One week after a judge sentenced Ruben Ebron to 20 years in prison for dumping Lonzie Barton's body, the State Attorney's Office released hundreds of pages of documents, surveillance videos and forensic files in the case.
Included in that evidence are jailhouse phone calls between Lonzie Barton's mother, Lonna Lauramore Barton, and her dad.
Action News Jax’s Ben Becker and a team of reporters and producers examined the calls. Lauramore Barton is currently being held on drug charges while she awaits sentencing for her role in the death of Lonzie. But she tells her father in jailhouse calls it's not her fault.
Lauramore Barton tells her father in newly obtained jailhouse phone calls she didn't harm her son.
Lonna: "I'm going to lay down and say yes I done something that I didn't do."
Lonna’s Father: "That's right."
Lonna: "I'm not going to stand before God and take a punishment for something I didn't do to my baby."
Lauramore Barton has entered a guilty plea to charges of child neglect and lying to police. Ebron, her boyfriend, took police to Lonzie's body in January. He told police Lonzie drowned in a bath tub while he and Lonna were having sex. Ebron said he panicked and dumped Lonzie’s body off Philips Highway and then staged an abduction.
During an interrogation video, an emotional Lauramore Barton is shown pictures of what appears to be blood on a white sheet
Investigator: "Do you want a break?"
Lonna: “I just want to get done.”
Investigator: “All right, we'll get done."
She has another jailhouse conversation with her father about Ebron's role.
Lonna’s father: "He's guilty and you ain't.”
Lonna: "Exactly that's what I told him. I said not just say OK so you can hurry up and get sentenced. I don't care if I have to drag it out a year. I'm not going to trial with him."
Lonna’s father: "Hell no."
Lauramore Barton's father also tells his daughter everything will work out once she's sentenced for the charges in Duval.
Lonna’s father: "You ain't done nothing anyway I know you ain't done nothing. The only thing you done is harmed just you."
Lauramore Barton is scheduled to be sentenced February 29.
Cox Media Group
