By Elaine Silvestrini
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA – A judge this morning barred defense attorneys for David Lee Onstott from telling jurors personal information about Sarah Michelle Lunde in his upcoming murder trial.

Onstott is scheduled to go on trial March 12 on charges he raped and murdered the 13-year-old in April 2005.

The prosecution asked Judge Ronald Ficarotta to prevent the defense from introducing evidence about the girl’s past, including her past sexual experiences and struggles with mental illness.

Assistant State Attorney Jay Pruner said such evidence would only accomplish “trashing the victim (and) just cast negative aspersions on the victim and allow the jury to devalue the victim.”

Assistant Public Defender John Skye said, “The last thing I want to do is devalue Sarah Michelle Lunde in this case or hold her family up to ridicule and scorn.” But he said his first obligation is to defend Onstott.

Skye said he intends to argue that evidence shows that Lunde left her house after midnight the night she disappeared because she was hungry and her brother had failed to bring her food, as promised.

“Sarah Lunde was an adventurous, she was a feisty and she was an independent girl who would not be happy that her brother did not come back,” Skye said.

Ficarotta said the defense was free to present evidence that Lunde left the house that night and had been seen out at night on other occasions. But he granted the prosecution’s motion to bar the victim’s personal information from being introduced unless the defense can show a specific relevance to the case.

“We’ll see how the trial goes,” the judge said. “It certainly may be revisited.”

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