Double Murder Suspect Represents Himself In Court — Goes Viral After Delivering Opening Statement

On Monday, the double murder trial of Ronnie Oneal III got underway with prosecutors and Oneal – serving as his own defense attorney – delivering opening statements. Oneal is accused of killing his girlfriend, 33-year-old Kenyatta Barron, and daughter, 9-year-old Ron’Niveya Oneal. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for crimes that happened in Riverview in March of 2018.

Oneal, who is facing the death penalty decided to represent himself in court as his public defenders sit nearby. He claims he acted in self-defense and dropped his attorneys when they said the “stand your ground” defense did not apply to his case, WFLA reports. After opening statements from prosecutors wrapped up, Oneal took the floor to address the jury. The court allowed him to make an opening statement about the evidence he believes will be presented during the trial. An angry Oneal screamed at jurors during his opening. He told jurors the entire case against him has been fabricated: “By the time this is all said and done, you will see who is the mass murderers in Tampa Bay,” he said.

As the news site notes, jurors heard the 911 call that was made by Barron as she begged for her life. However, O’Neal claimed that the 911 calls from his girlfriend are not real: “Law enforcement tampered with evidence to meet their such high burden of proof,” Oneal claimed.

Oneal’s trial is expected to last two more weeks.