> Jarred Harrell Murder Trial: 9-Year-Old Boy Tells Little Sister's
> Killer 'You Know You Did This'
> GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Minutes after a man pleaded guilty to
> kidnapping, raping and murdering 7-year-old Somer Thompson, who was
> dumped in a trash bin and later found in a landfill, the little girl's
> twin brother addressed his sister's killer.
> "You know you did this, and now you're going to jail," 9-year-old
> Samuel Thompson said to Jarred Harrell from the witness stand.
> In a deal sparing Harrell the death penalty, the 26-year-old Harrell
> was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
> Somer's family was in favor of the deal because Harrell agreed not to
> appeal any of his convictions.
> "Your punishment does absolutely not fit your crime," said Somer's
> mother, Diena Thompson. "Remember now, there is no safe place for you.
> You do not have an impenetrable cell. There will be no peace in the
> afterlife."
> Somer was a second-grader living in Orange Park, Fla. - a suburb south
> of Jacksonville - when she disappeared while walking home from school
> on Oct. 19, 2009. She was with her sister and some friends, but ran
> ahead of them after they had a spat.
> It was a route she had taken many times before, and she often stopped
> at a home to pet a white dog. Usually, no one came outside. On the day
> Somer disappeared, authorities said Harrell lured her into the home
> where he was living with his mother.
> Two days later, she was discovered in a landfill in southern Georgia.
> Harrell wasn't arrested until about three months after Somer's death.
> Initially, authorities interviewed convicted sex offenders within a
> 5-mile radius of Somer's suburban north Florida home, but didn't come
> up with any substantial leads.
> On a hunch, they tailed nine garbage trucks from Somer's neighborhood
> to the landfill and picked through the trash as each rig spilled its
> load. They sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage before they
> spotted her legs sticking out of the garbage.
> Harrell lived with his parents on a neighborhood street Somer took to
> get home. Police said Somer was lured into the home and later
> asphyxiated and tossed into a trash bin, though they have not released
> any more details about her death.
> After Somer vanished, Harrell moved to Meridian, Miss., to live with
> an aunt.
> He drew the attention of law enforcement two months before Somer
> disappeared, but he wasn't arrested. His roommates in Florida said
> they kicked him out for stealing and they discovered child pornography
> on his computer, which was turned over to investigators.
> The Clay County sheriff's office said Harrell wasn't taken into
> custody then because detectives had to prove Harrell downloaded the
> child porn.
> He only became a suspect in Somer's disappearance after Somer's
> friends showed officials where they had last seen Somer - the home
> with the dog. Also, the parents of one of Harrell's roommates drove by
> Harrell's parents' home and noticed how close it was to Somer's home.
> When they saw Harrell's car in his parents' driveway, they told
> detectives.
> According to authorities, Harrell confessed to sexually molesting and
> killing Somer, then disposing of her body. DNA evidence found on Somer
> also linked Harrell to the crime.
> Harrell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual
> battery, possession of child pornography and other sex charges, some
> stemming from an unrelated molestation case involving a 3-year-old
> relative. Authorities did not release details of that new case.
> The discovery of Somer's body touched off an outpouring of support in
> northeast Florida and southern Georgia for the Thompson family; days
> of vigils and fundraisers were held so Somer's mom could financially
> afford to stay home with her other children. A mountain of stuffed
> animals, balloons and notes to the family sprung up near a tree across
> from the little girl's home.
> Like most little girls, Somer loved to dance, play dress up, draw and
> color. Her favorite color was purple.
> At her funeral, hundreds of purple balloons were released into the
> sky; purple flowers adorned her wooden casket and her family wore
> purple ribbons.
> Somer had her brown hair in a ponytail with a red bow when she went
> missing. She was carrying a lunch box and wearing Hannah Montana
> backpack. It was purple.
> "This will be that last breath that I waste and use on you. It is now
> time to take out the trash," Somer's mother said. "No punishment given
> to you will be good enough to soothe our spirit."
Good outcome. Better would have been Summer was found alive. RThere was a
partying for days. The children were toddlers. She left hem nothing but a
package of Jello Cups to ear. When sge came home one twin was dead. She
threw her daughter's body in the garbage bin. In another incident a mother
went on a two week cruise. The dead baby was found when neighbors reported a
