JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Lonna and I were both involved and now we have to pay the price," Ruben Ebron said at a hearing Friday where he pleaded guilty to four counts related to the death of toddler Lonzie Barton.
In court, Ebron testified that he left Lonzie unattended in the bathtub of the home he shared with the toddler's mother, Lonna Lauramore Barton. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office chief Tom Hackney said Friday that Barton and Ebron were having sex while Lonzie was in the bathtub.
When he and the child's mother returned, the child was face down in the tub, dead.
Prosecutor Rich Mantei said in court that after the death, Barton went to work at Wackos Gentlemens Club.
"Lonna and I were both involved l and now we have to pay the price .." - Ebron #ebronplea
— Lisa Robbins (@LisaRobbinsFCN) February 5, 2016
That's when Ebron staged the elaborate false kidnapping of the child, prompting a massive weeks-long search across the city. An AMBER Alert was issued and hundreds of police officers and volunteers scoured the area.
"He said he panicked and staged a kidnapping," State Attorney Angela Corey said in a press conference after Ebron entered a guilty plea Friday morning.
Ebron admitted to dumping the child's body in the Bayard area on the Southside of Jacksonville. In early January, Ebron led police to the site.
Prosecutors say preliminary evidence confirms that the body they found is little Lonzie's.
In court Friday, Ebron apologized to Lonzie in a statement that partially reads "I failed to protect you from the harm of others, I will and have continued to ask for forgiveness."
In accepting his plea, judge Mark Borello says "Mr. Ebron only you know how much truth is in that statement."
The big question now is what happens to Lonna, First Coast News legal analyst Janet Johnson says. Lonna faces child neglect and other counts but has not yet been charged in the child's death.
Ebron was sentenced to 20 years in state prison on four counts, the most serious being aggravated manslaughter.
Corey said Ebron's attorney approached the state about a plea, saying Lonzie's death was an accident and Ebron was remorseful.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office chief Tom Hackney, who became the police face of the search for Lonzie, said Friday "If you don't want your kids or can't care for them, find someone who does."
Hackney says Lonzie's body was found under a pile of tires.