Citrus County: Papers focus on Couey's mental state

Citrus County Chronicle
http://www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2005/09/24/news/news20.txt

Papers focus on Couey's mental state
By Dave Pieklik

Almost 12 years before being accused of murdering a 9-year-old girl
from Homosassa, the mother of a girl to whom John. E. Couey exposed
himself urged a state parole board to not release him because she
feared he'd reoffend, according to documents made public Friday.

In her June 18, 1993, letter, the Kissimmee woman whose 5-year-old
daughter was approached by Couey, pleaded with the Florida Parole
Commission, saying she didn't want him anywhere near her house if he
was released.

"This man admitted to the police that he done this before but was not
caught," the woman said. "I believe it is documented that most
pedophiles become repeat offenders."

On July 16, 1993, Couey was released from prison after serving two
years of a five-year sentence. Last March, Couey was arrested and
charged with the murder of Jessica Lunsford, whose body was found
buried behind the mobile home where he lived, according to court
records.

He has pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder, burglary, kidnapping
and sexual battery. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The woman's letter was part of 819 pages of documents released by the
State Attorney's Office as it builds its case against Couey, 47. Among
the pages of material are records of numerous arrests and convictions,
starting with arrests for burglaries in the late '70s, to the
investigation of Jessica's murder.

Also released were several evaluations of Couey done at various prisons
to which he was sent. Following a 10-year sentence in 1978 for
violating probation he was given for a string of burglaries in Citrus
County the year before, Larry Duisberg evaluated Couey, then 19.

He said Couey suffered from "personality trait disturbance, passive
aggressive personality" and other disorders.

In words that would later be echoed by Couey to investigators after his
arrest for the murder of Jessica, the psychologist said Couey blamed
alcohol as "the root of his problems."

"He appears to have a general lack of aims and values much beyond
immediate, tangible, easy gain," Duisberg wrote.

In his evaluation, done in February 1978, psychologist Mike Vukson said
Couey talked of being punished by his father when he was younger and
receiving brain damage. He also noted Couey stayed at a mental hospital
between 1973 and 1974 for a drug overdose.

Vukson said his "abnormal developmental years" largely contributed to
his anti-social behavior, and recommended him for "intensive group
therapy situations" for treatment.

The numerous evaluations and related material follows the release of
similar documents that focus on Couey's mental state.

After his first adult arrest in 1977 for the burglaries, for which he
was given three years probation, Couey wrote a letter to Circuit Judge
William F. Edwards, saying he had a mental problem.

"When I was young, I saw a doctor of the mind. I saw many psychiatrists
and they confirmed I have a mental disease," his letter said in part.
"Please consider my letter to help me get to a mental home."

Before ordering Couey to spend the first year of probation in jail as a
special condition, Edwards pointed at Couey's juvenile record, saying,
"It concerns me." He also requested that Couey undergo a mental
evaluation, and also asked for copies of Couey's juvenile records.

There is no record indicating the request was ever fulfilled. Of the
roughly 3,500 documents released so far, nothing about Couey's juvenile
past has been released.

Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino, who's helping prosecute the
case, could not comment on those records Friday or confirm if they even
exist. However, he said, Couey is "a poster child" for what occurred,
referring to Jessica's death.

Magrino said Couey's criminal history, which included placing his hand
over a girl's mouth after breaking into her home in 1978, and the
Kissimmee arrest that lead to his classification as a sex offender,
shows his "proclivity to young females." He also said Couey was offered
and required to participate in sex offender and alcohol treatment as
part of his prison stays, but the treatment was often refused.

Magrino said any mental health professional, psychologist or researcher
would all come to the same conclusion in cases like this, adding,
"They're going to tell you, the bad guy blames everybody but himself."


Mark

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