Post by lace on Oct 7, 2006 8:58:47 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]“No more child predators,” says father of murdered 10-year-old[/glow]
Date: 10/6/2006 9:57:41 AM
By: Kim Swindell Wood
Newsroom Manager
kim@spartaexpositor.com
Mark Lundsford, of Florida, experienced the worst nightmare in a parent’s life when the body of his 10-year-old daughter was found after she had been raped and tortured by a convicted pedophile who lived just across the street from her home.
Now, his mission to prevent this crime from happening to other children is bringing a group of motorcycle riders to Sparta on Oct. 15, on Liberty Square, from approximately 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The group will be seeking signatures for a petition they are carrying all over Tennessee to encourage legislators to enact stricter laws dealing with pedophiles.
The disappearance of Jessica Lundsford in February 2005 made national headlines. The young girl’s photograph was featured on the front page of every major newspaper in the country, as well as hour-by-hour updates on CNN. Jessica was missing from Feb. 24, 2005, until March 18, 2005.
“A month after I buried my daughter was when I started lobbying in Florida for Jessie’s Law,” said Mark, as he spoke with The Expositor, on Wednesday. “After I’d done Florida, within nine months I had been to 12 other states promoting Jessie’s Law – sitting in on committee hearings and doing public forums to inform people about Jessie’s Law – whatever I could do to reach legislators to educate them about Jessie’s Law.”
Now, a man called “Big Norm” by his friends and family has become friends with Mark Lundsford and is on a mission to ensure Tennessee lawmakers hear the voices of their constituents.
Mark Norman, a father and grandfather from Maryville, become emotionally involved with the story about Jessica.
Norman said the story touched his heart, especially when he thought about his own children and grandchildren. He said many people ask if he was molested as a child, and his response is, “No.” Norman is then asked if any of his children or grandchildren have been molested. Again, he replies, “No.” When he gives these responses, Norman said most people do not understand why he has become so involved in the fight to secure tougher legislation against pedophiles. His answer is straight to the point – “Somebody has got to protect our children.”
Norman said he could not imagine the pain Lundsford has experienced. Likewise, Lundsford’s story is a vivid recollection of the day his daughter was abducted.
“His name is John Evander Couey,” said Lundsford, as he talked about the man accused of raping and murdering his daughter. “We go to trial Feb. 12 [2007], in Miami.”
According to Mark, Couey faces at least four charges, including rape and murder.
“Me and Jessie – we had to spend time together before I could do anything,” said Lundsford. “The Sunday before she was taken, we had gone to the fair. We were supposed to go with some friends, but me and Jessie had a bad habit of waking up and saying, ‘Naw, I think we’ll just go by ourselves.’
“This was one of those times when we went to the fair and stayed until 1 o’clock in the morning – that’s where she got the purple dolphin.”
The story about the purple dolphin had been related by Norman when he spoke with The Expositor, on Tuesday.
“Mark [Lundsford] spent all day trying to get her that big dolphin,” said Norman, as he spoke about his conversations with Lundsford. “You know, he’s just a truck driver, living on a truck driver’s salary. He had gotten her one of the middle-sized dolphins. And, the night John Couey took her out of her bed, he snatched that dolphin up and took the dolphin with her. And, in his confession, his words were, ‘Well, I did think enough to bury her with the dolphin.’
“He thought he did her a favor by taking her dolphin to comfort her and burying her with it. He buried her alive, after two days of rape and torture, he took speaker wire off the speakers on the stereo, bound her hands and feet, and duct taped her mouth shut, dumped her into two trash bags, and then shoved that dolphin under her arm where she could hold it while she died. And, when they found her body in this shallow grave, buried alive, she had managed to free one hand and had punched out of the bag and was digging toward the surface before she died. She had one arm still wrapped around the dolphin and used the other arm to try to get to the surface.”
Lundsford said the Wednesday after his and Jesse’s trip to the fair, he was watching TV while Jessie was “jumping around” in the living room. She then went to take her shower before preparing to go to bed at 10 p.m.
“I got my kiss and my hug because that’s something we did before we leave or go to bed, and then I went out,” said Lundsford.
Lundsford and Jessie shared a residence with his parents. After Mark received his goodnight kiss and sent Jessie off to bed, he left the house. Jessie was tucked in her bed with her grandparents asleep in their bedroom. Lundsford returned at 5:30 the next morning to get ready for work.
“Her alarm clock’s going off, and I go in her room, and she’s not there,” said Lundsford. “I searched the house thinking maybe she’s playing a trick on me because she likes to get up before everybody else. I couldn’t find her, and I went to my mom and dad’s room and asked them if she was in there with them, and they said, ‘No.’ That’s when I told Mom to call 911.”
Couey was living with his sister and some other people. Mark said he had never met Couey or the other occupants of the residence.
“He lived across the street. His bedroom window faced the front of our mobile home –150 yards from his back door to our back door,” said Lundsford.
Lundsford said law enforcement officials went to Couey’s residence within the first three days after Jessica was missing. He said Couey kept Jessica alive inside his residence, in his bedroom, in the closet, for the first three days she was missing. He said the other residents claimed they did not know Jessica was in there.
Lundsford said law enforcement officials found out Couey had left on a bus for Georgia, which Lundsford said he believes heightened their suspicions about Couey.
“Ultimately, three weeks later they found out these people were lying about Couey,” said Mark.
Mark said Couey was in Augusta, Ga., in a bar, when a TV crew came in to do a story about “smoking and drinking.”
“Well, guess who they interviewed?” said Lundsford.
A national bulletin had already been issued for Couey, and the interview led Georgia authorities to him. Mark said Georgia law enforcement officials administered a polygraph test to Couey. However, according to Lundsford, Couey confessed to Jessica’s rape and murder and told authorities there was no need to read the results of the test.
“He put her in a black trash bag with the stuffed animal I had won her at the fair,” said Lundsford. “As soon as you open to the door to his mobile home – he buried her beside the steps. I’ll tell you something even spookier than that. In front of their house, in the middle of the road, was the command center for the sheriff’s department – 75 yards away.”
Lundsford said the public must stay aware of the wording in sex offender legislation. He said some states claim they are passing Jessie’s Law, but the bill is actually a watered-down version of the Florida law.
Norman has developed a website as a means to vent his frustrations about what he sees as weak laws dealing with pedophiles. Little did he realize his project would soon snowball into statewide support for his mission. Norman, who works at his family-owned marina, is a husky man who says he is not afraid to face these issues head-on.
Norman said he became curious why Tennessee did not have legislation as tough as Jessica’s Law.
“You keep hearing about these guys in Tennessee who rape or molest these children,” said Norman. “And, they get these three-year sentences, or they get these silly ankle bracelets. GPS ankle bracelets are only going to tell you where they are the next time they’re raping our children. To me, that’s a waste of time. I couldn’t understand it. It made no sense to me. The most precious natural resource we have in this state is our children.”
Norman immediately became a man on a mission. He began sending e-mails, phoning people and writing letters.
“I was calling my elected officials, and I was getting nothing,” said Norman. “This went on for about six months, and then I got tired of being ignored. That’s when I sat down one night and said, ‘I’m going to build a website.’ I’d never built a website, but I decided I was going to teach myself to build a website, and I did.
“I remember my wife saying, ‘What do you think you’re going to accomplish?’ I said, ‘I’m just going to make myself feel better. I decided I was going to get a petition going and make them listen to me – make them protect these kids. Somebody’s got to protect our children.”
Norman said he decided he would plan a motorcycle ride that would last two weeks and gather names on the petition.
“Now, in the last five months, it’s grown where I’ve actually found out that Mark Lunsford,” is really on a mission to do this in all states,” said Norman. “He and I have become super, super friends.”
Norman said Lunsford would be riding with him on the first day of the tour. Senator Tim Burchett will also accompany Norman on several portions of the journey.
The bikers will leave Cookeville, from Boswell’s Harley-Davidson, and come into Sparta around 10:30 a.m., on Sunday, Oct. 15, at Liberty Square.
“We’re wanting to get 300 signatures on the petition at every stop we make,” said Norman. “There cannot be a greater pain than losing a child, and to lose one in this manner - for somebody to slip into your house and take your child and violate her in that manner and do it that close to home.”
Norman said he would remain at the amphitheater until approximately 12:30 p.m. He urges everyone to stop by and sign the petition to support stronger laws to protect Tennessee’s children from pedophiles. Norman hopes the scheduled time for the stopover will also accommodate churchgoers, and he urges them to stop by the amphitheater after services have concluded.
“We mustn’t wait for a tragedy before we create laws that actually makes a sex offender’s life miserable,” said Lundsford. “”They know all the cracks and loopholes in the system, and they continue to repeat their offenses against your kids because they can get away with it. What people need to do is realize that the system doesn’t work like they think it does. They have to call their legislators, and they have to tell them they want tougher laws. We don’t care what the cost is. There’s no price tag on a child.”
For more information log onto Mark Norman’s website: www.nomorechildpredators.com
Oct. 7, 2006
Maryville to Cleveland to Chattanooga
Oct. 8, 2006
Chattanooga to Fayetteville, Fayetteville to Lawrenceburg, Lawrenceburg to Savannah
Oct. 9, 2006
Savannah to Jackson, Jackson to Bartlett
Oct. 10, 2006
Bartlett to Dyersburg, Dyersburg to Union City
Oct. 11, 2006
Union City to Paris, Paris to Clarksville
Oct.12, 2006
Clarksville to Franklin, Franklin to Columbia
Oct. 13, 2006
Columbia to Shelbyville, Shelbyville to McMinnville, McMinnville to Murfreesboro
Oct. 14, 2006
Murfreesboro to Lebanon, Lebanon to Cookeville
Oct. 15, 2006
Cookeville to Sparta, Sparta to Crossville
Ride to leave Cookeville at approximately 10 a.m. heading toward Sparta where the ride will stop at Liberty Square to get petition signatures. According to Mark Norman, coordinator, riders will remain at Liberty Square until approximately 12:30 p.m. From there they will head toward Crossville and be stopping at the Cumberland County Community Complex.
Oct. 16, 2006
Crossville to Dayton, Dayton to Kingston
Oct. 17, 2006
Kingston to Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge to LaFollette, LaFollette to Knoxville
Oct. 18, 2006
Knoxville to Morristown, Morristown to Kingsport, Kingsport to Johnson City
Oct. 19, 2006
Johnson City to Del Rio
Oct. 20, 2006 No ride
Oct. 21, 2006
Newport to Maryville
www.spartaexpositor.com/newsdetail.asp?ArticleID=1541
Date: 10/6/2006 9:57:41 AM
By: Kim Swindell Wood
Newsroom Manager
kim@spartaexpositor.com
Mark Lundsford, of Florida, experienced the worst nightmare in a parent’s life when the body of his 10-year-old daughter was found after she had been raped and tortured by a convicted pedophile who lived just across the street from her home.
Now, his mission to prevent this crime from happening to other children is bringing a group of motorcycle riders to Sparta on Oct. 15, on Liberty Square, from approximately 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The group will be seeking signatures for a petition they are carrying all over Tennessee to encourage legislators to enact stricter laws dealing with pedophiles.
The disappearance of Jessica Lundsford in February 2005 made national headlines. The young girl’s photograph was featured on the front page of every major newspaper in the country, as well as hour-by-hour updates on CNN. Jessica was missing from Feb. 24, 2005, until March 18, 2005.
“A month after I buried my daughter was when I started lobbying in Florida for Jessie’s Law,” said Mark, as he spoke with The Expositor, on Wednesday. “After I’d done Florida, within nine months I had been to 12 other states promoting Jessie’s Law – sitting in on committee hearings and doing public forums to inform people about Jessie’s Law – whatever I could do to reach legislators to educate them about Jessie’s Law.”
Now, a man called “Big Norm” by his friends and family has become friends with Mark Lundsford and is on a mission to ensure Tennessee lawmakers hear the voices of their constituents.
Mark Norman, a father and grandfather from Maryville, become emotionally involved with the story about Jessica.
Norman said the story touched his heart, especially when he thought about his own children and grandchildren. He said many people ask if he was molested as a child, and his response is, “No.” Norman is then asked if any of his children or grandchildren have been molested. Again, he replies, “No.” When he gives these responses, Norman said most people do not understand why he has become so involved in the fight to secure tougher legislation against pedophiles. His answer is straight to the point – “Somebody has got to protect our children.”
Norman said he could not imagine the pain Lundsford has experienced. Likewise, Lundsford’s story is a vivid recollection of the day his daughter was abducted.
“His name is John Evander Couey,” said Lundsford, as he talked about the man accused of raping and murdering his daughter. “We go to trial Feb. 12 [2007], in Miami.”
According to Mark, Couey faces at least four charges, including rape and murder.
“Me and Jessie – we had to spend time together before I could do anything,” said Lundsford. “The Sunday before she was taken, we had gone to the fair. We were supposed to go with some friends, but me and Jessie had a bad habit of waking up and saying, ‘Naw, I think we’ll just go by ourselves.’
“This was one of those times when we went to the fair and stayed until 1 o’clock in the morning – that’s where she got the purple dolphin.”
The story about the purple dolphin had been related by Norman when he spoke with The Expositor, on Tuesday.
“Mark [Lundsford] spent all day trying to get her that big dolphin,” said Norman, as he spoke about his conversations with Lundsford. “You know, he’s just a truck driver, living on a truck driver’s salary. He had gotten her one of the middle-sized dolphins. And, the night John Couey took her out of her bed, he snatched that dolphin up and took the dolphin with her. And, in his confession, his words were, ‘Well, I did think enough to bury her with the dolphin.’
“He thought he did her a favor by taking her dolphin to comfort her and burying her with it. He buried her alive, after two days of rape and torture, he took speaker wire off the speakers on the stereo, bound her hands and feet, and duct taped her mouth shut, dumped her into two trash bags, and then shoved that dolphin under her arm where she could hold it while she died. And, when they found her body in this shallow grave, buried alive, she had managed to free one hand and had punched out of the bag and was digging toward the surface before she died. She had one arm still wrapped around the dolphin and used the other arm to try to get to the surface.”
Lundsford said the Wednesday after his and Jesse’s trip to the fair, he was watching TV while Jessie was “jumping around” in the living room. She then went to take her shower before preparing to go to bed at 10 p.m.
“I got my kiss and my hug because that’s something we did before we leave or go to bed, and then I went out,” said Lundsford.
Lundsford and Jessie shared a residence with his parents. After Mark received his goodnight kiss and sent Jessie off to bed, he left the house. Jessie was tucked in her bed with her grandparents asleep in their bedroom. Lundsford returned at 5:30 the next morning to get ready for work.
“Her alarm clock’s going off, and I go in her room, and she’s not there,” said Lundsford. “I searched the house thinking maybe she’s playing a trick on me because she likes to get up before everybody else. I couldn’t find her, and I went to my mom and dad’s room and asked them if she was in there with them, and they said, ‘No.’ That’s when I told Mom to call 911.”
Couey was living with his sister and some other people. Mark said he had never met Couey or the other occupants of the residence.
“He lived across the street. His bedroom window faced the front of our mobile home –150 yards from his back door to our back door,” said Lundsford.
Lundsford said law enforcement officials went to Couey’s residence within the first three days after Jessica was missing. He said Couey kept Jessica alive inside his residence, in his bedroom, in the closet, for the first three days she was missing. He said the other residents claimed they did not know Jessica was in there.
Lundsford said law enforcement officials found out Couey had left on a bus for Georgia, which Lundsford said he believes heightened their suspicions about Couey.
“Ultimately, three weeks later they found out these people were lying about Couey,” said Mark.
Mark said Couey was in Augusta, Ga., in a bar, when a TV crew came in to do a story about “smoking and drinking.”
“Well, guess who they interviewed?” said Lundsford.
A national bulletin had already been issued for Couey, and the interview led Georgia authorities to him. Mark said Georgia law enforcement officials administered a polygraph test to Couey. However, according to Lundsford, Couey confessed to Jessica’s rape and murder and told authorities there was no need to read the results of the test.
“He put her in a black trash bag with the stuffed animal I had won her at the fair,” said Lundsford. “As soon as you open to the door to his mobile home – he buried her beside the steps. I’ll tell you something even spookier than that. In front of their house, in the middle of the road, was the command center for the sheriff’s department – 75 yards away.”
Lundsford said the public must stay aware of the wording in sex offender legislation. He said some states claim they are passing Jessie’s Law, but the bill is actually a watered-down version of the Florida law.
Norman has developed a website as a means to vent his frustrations about what he sees as weak laws dealing with pedophiles. Little did he realize his project would soon snowball into statewide support for his mission. Norman, who works at his family-owned marina, is a husky man who says he is not afraid to face these issues head-on.
Norman said he became curious why Tennessee did not have legislation as tough as Jessica’s Law.
“You keep hearing about these guys in Tennessee who rape or molest these children,” said Norman. “And, they get these three-year sentences, or they get these silly ankle bracelets. GPS ankle bracelets are only going to tell you where they are the next time they’re raping our children. To me, that’s a waste of time. I couldn’t understand it. It made no sense to me. The most precious natural resource we have in this state is our children.”
Norman immediately became a man on a mission. He began sending e-mails, phoning people and writing letters.
“I was calling my elected officials, and I was getting nothing,” said Norman. “This went on for about six months, and then I got tired of being ignored. That’s when I sat down one night and said, ‘I’m going to build a website.’ I’d never built a website, but I decided I was going to teach myself to build a website, and I did.
“I remember my wife saying, ‘What do you think you’re going to accomplish?’ I said, ‘I’m just going to make myself feel better. I decided I was going to get a petition going and make them listen to me – make them protect these kids. Somebody’s got to protect our children.”
Norman said he decided he would plan a motorcycle ride that would last two weeks and gather names on the petition.
“Now, in the last five months, it’s grown where I’ve actually found out that Mark Lunsford,” is really on a mission to do this in all states,” said Norman. “He and I have become super, super friends.”
Norman said Lunsford would be riding with him on the first day of the tour. Senator Tim Burchett will also accompany Norman on several portions of the journey.
The bikers will leave Cookeville, from Boswell’s Harley-Davidson, and come into Sparta around 10:30 a.m., on Sunday, Oct. 15, at Liberty Square.
“We’re wanting to get 300 signatures on the petition at every stop we make,” said Norman. “There cannot be a greater pain than losing a child, and to lose one in this manner - for somebody to slip into your house and take your child and violate her in that manner and do it that close to home.”
Norman said he would remain at the amphitheater until approximately 12:30 p.m. He urges everyone to stop by and sign the petition to support stronger laws to protect Tennessee’s children from pedophiles. Norman hopes the scheduled time for the stopover will also accommodate churchgoers, and he urges them to stop by the amphitheater after services have concluded.
“We mustn’t wait for a tragedy before we create laws that actually makes a sex offender’s life miserable,” said Lundsford. “”They know all the cracks and loopholes in the system, and they continue to repeat their offenses against your kids because they can get away with it. What people need to do is realize that the system doesn’t work like they think it does. They have to call their legislators, and they have to tell them they want tougher laws. We don’t care what the cost is. There’s no price tag on a child.”
For more information log onto Mark Norman’s website: www.nomorechildpredators.com
Oct. 7, 2006
Maryville to Cleveland to Chattanooga
Oct. 8, 2006
Chattanooga to Fayetteville, Fayetteville to Lawrenceburg, Lawrenceburg to Savannah
Oct. 9, 2006
Savannah to Jackson, Jackson to Bartlett
Oct. 10, 2006
Bartlett to Dyersburg, Dyersburg to Union City
Oct. 11, 2006
Union City to Paris, Paris to Clarksville
Oct.12, 2006
Clarksville to Franklin, Franklin to Columbia
Oct. 13, 2006
Columbia to Shelbyville, Shelbyville to McMinnville, McMinnville to Murfreesboro
Oct. 14, 2006
Murfreesboro to Lebanon, Lebanon to Cookeville
Oct. 15, 2006
Cookeville to Sparta, Sparta to Crossville
Ride to leave Cookeville at approximately 10 a.m. heading toward Sparta where the ride will stop at Liberty Square to get petition signatures. According to Mark Norman, coordinator, riders will remain at Liberty Square until approximately 12:30 p.m. From there they will head toward Crossville and be stopping at the Cumberland County Community Complex.
Oct. 16, 2006
Crossville to Dayton, Dayton to Kingston
Oct. 17, 2006
Kingston to Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge to LaFollette, LaFollette to Knoxville
Oct. 18, 2006
Knoxville to Morristown, Morristown to Kingsport, Kingsport to Johnson City
Oct. 19, 2006
Johnson City to Del Rio
Oct. 20, 2006 No ride
Oct. 21, 2006
Newport to Maryville
www.spartaexpositor.com/newsdetail.asp?ArticleID=1541