Roommates, Ronnie Oneal III went viral for his opening statement and witness questioning as the attorney in his own double-murder and attempted murder trial. In the case, Ronnie was accused of murdering his children’s mother and their nine-year-old daughter in 2018 as well as attempting to murder his son. On Monday, he was found guilty by a jury after a few hours of deliberation, according to Fox13 News.
The jury found Ronnie “guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. The trial unfolded over the course of three years, with shocking moments such as Ronnie’s witness questioning of his surviving eleven-year-old son and his closing statement.
“I did kill Kenyatta Barron, but I want you to tell it like it is if you’re going to tell it,” Ronnie said during his closing statement in an attempt to convince jurors that police tampered with evidence and coached his son’s testimony.
Ronnie was also found guilty of “arson, two counts of aggravated child abuse, and resisting an officer without violence.” This conviction means Ronnie now faces the death penalty. After the jurors departed, Judge Michelle Sisco encouraged Ronnie “to consider allowing counsel to now step in and represent [him.]” She also said they will meet on Tuesday morning “to discuss his options on the sentencing phase of the trial,” according to Fox 13 News.
As previously reported, the jury heard the details in Ronnie’s horrific murder of his girlfriend Kenyetta Barron and his daughter Ron’Niveya. He was accused of shooting and beating Kenyetta with a shotgun and also stabbing his daughter with a hatchet. His surviving son, also named Ronnie, was stabbed before his father attempted to light him on fire, along with the home.
The son testified about the night of the double-murder saying “there was blood everywhere” after describing how his father murdered his sister.
Check out some of the trial highlights below:
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