In March 2018, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detective Mike Blair arrived at a tragic murder scene in which a man had killed his girlfriend and special needs daughter while gravely injuring his son.
According to FOX 13, Ronnie Oneal was eventually found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder connected with the vicious attack, which began after his girlfriend, Kenyatta Barron, dialed 911 and pleaded for assistance.
Barron and her daughter Ron’niveya were already dead when Blair arrived on the scene. After being stabbed and suffering severe burns, Ronnie, the surviving son, was flown to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.
Blair said in a video shared by the sheriff’s office, “We were told there was a child being medevacked to Tampa General, but he was not expected to live.”
According to the sheriff’s office, he survived, and Blair met him at the hospital a few weeks later.
“He kind of held onto my hand as I left, and he said, ‘Could you watch a movie with me?’” Blair recounted. “I said no, I can’t. I gotta get back to work…How about I come back and watch a movie with you tonight?”
That evening, Blair and his wife had already scheduled a date night; he asked his wife if she would mind if they watched a movie instead.
Blair’s wife, Danyel, said in the sheriff’s video, “I had already known that I would want to take Ronnie home with us, starting that night.”
As soon as it became necessary to find Ronnie an adoptive home, the Blairs stepped forward to offer their services to the cause.
“He knows he has a story that has been written for him,” Blair said of Ronnie, who is now 12. “He also knows he doesn’t want to be defined by that story.”
