A man in Jacksonville, Florida, who raped and murdered his pregnant niece will spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge gave him three life sentences.
In 2018, Johnathan Quiles raped and impregnated 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer, his niece. Family members said Sawyer knew she was pregnant and wanted to keep her baby, but never confronted Quiles out of fear for her life. According to witnesses, Quiles lured Sawyer to meet him, saying they were going to run away together. As they were sitting in the back of a car, he tried to strangle her, but couldn’t go through with it. Investigators said he then shot Sawyer, wrapped her in a carpet, and tossed her into a dumpster which he knew would be emptied that day. Despite searches of the landfill, Sawyer’s body has never been found. Sawyer was five months pregnant.
During sentencing, Sawyer’s mother, Kimberly Mobley, gave an emotional statement while wearing a shirt with a sonogram photo, which also read “Long Live Hazel” — her preborn granddaughter’s name.
“Iyana was always happy-go-lucky, and she would always have us cracking up laughing… Iyana was full of life and wanted to do so many things, she wanted to be a pediatrician and maybe a lawyer,” she said, adding, “She was thoughtful, caring, responsible, ambitious, articulate, a leader, a comedian and so many other things.”
Mobley further mourned the loss of Baby Hazel. “I’ll never hear my granddaughter’s first cries in the delivery room. I will never get to hold my granddaughter, or give her milk,” she said through tears. “I will never get to get up with her like I did with Iyana. I will never get to see her be a mother. She was so happy when I told her I was taking maternity leave when the baby was born.”
Judge Anthony Salem, during his sentencing, spoke about Hazel and the death she suffered at Quiles’ hands. “That baby could feel love and comfort,” he said. “Sadly, because of Mr. Quiles, he made sure it felt pain. But that baby was a real person. I find some comfort knowing that she was with her mother at the time.”
Editor’s Note: If you are a victim of domestic violence, please visit thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-SAFE.
