THE FOOL WHO REPRESENTED HIMSELF; THE CASE OF RONNIE O'NEAL III

               THE FOOL WHO REPRESENTED HIMSELF: 

                   THE CASE OF RONNIE O' NEAL III

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BACKGROUND

           On March 18, 2018, in Riverview, Florida, 29-year-old

 Ronnie O'Neal III fatally shot his ex girlfriend, 33-year-old

 Kenyatta Barron, and hacked their 9-year-old daughter,

 Ron'Niveya O'Neal, to death with a hatchet. He stabbed their 8-

year-old son Ronnie O'Neal IV, who survived and told detectives 

"My father shot my mother" before being medevaced to a Tampa 

hospital.

          O'Neal was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, 

one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of 

aggravated child abuse, one count of arson, and one count of 

resisting a law enforcement officer. On July 23, 2021, he was given

 three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole,

 plus 90 years.

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EVENTS THE DAY EVERYTHING UNRAVELED

           At 11:43 p.m. EDT, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office 

received a 911 emergency call from an unknown woman, now

 believed to have been Kenyatta. A male caller could be heard in 

the background saying, "She killed me", "Don’t come outside, call

911 now," and "Allah Akbar". The 911 call ended shortly 

thereafter.

          Eight minutes later, a second 911 call came in at 11:51 p.m., 

this time featuring a male caller claiming to have been attacked by

 "white demons" and accusing Kenyatta (addressed as "Ke-Ke" in 

the call) of trying to kill him, and that he "just killed her." Ronnie 

III gave their home address.

          Deputies arrived at the home at 11:49 p.m. to find a woman,

 later identified as Kenyatta, lying unconscious in the yard of the 

home at the mentioned address. Prior to killing her, Ronnie III 

yelled, "Come in here, kill this bitch!"

          Ronnie III also beat his daughter Ron'Niveya with a hatchet,

 killing her, and stabbed his son, Ronnie IV, leaving him critically

 wounded. Ronnie III then proceeded to set fire to their home. 

Ronnie IV escaped the home with stab wounds and burns and told

 a detective, "My father shot my mother," before being promptly

 transported to a hospital for treatment.

          Ronnie III resisted arrest until being tasered by police.

 While inside the squad car, he called his murdered victim Kenyatta

 "the devil" and said, "the kids are the devil's kids." He was 

booked into Hillsborough County Jail the next day.

           On March 22, four days after the attack, Ronnie IV told 

detectives his account of the events of March 18 that left his 

mother and sister dead.

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TRIAL AND SENTENCING

           The trial for Ronnie III began on June 16, 2021. Ronnie III

 served as his own attorney in addition to his counsel, cross-

examining his surviving son Ronnie IV, who testified as a witness

 for the prosecution. Throughout the trial, Ronnie III claimed that

 his son had lied to investigators about the incident. Ronnie III

 asked him, "Did I hurt you that night of the incident?" and the boy

 replied "Yes." Ronnie III then asked him, "How did I hurt you?"

 The boy replied, "You stabbed me."

          Initially, Ronnie III's attorneys filed motions claiming that 

Ronnie III was acting in self-defense and requesting to defend 

Ronnie III on the basis of Florida's stand-your-ground law.

 However, the judge rejected this request, finding Ronnie III 

ineligible for a stand-your-ground defense. On June 21, 2021, 

Ronnie III was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder,

 one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of 

aggravated child abuse, one count of arson, and one count of 

resisting a law enforcement officer. On July 23, 2021, he was given

 three life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 90 

years, running consecutively.

          Reflecting on the case during sentencing, Judge Michelle 

Sisco described it as the "worst case [she's] ever seen" in her 

nineteen-year judicial career and described Ronnie III's actions 

toward his daughter as "abject cruelty." State Attorney

 Andrew Warren's response to the attacks was "These murders are

 among the most cruel and vicious our community has ever seen."

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AFTERMATH OF TRIAL

          On November 25, 2019, Ronnie IV was adopted by detective

 Mike Blair, who cared for him the night of the murders.Ronnie IV

 changed his name to Ronnie Blair when he joined the family of

 seven, including Mike, his wife Danyel, and their five other 

children, ages 16 to 23. Mike recalled the night of the murders, 

saying that there was "no expectation Ronnie would live" and that

 he considers Ronnie's recovery to be a miracle. Of the adoption, 

Ronnie says that he is "loved" and "part of the family."