Deputies: Woman and girl dead after man attacks family, sets home on fire

RIVERVIEW (FOX 13) - A Riverview father is in jail, charged with murdering his 11-year-old daughter and her mother and trying to kill his 9-year-old son late Sunday night.

Hillsborough County deputies say they are now trying to figure out what caused Ronnie O'Neal III to commit such horrifying crimes.

"Right now, it's just a blow to the whole family. It really is. We don't understand it," said Angela Gaudette, O'Neal's cousin.

The first 911 call came in from a woman, later identified as Kenyatta Barron, 33, who said she had been shot and was pleading for help. According to deputies, the dispatcher could hear someone in the background shouting, "Allah Akbar."

Minutes later, O'Neal, who identifies himself on Facebook as a member of the organization, 'The Nation of Islam,' called 911 and told the dispatcher, "I've just been attacked by some white demons," adding, "her name is Ke-Ke and she tried to kill me and I just killed her." 

Barron's family and friends told FOX 13 her nickname was 'Ke-Ke.'

Neighbors heard the gunshot.

"All of a sudden I heard a loud bang. It was so loud it scared me," said Carol Pietraniello, who lives behind Barron's home. "You never expect to wake up the next morning and find out people are dead."

When deputies arrived on Pike Lake Drive at a little before midnight Sunday, they found Barron, who eventually died at the scene, lying in a neighbor's front yard. As they tried to help her, they noticed a fire burning in her house next door, which deputies said O'Neal started.

As firefighters rushed in, a O'Neal's 9-year-old son walked out of the home suffering from multiple stab wounds. He later told paramedics, "my father shot my mother." 

Firefighters also found the body of O'Neal's 11-year-old daughter, who'd also been stabbed several times, in the home.

"[Kenyatta] was just a lovable, sweet person. She loved her children. She did everything she could. She took good care of those kids," Gaudette said. "She was the best mom. She was lovable, just a sweet-hearted person."

Deputies said they had to use a Taser on O'Neal to arrest him; he later continued yelling “Allah Akbar” from the back of a cruiser. He's charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and arson.  

O'Neal's son had surgery and was listed in stable condition late Monday afternoon.