MIAMI (AP) - A jury found a sex offender guilty Wednesday of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old girl and burying her alive in a crime that led to a crackdown around the country on sex offenders. Jurors deliberated about four hours before returning the verdict against John Evander Couey in the slaying of Jessica Lunsford, who was snatched from her bedroom in 2005 about 150 yards from the trailer where Couey had been living.
Her body was found in a shallow hole, encased in two black plastic trash bags. She had suffocated, and was found clutching a purple stuffed dolphin.
The jury next must decide to recommend whether Couey, 48, should be sentenced to death.
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