Girl to be tried as adult in Buckingham murder case

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — A 16-year-old will be tried as an adult on allegations that she helped kill a man who she claims sexually abused her for eight years, a court official said.

She was an accomplice who helped plan and execute the murder of 58-year-old Buckingham resident Ted Lee, a Lee County Sheriff’s Office detective testified in Lee County court Friday. The girl faces a second-degree murder charge in connection to the death, as well as conspiracy, grand theft and illegal credit card use charges. She’ll continue to be held in juvenile detention without bond.

Det. James Dennis said evidence recovered from her jail cell in Kansas, where she was apprehended last month, showed that she provided weapons and other assistance to Jonathan Ruffini, 18, and Tyson Hunter, 23, who are also in custody and accused of the murder.

Lee’s body was found by a dumpster behind a church in Manatee County on July 15. The girl said Lee sexually abused her for eight years, an arrest warrant revealed earlier.

The girl is a warden of the state and a public defender will represent her. Her next appearance is set for Sept. 12.

WINK News is not using the girl’s name or photo because she may have been a sexual abuse victim.

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