Family of Iyana Sawyer responds after Duval jury recommends her killer get life in prison

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Last week Johnathan Quiles was convicted in the rape and murder of Sawyer and her unborn child.

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Sawyer’s family says whether it was death or life in prison, they are just happy Quiles will be off the streets.

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“It’s very overwhelming,” Iyana Sawyer’s Aunt Paula Dixson said. “But it’s a very joyous feeling. This has been almost five years coming and justice has finally been served.

After more than two-and-a-half weeks, jurors in the Johnathan Quiles murder trial officially finished their duty.

Last week, Quiles was found guilty of all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder in the raping and killing of Iyana Sawyer, who was his 16-year-old niece. She was pregnant when she was killed in December 2018. Investigators never found her body after they said Quiles left it in a dumpster.

READ: Jury recommends life in prison for Johnathan Quiles, man convicted of killing pregnant niece

The death penalty was on the table for Quiles. But today, after about an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury made a unanimous decision in recommending Quiles be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Dixson said they will never have closure, but they have comfort knowing Quiles won’t be able to do this to anyone else.

“Are we satisfied? Completely,” Dixson said. “His death will do nothing for us. It won’t bring our loved one back. It’ll never cover what we cost. So, he can live the rest of his life knowing that he did not get away with what he did to our family.”

“Nobody won in this case at all,” Quile’s lead defense attorney Robert Davis said.

Davis says they respect the jury’s decision and realize Sawyer’s family won’t ever be the same.

READ: New Florida death penalty law to be applied for Johnathan Quiles, man found guilty in niece’s murder

“The victim’s family has to go through this with no one and knowing that they’ve lost their loved one,” Davis said.

Sawyer’s family is still grieving and is asking for privacy and prayers. But they are thankful to everyone who helped in this case.

“There’s no words that we can express to show our gratitude for what everyone has done to bring justice to our family,” Dixson said.

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The judge in this case says there’s a status hearing set for this Thursday at 1:30 p.m., which is when Johnathan Quiles will learn when he’ll be sentenced to life in prison.

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