JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A new trial date on Tuesday was set for Johnathan Quiles, who is charged with the rape and murder of his pregnant niece Iyana Sawyer.
That’s the sixth trial date in the death penalty case.
Jury selection is slated to begin on April 24.
Quiles’ next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 14, and the final pretrial hearing is planned for April 19.
The case has dragged on for years. The trial had been scheduled for last month but was delayed.
Sawyer, 16, was last seen leaving Jacksonville’s Terry Parker High School in December 2018 — right before Christmas. She was later reported missing, but her remains have not been found, despite an extensive search of a local landfill.
Quiles was indicted in July 2019 on murder charges in the death of Sawyer and her unborn child. He was also indicted on a sexual battery charge. According to the indictment, Quiles, who is believed to be the father of the child, shot Sawyer.
Quiles appeared in court Tuesday morning when the dates were set in the case. He walked into the courtroom wearing a jail jumpsuit, with a brief smile on his face.
Sawyer’s family also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Quiles and his employer, a Jacksonville auto salvage lot, claiming that’s where the teenage girl was killed. The lawsuit alleges that Quiles placed her body and other evidence in a dumpster there. The lawsuit is in depositions.