JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Johnathan Quiles defense attorney said the 38-year-old claims he is being mistreated in the Duval County Jail, because of the media attention the case has garnered over the past four years. Quiles says people inside the jail are calling him a monster and a predator and he has concerns about how the court will be able to find a jury that’s impartial.
Quiles is charged with the rape and murder of his pregnant niece, Iyana Sawyer, in 2018. In court Tuesday, his attorneys said he’s been asking for the opportunity to speak to the court.
“The main concern has to do with the media attention he’s received and some of the backlash that he’s had to deal with, within the jail, and maltreatment he’s suffered because of that,” Quiles attorney said.
He did not end up speak to the court and lawyers weren’t specific about what kind of mistreatment he alleges he’s been experiencing. Quiles trial date has tentatively been set for September 11.
This trial has been delayed many times and has dragged on for years. 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.
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