Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Pregnant Teen Disappears After Uncle Drives Her to School

Episode Date: February 28, 2026

Sixteen-year-old Iyana Sawyer went missing after she left her Florida high school in 2018. Authorities immediately initiated an all-out for Sawyer, who was pregnant at the time, but never found her body. What investigators uncovered was much more sinister. Find out what happened to Iyana Sawyer on this true crime documentary episode of "Prime Crime with Jesse Weber." If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/PrimeCrime Get 50% off of confidential background reports at https://www.truthfinder.com/lcprimecrime Follow Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweber Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Prime Crime. Miss Sawyer, she just disappeared in thin air. It was mass chaos. When a Florida high school honors student full of promise goes missing. I'm not a monster. I had nothing to do with her disappearance. A trail of...

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on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Love and betrayal threatens to tear a tight-knit family apart. Do I think my husband is capable of any of this? No, I don't, you know, but we have a missing piece

of the pumpkin. Hey there everybody, I'm Jesse Weber and welcome to Prime Crime. This is where we break down the most compelling and memorable true crime cases from across the country. When a 16-year-old girl named Diana Sawyer suddenly vanishes, her family and police chased down every possible lead. This is a very twisted story that proves quite difficult for authorities to crack. Jacksonville 911 was the location of your emergency. The microphone is going to strike the bus for a

there that it's not like that. You have no idea with you. December 19th, 2018, started out a normal day. IS was a 16-year-old high school student, a sophomore, straight A student at Terry Parker High School here in Jacksonville, Florida. She also went to school with her sister, SS, who was was a year younger in her ninth grade year. Because Ianna Sawyer and her sister are minors,

investigators sometimes refer to them by their initials, IS and SS, to protect their identities. She wasn't. They don't understand why she was on the both. Did you ask your sister? Why she said she didn't know. And that's not like her. That's not like her.

That's not like to let me be together. When SS calls her mother frantically, stating that IAS did not get on the bus, Kimberly Mobley was at work. So she called two of her sisters, one of the sisters called 911, while the other one headed to Terry Parker High School. Do you think it's sound play?

Ma'am, I have no idea. This is out of character for her. And for me to call you wrong, something's wrong. Her family went crazy. They called 911, they called everyone. It was mass chaos because she just disappeared thin air. So I.S. She was the firstborn. She was extremely close to her mom. She was extremely loyal. She loved being with her family. She wanted to be either a doctor or a lawyer. She was

into her scholastics being the straight-aid student. However, sadly, at the age of 16, she was carrying a big secret. And that secret was she was pregnant. pregnant. Though she only recently told her mom, the family supports her, and they've even named her unborn baby, Hazel Michelle. All they want is to find Iyana safe and sound. IAS did not attend her last two periods of school. Video surveillance showed that she did in fact leave Terry Parker High School at approximately 11 a.m. And we don't know who picked her up because that was outside of camera footage at the time. She has two bags.

One is full, of course, regular school items such as textbooks, notebooks, and then another bag has a voluminous amount of Victoria's Secret items, a body pillow. The family is left questioning, where is IS? The consensus between police is that she has left school voluntarily, there was no obvious signs any force or anything like that.

Our theory of the case is she either ran away and didn't want to be found or she ran away because her mom wanted to know who the father of the child was. She didn't want to tell and that led to friction between the two. The police, they were just trying to do what they could define her. They did some basic search around the area. They set up the tip line. The family was doing quite a bit. They were looking for anything.

After two days of searching, with no sign of Ianna, police change her status from a runaway to a missing person. Then her mom makes a disturbing discovery. Her mom was searching through her room, through her laptop, through her boxes in her closet, anything she could to determine where she may be. She finds this word document on Ianna's laptop that kind of seemed strange. How do you get to it? Tell me how you get to it? I went there in the recycler bin right here.

She also got other notes over here on the side. They asked you for a password. She got some of the notes locked. She got other stuff that she wrote in here about him too, though. The fact that Ayanna went to such great lengths to keep the documents a secret is as concerning as what she'd written. It was a couple pages long, and it was a pouring out her heart of this person, Jose,

Jose, her love for this person, the betrayal of this person. Ianna's mom has never heard her talk about Jose. Could it be a code name for someone? Could she have run away with this person? The diary entries are dated February and March 2018, almost a year before Ianna disappeared. Around that time, Ianna was in a relationship her mom didn't approve of

with an adult neighbor when Ianna was just 15. 15. There was a next-door neighbor he lived across the street from Iyana. He had had a sexual relationship with Ianna, and his name was Kamar Humphrey. I mean, the person that was accused of sexually assaulting her, you know, nine months earlier is very much someone who I would be looking into very deeply when she goes missing. Authorities have legitimate cause for concern about Humphrey. In March 2018, at Ianna's mom's insistence, they'd obtained a DNA swab from him for a rape kit. He admitted to having sex with Ianna at least once, and the DNA confirmed it. Under Florida law, he was listed as a sexual offender because he was

over the age of 18 and she was under the age of 16. The time period that the rape kit was done, that we can confirm there was a sexual relationship, is outside of the time period that she would have conceived. But we have always asked, did that that that relationship continue on and we know it went on for months just based on the conversations that she had with friends he's a viable suspect for the father of her child police asked Humphrey where he was the day Iyana went missing when he shows proof he was out of town investigators have to rule him out but if he's not Jose who is that's when a new name comes into the mix Jonathan Quilles

She confronts Ianna's sister, and Ianna's sister is the one who says, oh, that's Jose is Uncle John. So Ianna was John's niece by marriage. He was Uncle John to Ianna and to the other siblings as well. They were very close. His wife and him both took care of the kids on a regular basis. They would spend time at their house. John really cares.

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He was a handyman. He had a good family life. He was working, doing well. Married, had a kid, another one on the way at the time. Ianna's mom knows the two are very close. But if Uncle John, aka Jonathan Quilles, is the Jose in Ayanna's diary, did things go too far? Her mom is determined to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. She calls police and they head over to his house.

Hey, John, what's going on? This is crazy. All this just got dropped on me. Trying to get a damn guy to sign a lease over there and I'm coming back. I see patrol cars in my dang house. He arrived while they were there. He was calm, cool, and collective. I'm here to help.

We literally had their kids, her kids for summers. You know, the summer. at a time and then, you know, weekends, like, yeah, all of them. If we knew where she was at, we would have been the first ones to grab her ass and bring her over. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's just, it's just don't, yeah, trying to find her the same way they are. He did not know anything. He didn't have any involvement, even his wife, you know, was defending him, and that he would never do anything to harm IS.

So I'm gonna tell you, with regards to this here, do I think my husband is capable of any of this? No, I don't. I have a missing piece of the puzzle. Police tell the couple they have a warrant to search the house. You got free reign. I'll hang out out here. They're going. We'll take it.

We'll go. Naomi and John say, hey, search our house, you know, do what you need to do, look through because, you know, she's not here. We have nothing to do with it. You got all the rooms? Yeah. Okay. So the backyard is it? Yeah, let's think with the back.

Even one of the officers found it kind of funny because Jonathan's sitting there. He's like, hey, come on in, you know, whatever you guys need. You want something to eat. You want something to drink, you know, and he's inviting him in like he's one of the family. But Quilla's and his wife do admit that Ayanna's mom voiced her concerns about Quillas's contact with her daughter since she found the document on her laptop. Once that all happened, we got blocked. The girl said, well, we can't, I mean the same, but it's not like, it's not uncommon. Yeah, this has happened before and then they call.

It seems like the relationship was a little more complicated than anyone initially thought. Then the couple makes another statement that seems to catch officers by surprise. So while talking about, well, do you know any items that are missing of ISs? Well, the wife had stated when she left, she took a lot of her victorious secret. Undergarments. Jonathan Quilla's is even more specific. Oh, yeah, her 38 pair, indicating that she had taken 38 pairs of Victoria's Secret Undergarments with her.

How someone in a family relationship with know that is obviously very odd. As cooperative as Quillaz has been, officers sense something is off. She said that she knows who the father was, but she didn't know. she did know. Yeah, but then you can't really take anything that she's saying serious because now that she's been gone, I question. Police there wanting to talk to John about, you know, have you had a sexual relationship with Ayanna?

And so it's just, you know, they were investigating him at least trying to find out. When we return, police decide to bring Jonathan Quiles in for more questioning. They make some like some allegations and we got to, you know, do a thorough investigation, okay? Okay. So we're going to take you to get interviewed, like detective, okay? Okay. Just tell him your side and that's it, all right? All right.

I still go here. When Quillis was brought in for questioning, he acted like you would expect. He denied everything, said he didn't know anything. And he lamented the fact that his niece was missing. December 27th, 2018, about a week after 16-year-old Diana Sawyer, or IS, disappeared. It's especially concerning because she's pregnant. Police have brought in her uncle, Jonathan Quilles, for an interview. They press him about the diary his niece wrote that indicates the two had sexual relations.

He denies any inappropriate contact and has even provided his DNA to police. You guys took my DNA in the house. I don't have nothing to hide. You are looking at the wrong person. I have nothing to do with that girl disappearing whatsoever, whatsoever. whatsoever. They don't arrest him that day. They detain him, they talk to him, but then they release him.

However, Quillaz has raised enough suspicions that a few days later, police turned the investigation over to homicide detective Abbott, who immediately processes the DNA Quillaz provided. It was submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement here, and a rush was put on to it, because what we had learned was that a sexual assault kit involving IS had been submitted back in March of 2018. And there was unknown DNA. The results showed DNA from neighbor Kamar Humphrey,

which was expected since he and Ianna had had a relationship. But the unknown DNA was additional. Could it be her Uncle Johns? Well, on January 7th, 2019, a shock came. Jonathan Quillet's DNA was on IS's. Panties. Complete utter shock. It only heightened that Jonathan Quillez was definitely a person of interest. Then a bombshell hit. A phone call comes in to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. That individual identified himself as Joseph Quillis, Jonathan Quillis's brother. And oh boy,

did he have a story to tell? Jonathan Quillis had called his brother. He stated it was either December 19th, 2018, or December 20th, 2018, that his brother was frantic, stating that this girl might be pregnant, it might be mine, and I have to get rid of the body. Joseph Quill has then stated his brother hung up the phone. However, sometime later, he called back calmer, not upset, not nervous, said he had taken care of it. When Joseph asks his brother to explain, Quilles reportedly gets surprisingly specific. Jonathan Quillis tells his brother that he lured her to his work in an area where no video surveillance, new other workers. It's loud, and he went to strangle her, but he couldn't stomach it.

So he shot her. He then put her body in a dumpster, and then it's done. He now can move on and his life won't be ruined. His brother was like, I don't believe my brother did this, but it made me feel very uneasy that if I didn't call and report it and something had happened that it would haunt him. Armed with this shocking new information, Detective Abbott and a colleague from Special Assault

bring Quilla's back in for another interview. How are you? How are you? I've had better days. I know, right? Yeah. There's been a lot happened. We need to talk about, okay?

At this time, Detective Billy Abbott has spoken to Joseph Quillez, and now he is looking at this closer to a homicide investigation. The girls would come over to your house and you do like trips to the beach. Yeah, we always went to ball with the pool we had, the pool we had at the house. They would stay the night, they spent time at your house. And there was, the whole summer.

So you're doing. doing all these things with the girls. No, with all of them. Right, with all of the kids. But then they're accusing you of messing with the girls? Correct. And this is, they came out with that, they started like real heavy with it when went with, you know, that boy across the street and doing all that.

That's when it started like really thick. Jonathan Kulose was trying to do anything and everything to show how it was not him. not him, that it could be this other individual, or, you know, she might have had another boyfriend in her life. So now, uh, uh, is missing. She ran away or whatnot. Now here I am sitting in a hot seat because is mentioning me as that I am, I was, you know, I'm Mr. Jose.

Okay. You know, so. Do you know who she ran away with? I don't. I don't. You've been expecting my phone me, text me, anything. Snapchat, me, smoke signal. Quillis painted himself as the victim himself.

He's being unfairly tarnished by this belief he had an inappropriate relationship with his niece. So if I were to tell you that I found some underwear that had your DNA in it, how would you explain that? I would say that that is not, there's no way in shape in any form. Yeah, there's no way. So with the case across the street, there was a kit done. Correct.

And she was wearing specific clothes to include underwear. Yeah, she told me that that was one of her biggest epaives that they took underwear from her. Okay. So that's what he's talking. That's what I was referring to. That wasn't my DNA. That I didn't. No way.

Steve. Yeah. I'm not saying you're a monster. I don't think you're a monster at all. Okay. I think maybe they came on to you. and things went a little too far. It happens all the time.

What exactly are they accusing me of? What exactly are they saying I did? Okay, well, now they're making suggestions that I'm having the sex relationship or that I had something to do with her going missing, and I absolutely did not. Look at her face. They need closure.

I'm not a monster. I have nothing to do with her disappearance. I have nothing to do with her disappearance at all. So the whole family's off. is a liar. Your brother who loves you is just crazy. Right? Everyone's just circling.

The last I spoke with my brother, he was all bent out of shape. I'm like, hold on, bro. You got this all twisted. I didn't do nothing. I have no idea what the hell happened with this young lady, any of that.

How did he have all those details? I don't know how he had all those details. I'm sorry. I don't know how he had. I do. I do. And he said he didn't believe you at first. He thought you were kidding.

But it was so detailed. No. I'm sorry. Nope. He really is just kind of like, you know what? There's nothing I can do at this point. You've already made up your minds. You haven't looked anywhere else.

I'm not the person, but you're convinced that I am. So, Jonathan, is there anything else you'd like to say? There's nothing else I'd like to say. Okay. Then at this point, I'm going to place you under arrest for sexual battery. It's a first-degree felony. So you'll stand up and turn out and face the wall,

place your hands behind your back. Now, Jonathan Quilez is the number one suspect in the disappearance of I.S. And now the murder of I.S. and her unborn child. Police seem to believe Jonathan Quillez is involved, but they still don't know exactly what happened to Ianna. Coming up, a new development. So after the interview, Detective Abbott decided,

that he was going to do some more investigation. And that was through a wire. Hey, everybody, we're going to get you right back to the Quilless case in just a minute. But before we do, what do a lot of the stories we cover here on Prime Crime Make Clear? That the unfortunate truth is you have to know who you're surrounding yourself with. You have to be careful about who you let into your life, especially new people, new friends, new dates, new people you meet on social media. Well, that's why I want to talk to you about truthfinder.com. Not only are a great sponsor, but a service that can provide actual safety for you.

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Yes, we have me. I think you do this. Jonathan Quilles is being held at the Duval County Jail on charges of sexual battery in connection with the disappearance of his niece Ianna Sawyer or IS. When police interviewed Quillas, he denied any wrongdoing. But Detective Abbott has gathered some powerful evidence against him, including DNA and a confession Quillis apparently made to his own brother. Now, Abbott decides to see what else he can gather, this time from inside. the jail. Detective Abbott, through his partners and his homicide team, they were able to get into contact

with some other inmates. One of the inmates then was wired up, and through the instructions that Detective Abbott and his homicide team had given this inmate was, you know, see what Jonathan Quillaz will tell you. Just two days later, the detective's plan seems to pay off. You did good by doing it, get rid of bodies all my own. while they want to finish him? Because my brother. Now why did you be a .

If you didn't think she was going to do them? Or you just felt like I was going to get the fan to lay home? Yeah, she had 16 when she came off that she was pregnant. There's a possibility that was my. When Jonathan starts talking, he doesn't know how to stop. And he just keeps going. His biggest flaw is he's a chatterbox.

They're sure that we were at whatever. What is it? It's over the ground. It's a loud over there. Oh, you shot at the job, nothing there overnight. This girl would have jumped out, screen, anything, and so what about you? The camera system is like, everything is heard, and it's focused.

And that's the thing, the cameras do work. The big, they're just for, you know, the, and A speaker part, it's so many spots you can throw a shit. You could throw a shit over the game. I guess by you children, you did the right thing, because you probably had the worst situation as you could do. The challenge with jailhouse snitches is that you could have some doubts. Well, he's just bragging in prison because he wants to have some street cred there.

But his words are his words. And when you compare that to his own brother's comments and Ms. Sawyer's younger sister's words that Jose was Jonathan, now the evidence is really starting to pile up. After Detective Abbott reviews this audio recording, the determination was, I got to get to A.S. Pickaparte. I got to make sure that we get that video surveillance. Ace Pickapart, you pull it, is the auto salvage yard where Jonathan Quillez works. Video surveillance from December 19th, the day Iyana disappeared, could answer a lot of questions and confirm or deny Quillaz's statements.

Surbanon's video showed that Mr. Quillis left his work around the time when the niece went missing from school. So he could have left from work to go pick up Ms. Sawyer. But there's no clear-cut evidence of that because he had an alternate explanation. He was leaving for work purposes. It was his lunch break. And there is no specific video that shows Mr. Quillis with Ms. Sawyer around that time. Jonathan said that he was at... has to go up to Fasannol, up near the airport, to pick up some parts.

If he went and picked up IS, how could he be all the way up near the airport, which is over 30 minutes away? He can't be over at Terry Parker High School picking her up. However, authorities allege that Quilles drove to an area of the yard that had no cameras and was off limits to most employees where he purportedly shot Ianna. investigators pieced together what happened next from the wiretap recording. Police end up finding his signature on the sign-in-sheet at the range and the gun in his closet. He went to the gun range and shot the gun. The only thing I can think of about that statement is maybe he thought some forensic evidence could show that a gun had been recently shot.

If that was Quilla's plan, it seems like it worked. There's no blood evidence. There's no DNA. There's nothing on your gun. And it's alleged that he shot her at close range, like in the heart even. The physical evidence didn't line up with what we were expecting to see. Investigators check every vehicle in the yard and find no trace of Ianna. So what police had was a theory that he shot Ms. Sawyer and then dumped her body in a dumpster that was quickly removed. But there was a lack of physical evidence here. Based on what Quillis has said, Detective Abbott follows up on the dumpster.

Detective Abbott learns on December 20th, 2018, All-American Garbage picks up the container. It went to Otis Road landfill. So Detective Abbott then makes contact with the Otis Road landfill. The sheriff's office spent over $1.5 million over three weeks to go through and excavate this landfill. It was almost 80 feet deep. The tons and tons of trash that was moved, even by their own account, was monumental in nature.

And they found nothing over a three-week period of time. They couldn't find anything that directly tied Mr. Quillis to Miss Sawyer's disappearance. They found some articles of clothing that they thought were Miss Sawyers, but the sizes were a little different. It was some Victoria's Secret clothing, and it could have been her clothing, especially as she was carrying a baby. But it's not 100% clear to law enforcement that they've got the goods. With no physical evidence, the question is whether the evidence investigators do have is enough to indict Jonathan Quilles in the murder of his niece and her unborn child. You have Ms. Sawyer's younger sister saying that Mr. Quillis was Jose. You also have Mr. Quillis's own brother saying that Quillis confessed to him.

And you also have wiretaps now. On July 18, 2019, about six months after Ianna Sawyer disappeared, investigators send Jonathan Quillis' case to a grand jury. And thinking about, well, what kind of charges are we going to do? Well, ultimately, it was decided that we were going to do first-degree murder. And the reasons why we were going to do those particular charges, and also in the state of Florida, we can do that for an unborn child. So we knew there was going to be two counts for that. The list of evidence the detectives present pays off. We met with a grand jury today on your case as well as several others,

and you are being indicted on first-degree murder. The third count is going to be sexual battery. Okay? We need to advise you of that. Okay. All right. We would like to talk to you if you're willing to speak with us. I have an attorney that's representing me,

She doesn't want me to talk to no matter about her being present. Considering the charges that he was facing, he had good spirits. He was pretty confident in how he spoke and very clear, concise. We talked about a lot of the alternative explanations or alternative options, alternative suspects. After the grand jury indictment, Jonathan Quillis' case doesn't go to trial for another four years. Yet with no significant additional evidence turning up, does the state have enough to convict? We didn't have IS and her unborn child. In a normal case, we know where someone's murdered.

There's blood. There's fingerprints. There's a bullet. There's a spent shell casing. And it's readily identifiable. This is where the person was killed. There was going to potentially be some doubt. Hey, everybody.

We're going to get you right back to the Jonathan Quilla's case in. just the second, but look, I know that we cover some very difficult stories here on prime crime. The world's scary. I don't have another way of saying it. It just really is, and it is hard to be prepared for what happens. Having said that, there is one thing you can do. Be prepared if you get hurt. That brings me to Morgan and Morgan, the largest injury law firm in America and our proud sponsor.

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All right, let's get you back to the Quilla's case. You swear, I don't about the truth. The whole trip done about the truth? I do. All right, sir, so you're charged with an indictment. Count one's murder in the first degree, count two's murder in the first degree, count three, sexual battery. Jonathan Quillis' trial begins on September 14, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida's Duval County Courthouse. He pleads not guilty to all three counts against him in the murder and sexual battery of his pregnant niece Ianna Sawyer, whose body has never been found,

and her unborn child. If you're found guilty of any one of those charges, there is the possibility that you can spend the rest of natural born life and prison. You understand now. I do. And the death penalty is also on the table. The girl might be pregnant.

I can't lose my family if she has the baby. I have to get red of the body. She was 16. Did you shoot her? Did you shoot her in the head? Part. Once they heard everything, that puzzle was built, that picture was painted, that they would know beyond ever reasonable doubt that the defendant, Donovan Quillis, killed his family member because he could not let the world know that he fathered an underage juvenile child.

The defense responds, telling the jury not so fast. They have to prove that Mr. Quilles is the one that committed this crime. There will be no direct evidence to say that he did. You will not hear it. Investigating and looking through the evidence that the state had gathered, the glaring issue again and again was the lack of physical evidence that they had. There will be no DNA to say he's the father. They will not be able to prove that Jonathan Quilles is in fact the father of the unborn child.

They don't have a body. Therefore, we believe they cannot meet their burden of premeditated murder. And therefore, we believe there will be reasonable doubt. The biggest challenge for prosecutors is that we're living in a time when people, People expect to see DNA, direct evidence via video. And if you don't have a body, you don't have a murder weapon, and your case is largely circumstantial, it's tough to convince juries that you should send this person

to jail for life or even the death penalty. The state of Florida is banking on a strong slate of witnesses, along with purported admissions of guilt made by Jonathan Quillez himself to his brother and jailhouse informants. Naomi Mowgli, Ianna's aunt, and Jonathan Quilles' now ex-wife at whose home Ayanna spent so much time testifies. She says she was initially defensive when her sister said Jonathan was behaving inappropriately with their niece, but when her sister showed her Snapchats between the two, she changed her tune.

I told him at that time that he needed to stop speaking with my nieces and he needs to give my family space. I said that it looks really bad and he needs to distance himself. Did you learn thereafter whether or not he stopped speaking in or community? I learned after that he did in fact continue speaking with them. So what are we looking at in state 64? These are the messages from Snapchat. The Snapchats from Jonathan Quilles in the months leading up Tiana's disappearance were sometimes sexually explicit and even seemingly threatening.

9-4-2018, 927. I'm very aggravated right now. I'm going to hit you later. 97, 2018, 1221. Yeah, so I need you to be like 100% with me at all times. I'm just so in love with you. I'll kill you and cry. There was a change in his behavior after he. she went missing. Prior to that, he was fidgety and nervous. He was restless. After she went missing, then he slept like a baby. Quilla's brother, Joseph, also gives emotional testimony about his conversations with Jonathan. As evidenced by their phone records, they talked four times between December 18th and 20th, 2018, the time period of Ianna's disappearance, Joseph could tell his brother wasn't acting like himself.

His demeanor was a little off. It was kind of like he was nervous or a little panicky about something. Have you heard your brother sound panicky to you on previous occasions? No. It was more concerned about what is he going to do with the young lady in question that he She might be pregnant and what is he going to do? He doesn't want to ruin his family and mess up what he has already going on. In their last conversation, Jonathan Quilla seemingly finally came clean about what exactly he did on December 19, 2018.

He'd picked up Ayanna from school telling her they would run away and be together. He had a sitting in a vehicle waiting. He tried to strangle her. It didn't work out. He couldn't stomach it. And so then he later went shot her in the chest. And then he proceeded to discard the body by transporting it into a dumpster and destroying the vehicle. Mr. Prelays, were you surprised by what he told you? Absolutely. On December 20th, Joseph wrote his brother a heartfelt text, which the prosecutor reads in court.

can't talk to you right now. I have to stay firm on my decision. What you told me isn't some joke or something you like about. So yes, I told the police because they needed to know. I'm sorry I have to do the right thing for that girl and her family, not the right thing for you and your selfishness. I hate to lose you, but I'd rather that the girl's family have some peace. If you're innocent and you don't need to worry and they won't find her body, but if you're not, they're going to find her. and in that case, I already lost my brother. Prosecutors argue Jonathan Quillez had also told his story to jailhouse informants, including an inmate who, ironically, Quillas met in a Bible study group.

Tell this jury what he said to you. Told her. He put his gun at and shot him. What, if anything, did he tell you with what he did with her once he shot her? Once he shot her, he threw her body in the dumpster. You shot her, how you do? You go by the action, I'm just blunt. Yeah, I know. I just, I know you don't really want to talk about it.

You're all going to be in and get rid of somebody. See, I don't garbage over at the line, so it'll be buried up to like three feet of garbage. When the inmate had testified and we played that wire, we no longer had to say, this is what Jonathan Quillet said, believe the state of Florida. It was listen to him himself. You could watch the jurors' reaction of Jonathan on that wire and what he said and how he said it. You could literally watch the jurors change the entire demeanor of how they felt about the case. Eight out of the 12 jurors, almost in unison, turn their heads, looked right at us,

and you could just read the look on their faces like you're done. First count two, lead the jury find an independent guilty of first degree murder as charged in the indictment. Burden count three, lead the jury find an defendant guilty of engaging in an act that constitutes sexual valuing. If he hadn't started talking, if he hadn't done that, there was more than enough reasonable doubt if his own words hadn't walked them through it for the state. After almost five years of living and breathing, IS's case, getting to know IS, seeing IS's picture every day in my office, the best words ever were heard guilty.

As the case reaches the penalty phase, the question the jury will deliberate next is whether Jonathan Quillez should be sentenced to life in prison or death. Jonathan Quillis is now a two-time convicted murderer. Each of you know the horrendous facts that occurred in this case. Each of you did justice when you convicted the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt of premeditated murder of IS and the premeditated murder of IS's unborn child. And we'll ask you all to render a vote of death. State of Florida did hope that they would come back and recommend death.

That's what we sought it to begin with, given the totality of the evidence in this case. The defense had hoped for a different outcome. We're asking you to save his life. Does he deserve it? You probably don't think so. But is there something there worth saving? Is there something there that would make you all come back and say life without the possibility of parole is appropriate? We were able to put on witnesses, his family, a psychologist that evaluated him,

to humanize him, really, at the end of the day, to make it so that you could understand that this is a life worth saving. The jury is decisive once again. We the jury find Jonathan Quayla should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It was disappointing. However, we respect the process of our system and ultimately we were just beyond ecstatic that they had found guilty verdicts. they came back for life, I just, that was the biggest sigh of relief. I really felt like at that point, that was the best thing that we could do for him as his attorneys was to save his life. That was a huge win for us. Ultimately, our judge did three consecutive life sentences. So state of Florida, on behalf of I.S., her unborn child, and the family,

felt that justice had been served, the truth had been sought, and it had been seen and shown. Wearing a t-shirt bearing the name of Ianna's unborn daughter, Hazel, her mom reflects on her loss. Ayanna was full of life and wanted to do so many things. She wanted to be a pediatrician. I thought about being a lawyer. To my mom, she was going to be a lawyer because she could talk her way out of life. talk to her almost anything. She was everything to ask for her and adore her.

We were so close, she was my first love. It was a case that was beyond different than anything I had experienced as a prosecutor. You get to know IS through her death. You get to know her unborn child. You get to know her family. She is a part of me. I would never hear her say, I love you.

I've never received a love to face time from her while I'm at work. I thank God for the 16 years that I was able to spend for her. Until we meet again, I love you forever. Yes, the jury found the right person accountable. However, IS is forever gone. Not only just forever gone, she's forever 16. Every murder is a tragedy. But there's something especially heinous.

especially heinous and cruel about the taking of a young life. And that is underscored by the fact that Ianna and her unborn daughter were murdered by a trusted member of their own family, denying them both promising futures. That's all we have for you here on this episode of Prime Crime, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Jesse Weber, and until next time, stay safe.