TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The stage is set for an emotional day in Ronnie Oneal III’s double murder trial. His 9-year-old son, who was stabbed during the attack, is set to testify against him.
Oneal is facing the death penalty for the double murder of his girlfriend and their disabled daughter at his Riverview home in March 2018.
Prosecutors say Oneal used a shotgun to shoot his girlfriend, 33-year-old Kenyatta Barron, and beat her to death. He used an ax to kill his daughter, 9-year-old Ron’Niveya and then stabbed his son before setting the house on fire.
Tuesday, on the second day of the trial, first responders recalled the moments they arrived at the scene.
“I don’t know if it was a deputy or a bystander that came by and said, there’s another child in the house,” said firefighter Donald Foster. “I realized the floor was covered in blood…everything in the room was on fire, so, clothes ceiling — once again visibility was limited.”
Oneal claims his girlfriend killed their daughter and attacked their son. He said he killed Barron in self-defense.
Oneal, who is acting as his own attorney, will be able to cross-examine his son about the night of the murders.
The little boy will no be in the physical courtroom. He’ll appear in court via a video monitor from a different location.
