January 2006 prosecutors now have jail house confessions from a man that David Onstott confided in. Apparently he described the last night of Sarah Lunde’s life. The fellow inmate told investigators Onstott confessed to sexually molesting Lunde, saying it was just like another rape he committed back in 1995.

February 2006.

David Onstott has found God and it has been reveled in his phone conversations.
Prosecutors have released hours of recorded phone conversations from the Hillsborough County Jail.

On the tape Onstott reaches out to his mother, girlfriend and his ex-wife. This is part of one of the conversations with his ex-wife:

Onstott: "You know I've broken every commandment now."
Ex-wife: "Yes, every single one."
Onstott: "Every single one."
Ex-wife: "There was only one left and then you did it."
Onstott: "Every single one."
Ex-wife: "Yeah."

The search for the 13-year-old Lunde and her killer lasted several days, but eventually investigators got a major tip. Investigators said the evidence came from Onstott during a conversation with his cellmate.

During the taped phone conversation, Bobby, the inmate, said he was convinced Onstott knew what happened to the girl, whose body was found April 16 near her Ruskin home.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said it has a confession from Onstott. Many of Onstott's taped phone conversations revolved around the Bible as he talked to his mother about sin.

"I keep having to learn the same lessons over and over and over and over, you know what I mean, it dumbfounds me," Onstott said. "It dumbfounds me, but I know one thing, I thank him every night. No matter how bleak or how bad this looks, I'm thankful I didn't die on my sins.

"I used to tell people when I got out of trouble the last time that I know the Lord delivered me, which he did. I have faith and I know that he did. And I said I feel this is my last chance and I got to do right and look what happened. And I failed and I'm put in some kind of position that I never, ever thought I would be put in my whole life. It's not me. It's not my character. It's not who I am."

The defense has battled every single angle they can to get the killer acquitted again. They have asked for a change in venue, they have been in court time and time again trying to get all the statements Onstott made thrown out. Some of those attempts have worked and some statements he made will not be admitted.

The defense now claims the prosecution has no evidence linking Onstott to the murder of Sarah.

This piece of scum should die, but sadly the prosecution has elected not to seek the death penalty.

This trial should be interesting. The defense wants a child killer back on the streets. Does anyone think this man will be a law abiding citizen if he is released? Does anyone think he will not rape again? Does anyone think he will not rape a child again? The defense has gone above and beyond in this case to ensure a killing rapist is back among the children.

This is where the problems with the system come into play. A confessed killer is allowed to plead not guilty for his crimes. The defense got him acquitted for his other crimes. Why? Why would the defense for any guilty party fight to have guilty people back on the streets?

If Onstott was in jail for his other crimes, he would never have had the opportunity to kill Sarah Lunde.