Couey stated in an audio/videotaped confession that he had abducted, raped, and murdered Jessica Lunsford. A judge ruled on June 30, 2006 that Couey’s confession was inadmissible in court because when it was recorded police had not granted Couey’s requests for a lawyer, thereby rendering the confession invalid and unreliable under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. Over Couey’s objection, the trial court ruled that all evidence collected after the confession, including the recovery of Lunsford’s body, would be admitted, as would incriminating statements allegedly made by Couey to investigators and a jail guard. In his confession, Couey said that he entered Jessica Lunsford’s house through an unlocked door at about three o’clock in the morning, awakened Lunsford, told her “Don’t yell or nothing”, and told her to follow him out of the house. He occupied a trailer along with two women, some 100 yards (91 m) away, at the time of Lunsford’s abduction. He admitted in a videotaped and recorded deposition to raping Lunsford in his bedroom. Lunsford was kept in Couey’s bed that evening, where he raped her again in the morning. Couey put her in his closet and ordered her to remain there, which she did as he reported for work at “Billy’s Truck Lot”. Three days after he abducted her, Couey tricked Jessica into getting into two garbage bags by saying he was going to ‘take her home’. He instead buried her alive as he decided he could do nothing else with the girl. He said he ‘Didn’t want people seeing him and Lunsford across the street.’

On March 14, Dixon (Couey’s half sister) gave permission to police to search her home.  On March 19, 2005, the police found Jessica Lunsford’s body at a residence located on West Snowbird Court, buried in a hole approximately 2½’ deep and 2′ circular, covered with leaves. The body was removed from the ground and transported to the coroner’s office. Her body had undergone “moderate” to “severe” decomposition and according to the publicly released autopsy reports was skeletonized on two fingers that Lunsford had poked through the bags before suffocating to death. The coroner ruled that death would have happened even in best circumstances within 2–3 minutes from lack of oxygen. After approximately three weeks of intense searching for Lunsford around the area of her home, Couey, age 46, was arrested in Savannah, Georgia for an outstanding warrant of cannabis possession, but he was released after questioning because it was only a local warrant. He was later arrested in Augusta, Georgia. On March 18, 2005, Couey confessed to having kidnapped and murdered Lunsford. On March 19, 2005 police found Lunsford’s body. On March 7, 2007, Couey was found guilty in Florida of all charges in relation to Lunsford’s death, including first degree murder, kidnapping, and capital sexual battery. On March 14, 2007, the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty. The case was appealed to the Florida Supreme Court. Couey continued to maintain that he was innocent until his death in September 2009.