People Magazine investigates the murder of Jessica Lunsford

Before bed on the night of February 23, 2005, Jessica Lunsford crawled under the covers – dressed in a pink nightgown and with her stuffed purple dolphin tucked under her arm – and fell asleep.

Jessica was never seen alive again.

The 9-year-old disappeared in the middle of the night from Homosassa, Florida, where she had lived for the past year with her father, Mark Lunsford, then 41, and her grandparents.

Authorities searched for the third-grader for nearly a month before finding her body in a shallow grave, wrapped in a plastic bag, just 500 feet from her home.

Her heartbreaking murder takes center stage in the season premiere of People Magazine investigates on Monday, October 28.

The episode, titled “The Boogeyman,” airs on Investigation Discovery/ID at 9/8c and streamed on Max and chronicles what happened that night, the grueling search for Jessica – and how authorities finally caught her sadistic killer.

Monday Night will feature back-to-back episodes, with the episode ‘A Story to Die For’, about the murder of reporter Sarah Greenhalgh, following the episode about Jessica’s murder and airing on Monday, October 28 at 10/9 c.

In the days following Jessica’s disappearance, search and rescue teams scoured Citrus County for any sign of the little girl.

On March 5, police suspended search and rescue efforts to concentrate resources on following up on phone tips and other important leads.

During their investigation, they learned about a man named John Couey, then 46, who had been staying in a mobile home across the street from the Lunsfords when Jessica disappeared.

In an exclusive clip from the episode, retired Citrus County Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsey talks about how they started closing in on Couey as a suspect.

“One of the clues came from Maddie Secord, Couey’s niece,” Dawsey says.

“Maddie Secord came in because she knew John Couey’s history of sexually abusing people. She told us Couey lived in the house across the street from Jessica Lunsford, but no one knew.

The house belonged to Dorothy Dixon, Couey’s sister, one of the people police interviewed when they began searching the neighborhood. But when police went to her home, they were only allowed in certain parts of the house — something that seemed concerning after they learned about Couey’s past.

“Did we actually go into this house and maybe the child was there and we missed her?” says Dawson.

On March 17, 2005, police arrested Couey, who sneaked into the Lunsfords’ home through the unlocked front door, put his hand over Jessica’s mouth and led her to the trailer where he had been staying.

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Authorities don’t know how long Jessica lived after she was kidnapped, but they say he raped her before burying her alive.

He was a convicted sex offender who had not registered his new address, which was required by law.

He was convicted of Jessica’s murder in March 2007 and sentenced to death.

He died in 2009 of natural causes.

People Magazine Investigates: The Boogeymanthe season premiere, airs Monday, October 28 at 9/8c, on Investigation Discovery/ID and streams on Max. That episode is immediately followed by another People Magazine investigates episode, “A Story to Die For”, about the murder of reporter Sarah Greenhalgh, aired 10/9 c.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit regenn.org.