An 11-year-old boy, the only survivor of a family massacre, recounted in a court in Tampa, Florida,
the details of the attack in which his mother and older sister died
, who suffered from cerebral palsy and was mute, allegedly at the hands of the father .
The man, Ronnie Oneal III, faces two counts of murder for the death of his girlfriend Kenyatta Barron, 33, and her daughter Ron, 9, and another for attempted murder against the boy on March 18, 2018 , when he was eight years old.
In his 20-minute testimony, the minor also described how he was able to escape from his burning house, a fire that the Prosecutor's Office assures Oneal committed.
[The deaths of Latinos at the hands of the police are many more than previously thought: at least 2,600 have died since 2014]
According to authorities,
Oneal killed his girlfriend with a firearm and then beat and used a machete to kill his disabled daughter
.
Immediately afterwards, according to the indictment, he wounded his son with a sharp weapon and set the house on fire.
However, the defendant, who assumed his own legal defense, stated that this version differs from the facts and that the evidence will reveal that it is "a lie" and a "prefabricated and fictitious never seen" version.
Addressing the jury during his opening speech at the trial, which began this week, Oneal raised his voice as he gestured and paced.
Ronnie Oneal III assumed his own legal defense in the trial against him in the death of his girlfriend and 9-year-old daughter, which occurred on March 18, 2018. NBC News / via WFLA
"It seems that I am alone, but I have the support of almighty God," shouted
the defendant, who had the opportunity to question his own son.
"Did I hurt you that night?" He asked the child, who answered "yes."
"How did I hurt you?" He asked again.
"You stabbed me," replied the son.
The jury was able to hear a recording of Barron's call for help to 911.
[A plane rescued him from a mountain in Colorado almost 40 years ago. The police now accuse him of having killed two women that same night]
Ok, Ronnie, sorry.
I am sorry.
Help me, I can't move my arm.
You shot me in the arm, please, Ronnie,
”Barron is heard saying.
But Oneal assures that his girlfriend was the one who attacked the minors and that he killed her in self-defense.
He also accused detectives of planting evidence and instructing his son to testify against him.
“
The tests will show that I love my children
, and they will not show that my son saw me beat his mother to death, nor did he see me shoot his mother.
In fact, he didn't witness much, ”Oneal stated.
If found guilty, the man could face the death penalty.
With information from AP and The Washington Post
