A Florida man accused of murdering his girlfriend and 9-year-old autistic daughter in 2018 is going viral after choosing to represent himself in his own murder trial. Ronnie Oneal, who is also facing charges of attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill his then 8-year-old son, delivered his opening statement this week, claiming his love for his children and accusing authorities of tampering with evidence.
“The evidence is going to show that I loved my children,” screamed Oneal to jurors during his opening statement. “The evidence is going to prove to you this whole entire case has been tampered with and fabricated.”
Oneal was captured on camera yelling at jurors for the majority of his near 30-minute statement.
“And the evidence is going to show that law enforcement tampered with evidence to meet their such high burden of proof!” Oneal yelled. “Because originally, it wasn’t enough! So we had to tamper with evidence since it was such evident already but we still had to (tamper) with evidence.”
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Despite Oneal’s dramatic performance, the jury is set to hear the gruesome details of the murders of Oneal’s girlfriend Kenyatta Barron and 9-year daughter Ron’Niveya in the coming days.
Oneal is accused of shooting his girlfriend and beating her to death with a shotgun, using a hatchet to stab his daughter repeatedly and then stabbing his son before lighting the boy and their house on fire.
His son, who is now 11, miraculously survived the attack. He took the stand against his own father Wednesday.
The boy, who is also named Ronnie, testified about the horrifying night in question and what his father did to him.
“My mom ran to my sister’s room and into the closet,” little Ronnie testified, according to Fox 13. “Then, like, my dad said, ‘Come in here, come kill this B-word,’” he said, adding that he heard a shotgun blast.
Young Ronnie went on to explain how he witnessed his father kill his sister, striking her twice with an axe before turning on him.
“There was blood everywhere,” the boy slowly said. “Then he lighted something with a tissue and a match…He tried to light the match and put me on fire. I got up and ran into the kitchen.”
The court allowed Oneal to cross-examine his son and the exchange was heartbreaking.
“It’s good to see you, man,” Oneal told his son, who replied, “It’s good to see you, too.”
Oneal pointed out that his son’s comments during testimony conflicted with what he’s told detectives and attorneys during the last few years.
“Did I hurt you that night of this incident?” Oneal asked his son. “Yes,” the boy replied.
“How did I hurt you?” Oneal continued.
“You stabbed me,” young Ronnie said.
Surprisingly, the judge commended Oneal on how he conducted himself in court Wednesday and said she’s putting on the record that he appears very competent to continue standing trial.
We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
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