Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Parents Rip Babysitter for Little Girl's Hot Car Death: 'No Remorse!'

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

Ariya Paige was 10 months old when her babysitter, Rhonda Jewell, left her in a hot a car for five hours in July 2023. A judge in Baker County, Florida recently sentenced Jewell to 17 years in prison after a jury found her guilty of third-degree murder for Ariya's death. Ariya's parents spoke about the pain of losing their baby girl as Jewell's family pleaded for leniency. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy has the emotional sentencing hearing in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Get 50% off of confidential background reports at https://www.truthfinder.com/lccrimefix and access information about almost anyone!Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. She has no more for what she did. She's going to game of games all the time and enjoying herself. A mother unleashes her grief on the babysitter she trusted to watch her 10-month-old baby girl. You will never know how truly sorry I am. I was the go to person to take care of her child to make sure she was happy. I have the powerful words from Araya Page's family as Rhonda Jewell learns her punishment for leaving Araya Page in a hot car.

Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Araya Page would be a little more than two years old if she were alive today. Her parents loved her more than anything. But on July 19th, 2023, 10-month-old Ariah's life ended in an awful, awful way. And what makes it so terribly tragic, it was entirely preventable. Rhonda Jewell picked up Ariah from her parents' home in McClennie, west of Jacksonville, around 8 a.m., and drove to another home to babysit other children.

It was around 1 p.m. when Ariah was discovered in the car. The temperature in the vehicle had reached well over 100 degrees that day. Rhonda Jewell was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, but the charge was later upgraded to third-degree murder. You can only imagine what each day has been like for Araya's family. Her parents had dreams for their little daughter, and they were sadly dashed in a matter of moments in one morning. You hear stories about parents accidentally leaving their children in hot cars, but this wasn't the same thing. Araya's mother, Brooke Page, testified at trial about going to pick up Araya and discovering her baby girl had been in a hot car for five hours.

When you arrived on July 19th to pick up Araya, where did you go? To the front door. To the front door. Had you ever gone to the back door? No. Have you ever gone to the garage door? No. Have you ever gone to the garage door? No. So that was normal for you?

Yes. What did you do when you first got to the front door? Knocked on the door. Did anyone answer when you knocked on the door? No. After you knocked on the door, what did you do next? Rang the doorbell. Did anyone come to the door when you rang the doorbell?

No. Could you hear anything inside the house? Yes. What could you hear? The TV and the kids in the house. You could hear that something was inside the house? Yes. After knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell and there's no answer, what do you do next? Pick up the phone and call her. So you called the house? Yes. After knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell and there's no answer,

what do you do next? I picked up the phone and called her. So you called the defendant? Yes. What did you say when you called her? I said, hey, I'm here. And what did the defendant say to you? What door are you at? And what were you thinking when she said, what door are you at? I was wondering why she was asking me that. I've never went to any other doors. Okay. What did you tell her? I said, front door.

What happened next when you told her you were at the front door? She then came to the door and opened it. When she opened the door, what did you do? I stepped inside. And what did you do as soon as you got inside? What did I do? Yeah, what did you do? I took my shoes off.

Okay, and what was the purpose of that? I was just always raised to take your shoes off in somebody else's house. Okay. What does the defendant do as soon as you walk in and you take your shoes off? She kind of shoved me out of the way and I just started running, running out the door. Is she saying anything as she was running out the door? Screaming my name. Do you know where she was running to?

Not until she arrived where she was running to. And where did she eventually arrive? The back passenger door of her Tahoe. Would that be her vehicle? Yes. Where was her vehicle parked? On the side of the driveway in the rocks. So it was outside?

Yes. Was it in the garage or anything like that? No. Did you follow her to her car? When I realized where she was going, yes. When you arrived at the defendant's car, what did you see? Aria, not breathing. Where was Aria?

In her car seat still. Was she still strapped in? Yes. Exactly where you hadpped in? Yes. Exactly where you had put her? Yes. You said she was not breathing. No.

How did you know that? Her lips were blue. What did you do next? I told her to call 911. And was Araya taken out of the car? Yes. Was her baby bag with all the items you have packed still in the car as well? Yes. It's unimaginable thinking about that moment. Brooke Page described trying to revive Araya. Do you remember what type of instruction or what you were doing with Araya? It's really hard to remember,aya. Do you remember what type of instruction or what you were doing

with Araya? Um, it's really hard to remember, but I vaguely remember. Would you like me to tell you? Yes. Um, so she told me two hands on her, on her chest. She said, don't push too hard because you'll break her ribs. But she said, give her air in her mouth. Try to give her air in her mouth. And did you follow those instructions? I did. How did Ariah feel to you when you were touching her? Very rubbery and wet. Did the arrive yes the police arrived yes when the ambulance arrived did the paramedics and take over with the CPR yes

and did they eventually take Ariah to the hospital? Yes. Would that be Ed Frazier? Yes. Right here? Yes. Okay. And did you go to the hospital as well?

Yes. When you went to the hospital, I imagine other family members went there as well? Yes, correct. Did Pamela Page show up and other individuals too? Yes. Okay. Did your husband eventually come to the hospital as well? Yes.

And did you then hear from the doctor? Yes. And were informed that Ariah had passed? Yes. And were informed that Araya had passed? Yes. How'd you feel at that moment? I didn't know how to feel. I didn't know what to feel. I don't even know how to explain it. What did you do next? I sat outside and talked to the family and asked them, what do we do next? I mean, I was just a mom a couple hours ago, a couple minutes ago, and now I'm having

to proceed a life without a kid. Rhonda Jewell being charged with third degree murder in Ariah Page's death really got me thinking about what might be out there about her past. So I looked her up on truthfinder.com. That's one of the largest public record search services to see what I would find. Jewell's case out of Baker County, Florida for Araya's death shows up in the criminal and traffic search results. And so do some older traffic citations. TrickFinder is really great because it will show you even more.

It'll show you past and current addresses, relatives, social media accounts, phone numbers, and other items. And one thing I really love, it will even show you the sex offenders who live in your neighborhood. You should try it. And right now you can get 50% off of confidential background reports. Just log on to www.truthfinder.com slash LC crime fix, log on and start accessing information about almost anyone. Rhonda Jewell was convicted swiftly of third degree

murder and leaving a child unattended or unsupervised in a motor vehicle causing great bodily injury. Rhonda Jewel's youngest daughter, Gracie Jewel, talked about her mom at sentencing. My mom was the most outgoing person. She was always at every event I can think of, always happy. I've never seen her sad or upset. It was always just took things and roll with it. All I can say is she was always happy. Gracie then spoke about how the death of Ariah Page had changed her mother. That's not the same person. I mean, that's not my mom. It's, I don't, I don't think I've ever seen her like this before. And I think that's the hardest part is knowing that that's, that's not who she is. And I know this has all changed her, but it's scary. Rhonda Jewell's husband, Robert, also spoke about how his wife had changed. She's always depressed.

She has to take medicine. She has to go to the chiropractor. That's the only place she leaves the house for, to go there. And just, she wakes up all hours in the night. She can't sleep, which means I can't sleep. I have to get up and talk her through it. Tell her everything's going to be okay. You know, and everything.

Robert Jewell went on to say that his wife is remorseful. She said she wished it had been her instead of the baby. You know, she wished she could have died and give it right. So, I mean, this is really affecting not only their family, but mine too. Then it was time for Rhonda Jewell to speak. I know there's nothing I can say or do that will ever heal your broken heart. You will never know how truly sorry I am. I was the go-to person to take care of the child, to make sure she was happy, to make sure she was comfortable. No, so she went home. And I'll let you know, you trusted me and I failed to hold up my duties for the day I'm truly sorry, for our injustice.

I have prayed for that awful, awful day that you could find it in your hearts to forgive me. I pray you remember that I love the writer and I love y'all. For we have shared together, shared memories together, they're always special. Being able to say first week my own memories from all my since graduation, waiting, maybe chugging, maybe shouting, they're always close to my heart. And Justice, we love you. We love you. It's indescribable. That's one of my favorite moments. There are things about you, your selflessness is admirable.

Selflessness is admirable. And I'll forever be grateful for your friendship. Mommy, Mommy, you're my best friend. You're my family. Your kids were my kids. Your kids were my kids.

Rhonda Jules words were little consolation for the page family and they let her know it. I never thought I'd be standing here in front of you today painting. I think your own power and joy impacted our lives so much, our careless actions. We had so much trust in our own dad and believed that our daughter would be in the best of care with her. Her being so close to our family and not showing no remorse for what she did to us is so careless and agonizing. She has no remorse for what she did. She's going to game of games all the time and enjoying herself, to go watch her daughter pursue her dreams when I don't even have a chance to go watch her. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day.

I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day.

I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I'm going to be thinking about for every day. I know that's what I's going to game of games all the time and join herself to go watch her daughter pursue her dreams when I don't even have a chance to do that because she took my daughter away from me.

Rhonda Drew took the greatest human being away from me, but not only did she take my daughter away from me, she took a piece of me away on July 19th also. Rook Page then spoke about what a sweet baby little ariah was she was literally such an easygoing baby she was such a ball to be around now i'm not just saying that because i'm her mom even though she is perfect just ask anybody she made life beyond enjoyable she would stare at me like no other person if she could figure out who you were or if she just wanted to put on her Wednesday admin space. Her giggle would turn everybody's head so fast,

and everybody would just stare at her and just admire how painful she was. She would 100% fool you when she didn't get her way, and she'd hook out her bottom lip and fake cry. Just ask her dad about that one. I have this fear that our ride will be forgotten about. How do you lose a kid and then stop talking about them like they never even existed? It's the most painful thing that I ever even feel. Words really can't express the heartache. The worst pain about all this is going into town every day afraid of running under Ron and Jewel

or seeing that SUV that she still drives around that my daughter died in. She knew she had other vehicles to drive around because she was seen in other vehicles that she drove. It's hurtful to me to think how our kids, after a while, will never get the chance to meet her. They'll only get to know her through'd be triggered to the day, and it would take me back to July 19th. The day where I went to pick up Ariah, and just like any other day, instead of being greeted with her giggles, I was greeted with horror. The image of Ariah, the day I found her sitting in the car seat, is a picture I can never get out of my head. Ariah's father, Justice Page, then spoke. Watching her getting carried out on her receipt was a feeling I will... It's the worst feeling I've ever felt in my life. spoke. Karia brought so much joy to my life as a new dad. She made me and dad so easy. Her laughing giggles would carry my attention every time. Catching my attention every time and hearing those words, dad, dad, would put the biggest smile on my face.

After a long day at work, I knew I would be coming home to a happy little girl that was just as excited to see me as I was excited to see her. Right when she had me wrapped around her fingers since the day she was born, and it shows my brand new boat I bought for her. Even though she didn't know I bought it just for her, she always had a big smile and she was always giving while she was riding home close. Justice Page then spoke about the moments that he would never get to enjoy with his daughter. I'll never be able to walk around the alley, buy her first car, or take her to school for the first time. I watched her follow me around the yard while I go and watch cars. She was almost at the point where she was only taking her girl steps, but I

never get to see or do any of these things with her because they were all wrong for us by one careless person, Ronald Joel. To even think Ronald could be so careless and leave my daughter in a hot car for five hours is so heart-wrenching. She has taken so much trust away from my family to even enjoy a ride with her brother on their own time. Never would have thought I would have to be on the lookout to not run into around the jewel around this town to see her driving around that thought she left my daughter in. The judge sentenced Rhonda Jewell to a total of 17 years in prison. We now feel like an elephant has been off of our shoulders and we feel

relieved. Like there's not something holding us down. Just feel better that she's not roaming the streets and behind bars where she belongs. I'm shocked I even got 17 years. I didn't think I was going to get the full 20. Brooke Page then explained why she felt shocked that Rhonda Jewell got a 17-year sentence. Just because I just feel like the justice system has failed us over the last year, that I didn't feel like I would even get the full 20 or even 17 that we got. So even getting the 17 has definitely shocked us. Ariah's parents and grandparents have tried to ensure that her memory would live on and that her death would somehow help other children and families.

They took action, hoping to keep other children from dying in hot cars, lobbying to create a RIA's act in Florida. As a mother, I cannot even begin to imagine what that family has endured, but their determination and perseverance to make a difference is remarkable. Senate Bill 554 designates the month of April as Hot Car Death Prevention Month to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles and how to prevent those deaths from occurring. Governor DeSantis signed a RIAS Act and it took effect on July 1st. Because of it, several state agencies are being encouraged to hold events to educate the public about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars and the criminal penalties for doing so. We really didn't know what to do.

And I remember as I kneeled down and I kissed Dariah, I promised her, I made a promise to her that she would never be forgotten again. This came about because someone said they carelessly just want to say they forgot. So I wanted our family to engage in something positive, make something positive to come out of this so that no other child would lose their life and no the family would have to suffer the way we've suffered. It's just, it just came to us naturally to do something. And it is taking our attention away from more so the anger that we feel and put our attention on doing something positive. The Page's legal battle is not yet over. They plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Rhonda Jewell. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me.

I'll see you back here next time.