Murder of Rebecca Kunash

Rebecca Kunash
Born	(1972-06-29)June 29, 1972 Florida, U.S.
Died	May 11, 1979(1979-05-11) (aged 6) Merritt Island, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Death by drowning (homicide)
Resting place	Brevard Memorial Park
Other names	Becky
Education	Audubon Elementary School
Known for	Victim of a kidnapping, rape, and murder case

The murder of Rebecca Kunash (June 29, 1972 – May 11, 1979) occurred on May 11, 1979, in Brevard County, Florida, when the six-year-old girl was abducted by 20-year-old Bryan Frederick Jennings (born December 9, 1958), who forcibly took her to Merritt Island, where Jennings raped the girl. After the sexual assault, Jennings caused a skull fracture to Kunash by lifting her upside down and slamming her head to the ground, before he ultimately drowned the girl to death in a canal. Jennings was found guilty of kidnapping, rape and first-degree murder. Following a trial in 1980 and two re-trials between 1982 and 1986, Jennings was eventually sentenced to death for the murder. Jennings, who had since lost his appeals, is currently on death row awaiting his execution for the crime.

Murder

On May 11, 1979, in Brevard County, Florida, a six-year-old girl was kidnapped, raped and ultimately murdered by her abductor in a canal.

On that early morning itself, the girl, Rebecca "Becky" Kunash, was asleep in her bedroom, when 20-year-old Bryan Frederick Jennings, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, broke into her bedroom and abducted her from her home. Jennings forced the girl into his car and drove to an area near a canal on Merritt Island. Jennings proceeded to rape the girl and afterwards, he lifted Kunash upside down by her feet, and slammed her head onto the ground, causing her skull to fracture. Subsequently, Jennings pinned the girl's head underwater at the canal for ten minutes, and Kunash died as a result of the drowning.

Sometime after, the body of Kunash was discovered inside the canal. Jennings was arrested later that same day for a traffic offence committed in Orange County, Florida. The police eventually connected him to the murder of Kunash and placed him under arrest for the murder. Jennings, who initially denied that he was responsible for the crime, eventually confessed to the police that he indeed killed Kunash.

Trial of Bryan Jennings

Charges and trial

Bryan Jennings
Born	Bryan Frederick Jennings (1958-12-09) December 9, 1958 Florida, U.S.
Criminal status	Incarcerated on death row
Convictions	First degree murder Kidnapping Burglary Sexual battery
Criminal penalty	Death
Details
Victims	1
Date	May 11, 1979
Country	United States
Location	Brevard County, Florida
Imprisoned at	Florida State Prison

After his arrest, Bryan Jennings was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, rape and other offences for the murder of Rebecca Kunash, with the prosecution officially seeking the death penalty for Jennings. In June 1979, a circuit judge ruled that the confession tape of Jennings should be admitted as evidence after finding that Jennings did not confess under duress.

Jennings stood trial before a Brevard County jury in February 1980. The taped confession was reportedly played in court, and a former cellmate of Jennings also testified that he heard Jennings bragging out how he killed Kunash; two fingerprint experts also verified that his fingerprints were discovered at the girl's bedroom window, proving that Jennings had indeed broke into the bedroom and abducted Kunash. A psychiatrist testified in court that Jennings was not insane or mentally ill but has a predatory character and a seriously flawed conscience.

Jennings was subsequently found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary and sexual battery on February 7, 1980, and on February 11, 1980, the jury recommended the death penalty by a majority vote of 11–1.

On May 7, 1980, Circuit Court Judge Tom Waddell sentenced Jennings to death, in addition to four life sentences for the remaining charges.

Re-trial

On April 8, 1982, the Florida Supreme Court allowed Jennings's appeal and ordered a re-trial due to trial procedural errors.

The re-trial took place before a different jury in July 1982. Kunash's parents, who came to court as witnesses, reportedly expressed that the re-trial re-opened their wounds and brought back the pain of losing their daughter.

On July 15, 1982, the jury once again found Jennings guilty of the original charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual battery and burglary, although he was acquitted of one count of sexual battery. Shortly after the conviction of Jennings, his lawyers expressed that they would appeal.

On July 16, 1982, by a majority vote of 9–3, the jury recommended that Jennings should be given the death penalty for murdering Kunash. Prior to his formal sentencing, Jennings requested to be declared as a mentally disordered sex offender to gain eligibility for psychiatric treatment, but his request was denied by the trial judge.

On September 3, 1982, Circuit Court Judge Clarence Johnson formally imposed the death penalty for Jennings on the charge of first-degree murder, as well as three consecutive life sentences for the remaining charges of kidnapping, sexual battery and burglary.

On July 12, 1984, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Jennings's second appeal.

Second re-trial

In May 1985, the Florida Supreme Court heard Jennings's third appeal and once again allowed it, and ordered a second re-trial on the grounds that his first re-trial contained errors. Prior to the second re-trial, Jennings's lawyers tried to seek the court's suppression of some evidence and claimed that they was illegally obtained.

On March 24, 1986, Jennings stood trial for the third time, although the trial had to be moved from Brevard County to Bay County to avoid publicity and to ensure a more impartial trial. A jury was also selected on that same day. At that point, Kunash's parents divorced and they still struggled with the loss of their youngest daughter, which Kunash's father described as a nightmare that would not end.

On March 28, 1986, Jennings was convicted of the original charges for the third time after the jury found him guilty of the murder. Kunash's father reportedly urged the jury to impose the death penalty for Jennings. Prior to the sentencing trial, one of the jurors, a navy gunner, was allowed to stay on the jury despite the navy's request to remove him to enable him return for his official duties, resulting in a delay of his return to the navy. Two psychiatrists also testified in the hearing, stating that there were signs of improvement in Jennings's mental state but stated that he was still self-destructive and had a high propensity to re-offend in terms of sexual offences. One psychiatrist said that the killing may not be premeditated but the rape and abduction were both planned and Jennings knew right from wrong.

On April 8, 1986, the jury recommended the death penalty with a majority vote of 11–1. On April 25, 1986, Circuit Court Judge Charles Harris formally sentenced Jennings to death for first-degree murder, marking the third time Jennings received the death sentence. Jennings was also given three life sentences for the remaining charges of sexual battery, burglary and kidnapping.

Appeal process

On August 27, 1987, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed Bryan Jennings's fourth appeal against his death sentence and murder conviction.

On June 13, 1991, the Florida Supreme Court rejected another appeal from Jennings.

On March 20, 1998, Circuit Judge Jere Lober denied Jennings's motion for a re-trial.

On March 22, 2001, Jennings's sixth appeal was turned down by the Florida Supreme Court.

On September 29, 2005, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected Jennings's federal appeal.

On July 3, 2007, Jennings's appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was denied.

On March 31, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Jennings's final appeal and confirmed his death sentence.

On October 4, 2018, Jennings lost another appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. In his appeal, Jennings sought to have his sentence reviewed in light of the 2016 Hurst v. Florida decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and another decision by the Florida Supreme Court, which both ruled that only juries could decide on death sentences and that death sentences should be imposed by unanimous jury decisions (Jennings's sentence was passed by a vote of 11 to one). However, the appeal was rejected as the sentence was decided before June 2002 and the laws were therefore not retroactive. Apart from this, the law requiring unanimity was subsequently abolished, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing a new law to allow Florida's death sentences be imposed under the agreement of at least eight jurors.

On July 22, 2024, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Jennings's appeal.

Current status

After his first sentencing in 1980, Bryan Jennings was incarcerated on death row at the Florida State Prison.

Originally, Jennings was scheduled to be executed by the electric chair on October 27, 1989, after then Governor Bob Martinez signed his death warrant in September 1989. However, on October 26, 1989, the eve of Jennings's scheduled execution, he was granted a stay of execution.

As of 2025, Bryan Jennings is currently on death row awaiting his execution.

Aftermath

In 2013, Brevard County prosecutor Chris White recalled on the case and described the murder of Kunash as one of the worst murder cases he ever prosecuted, and he revealed that Kunash's father died in 2001 while Kunash's mother moved out of the state and was still waiting for Jennings to be executed. White also added that he was frustrated with the long wait and felt that the victim's mother deserved some closure. Junny Martinez, whose son was raped and murdered by Mark Dean Schwab (who was ultimately executed in 2008), expressed his sympathy for Kunash over her brutal death. Martinez added that he himself waited for more than 18 years for the execution of his son's murderer, and remarked that the waiting period for Kunash's family lasted more than twice as long as him, which he found to be "unbelievable".

In 2015, childhood friends and classmates of Kunash banded together to commemorate her on a social media chat.

John Torres, a journalist for Florida Today, published an opinion piece in 2022, affirming that the case of Kunash's murder was one of the worst murder cases he ever known and stated that Jennings deserved to be executed.

See also

• Capital punishment in Florida
• List of death row inmates in Florida