Body cam: Uncle charged in pregnant teen's death questioned by police

Johnathan Quiles charged with murder in death of Iyana Sawyer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4Jax has obtained police body camera footage taken as officers interviewed a man suspected in the death of a missing pregnant Jacksonville teenager.

The videos show investigators speaking to Johnathan Quiles, the man who was indicted in the murder of Iyana Sawyer, 16, and her unborn child. Quiles, the teen's uncle, is believed to be the father of her baby.

The videos were dated Dec. 27, which was about a week after Sawyer was last seen. According to an indictment, she was killed either Dec. 19 or Dec. 20.

In a video, deputies show up at Quiles' house, saying they needed to search the home for Sawyer. Quiles expresses shock.

"My work just dropped a whole bunch of s*** on me right now," Quiles says.

His wife is heard in the same video, supporting her husband's innocence.

"In regards to this here, do I think my husband is capable of any of this? No. I don't. But we have a missing piece to the puzzle," she says.

Officers go room by room, checking the garage and the back yard but find no sign of Sawyer. Quiles waits outside and tells police officers that Sawyer was having a relationship with his neighbor.

"She ended up having, getting caught with the guy next door, and he was a much older dude, and they came up with the whole idea that I was the one that turned them out for her, you know what I'm saying?" Sawyer says. "It's just crazy gossip s***. It's, like, nuts."

Sawyer's mother was also at the scene and gives officer a laptop filled with Sawyer's private journal entries. She explains how to find the entries.

Police then take Quiles in for further questioning. Weeks later, the journal entries would reveal an inappropriate relationship between Sawyer and Quiles.

Interrogation video released in April shows a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detective telling Quiles that his brother told them Quiles admitted to choking Sawyer.

Despite weeks of searching a landfill in the Baldwin area, her body has not been found, but prosecutors had enough evidence to convince a grand jury that Quiles fatally shot Sawyer, who was five months pregnant at the time.

Court records show the state plans to seek the death penalty. Quiles' next pretrial hearing is Sep. 17.


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