State to use teen’s journal in Buckingham murder case

FORT MYERS, Fla. – State prosecutors are seeking to use confessions they say 16-year-old Lavaya May made in her personal journal to pin her to the killing of a Buckingham man.

May was asked to submit samples of her handwriting into evidence Friday so a forensics team can compare them to the written admissions.

She is facing charges for two counts of homicide without premeditation, credit card fraud and vehicle theft for her role in the death of 58-year-old Ted Lee, arrest records show. Lee was found dead near a dumpster at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Lakewood Ranch in July.

May’s journal was discovered after she was moved from a jail in Kansas, where she was arrested, to Lee County. Authorities also found a letter addressed to May’s family that allegedly asks them not to speak about her motive and involvement in Lee’s death.

The state wants to submit the letter and the journal as evidence in May’s trial for murder.

“These letters and journal contain admissions of the defendant’s role in the crime… a forensic examination of her handwriting and the handwriting contained on the documents will confirm whether [the] defendant is the source of handwriting on the documents,” the state said in a legal document.

May lived with Lee for three years, according to neighbors.

Two men, Jonathan Ruffini, 18, and Tyson Hunter, 23, are also facing charges in connection to Lee’s death. May told authorities she convinced Ruffini and Hunter to kill Lee because he sexually abused her, a warrant shows. Her lawyer claims that Lee also owned thousands of child porn images before his death. Her defense asked for those images to be submitted as evidence in September.