Florida man Ronnie Oneal III is facing the death penalty after getting convicted of the first-degree murders of both his girlfriend Kenyatta Barron and disabled 9-year old daughter, the attempted murder of his son who was 8 years old at the time of the 2018 slayings, arson, and aggravated child abuse. Oneal reportedly shot and beat his girlfriend to death, killed his daughter with a hatchet, stabbed his son in an unsuccessful murder attempt, and burned the house down. Oneal III admitted that he “may” have repeatedly used the phrase “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic term used by many Muslims meaning “God Is Great,” and the man’s son told the court that Oneal III wanted him to say this Muslim phrase on the fateful night. The boy also said in a hospital conversation with detectives that Oneal III was saying “Allahu Akbar.”

Oneal III, who represented himself and cross-examined his own young son in the trial, admitted to killing his children’s mother Kenyatta Barron in his closing argument, but his story is that he did so as an act of self-defense, and he blamed Barron for killing her own disabled daughter, a crime that Oneal himself has now been convicted of. One aspect of this story is going conspicuously under-reported by the mainstream media: Oneal admitted in his opening arguments: “Allahu Akbar, which I may have said once or twice…” Oneal’s son said that Oneal wanted him to say “Allahu Akbar.” Oneal said on a 911 call that he was attacked by “some white demons.”

“My dad said come here, come kill this the B-word,” the boy said in his testimony. “My dad told me to walk around and say, like, some words.” Asked which words his father wanted him to say, the boy replied, “Allahu Akbar.” A jury will decide whether or not Oneal III lives or dies at the hands of the justice system.