BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – Baker County babysitter Rhonda Jewell, who was found guilty last month in the death of 10-month-old Ariya Paige, was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison.
The state had recommended a 20-year sentence for the 46-year-old.
Ariya’s family said they didn’t think she would get anywhere close to that, and they were shocked when the judge imposed a 15-year sentence for her third-degree murder charge and a 2-year sentence for child neglect.
“The second sentence will run consecutive to the previous sentence. The total sentence will be 17 years,” the judge said.
Ariya’s mother, Brooke Paige, expressed the family‘s surprise -- and relief.
“I feel like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders,” Brooke Paige said. “I feel like we have accomplished not only for the family but also the community for Ariya.”
Pamela Paige, Ariya’s grandmother, said the family was grateful.
“We didn’t know what to expect, so when the judge said 17 years in the Department of Corrections, we were thankful for that,” Pamela Paige said.
During the sentencing hearing, the defense read several letters from people urging the judge to hand down a lighter sentence for Jewell.
Jewell admitted during her trial testimony that when Brooke Paige came to pick Ariya up on that fateful day in July 2023, Jewell realized she’d left the baby in the SUV.
“That‘s when I realized I didn’t get that baby out of the car,” Jewell said through tears on the stand. “I forgot the baby in the car...and I ran to the car and I opened up the door and she was still there. Ariya was still in the backseat.”
One letter asking for leniency Thursday was from Jewell’s 19-year-old daughter, who also testified as a character witness for her mother. She told the court that she fears her mom is now suicidal after Ariya’s death.
Other character witnesses, including Jewell’s husband, Robert, stressed Jewell’s remorse, saying she has been broken since the baby’s death and is haunted by what happened.
“There’s not a day that goes by in which this does not affect her,” Robert Jewell said.
Rhonda Jewell herself read a statement to Ariya’s family, tearfully apologizing to them and addressing each family member sitting in the courtroom.
“My heart is broken. My heart is broken for Ariya’s parents, aunts and uncles. The person they once knew, loved and trusted has let them down,” she said. “I take full responsibility. I pray through the grace of God that forgiveness will begin to take place.”
Ariya’s family shared victim impact statements during the sentencing.
Brooke Paige said she’s the one who is haunted by that day.
“The image of Ariya the day I found her will never get out of my head,” she said.
The baby’s father, Justise Paige, testified about all the moments he’ll miss with his daughter, like taking her to her first day of school, helping her buy her first car or walking her down the aisle.
“Instead of planning Ariya’s first birthday, we had to plan her funeral,” Pamela Paige said.
Ariya’s family said Jewell should not have forced them to endure a trial and talked about the trauma of seeing Ariya’s lifeless body on law enforcement bodycam video during testimony.
RELATED: The joyful life and tragic death of Baby Ariya
Investigators said Ariya was left unattended in the SUV for five hours on a hot day in July 2023 when the temperature reached over 100 degrees.
A detective who arrived at the hospital where Ariya was taken talked about during the trial about the child’s condition.
RELATED | ‘Justice for Ariya’: Parents of 10-month-old who died in hot car remember ‘daddy’s girl’
He said she was kept in a climate-controlled environment but despite efforts to cool her body down, Ariya’s internal and external temperature was above 100 degrees.
He said when he interviewed Jewell, she told him she forgot to take Ariya out of the SUV because she was distracted by thoughts regarding a family event.
A medical examiner said the child died from hyperthermia, and a firefighter who testified said the temperature in the SUV was 133 degrees.
In April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill named for Ariya declaring April “Hot Car Death Prevention Month.”
Now that the criminal process has ended, Ariya’s family says the next step is taking the matter to civil court, where they plan to file a wrongful death suit against Rhonda Jewell.
Although she was sentenced to 17 years in prison, News4JAX has learned that Jewell could be eligible for parole in 14 years.
