The Florida man who was standing trial for murdering his girlfriend and daughter, and who acted as his own lawyer at his trial, was convicted by a jury on all charges.
WFLA reports Ronnie Oneal has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, one count of resisting a law enforcement officer without violence, and one count of arson. That’s all summarized at the 7:30 minute mark in the video above.
It took 12 jurors five hours to reach their verdict, following Oneal’s closing argument where he yelled at the jury and alleged that prosecutors fabricated evidence in the case against him, including the 911 call made by Kenyatta Barron, his girlfriend whom he was accused of murdering. “He showed you a fraudulent recording,” Oneal screamed in the courtroom.
He also confessed to one murder. “I did kill Kenyatta Barron,” he said. “But I want you to tell it like it is, if you’re gonna tell it.”
Oneal said the state falsified evidence, explaining that while the state said he hit Barron 15 to 17 times, he only hit her three or four times. “So they tampered with the face of Kenyatta Barron and put all these extra lacerations on her face and whoever did it is definitely going to pay,” Oneal said. He also said he killed Barron after she killed their disabled 9-year-old daughter Ron’Niveya Oneal, and said his now-11-year-old son Ronnie Jr. gave a bogus testimony.
“He told you that he did not see me shoot his mom or beat his mom,” Oneal angrily barked at the jury. “He would have to have been outside to see that.”
Oneal was charged with the 2018 deaths of 33-year-old Barron and their daughter Ron’Niveya, and the attempted murder of Ronnie Jr., who survived being stabbed and burned by his father. The son later gave testimony at the trial, saying very blatantly, “My dad killed my mom.” Oneal also set their home on fire following the murders.
“These murders are among the most cruel and vicious our community has ever seen,” State Attorney Andrew Warren said in a statement. “Sitting in the courtroom with the victims’ family, hearing a mother’s screams, seeing the horrific pictures of her daughter—it’s hard to fathom how someone can do something so barbaric.”
Oneal could be sentenced to death. The same jury will deliberate on his sentencing beginning Wednesday.
