Betrayal in the Family: Uncovering the Shocking Disappearance of Iyana Sawyer

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[00:00:55] The case featured in this episode has been researched using police records, court documents, witness statements and the news.

[00:01:03] Listener discretion is advised.

[00:01:05] All parties mentioned are innocent until proven guilty and all opinions are my own.

[00:01:10] Hey everyone, my name is Nikki Young and this is Serial Napper, the true crime podcast for naps.

[00:01:36] I'm back with another true crime story to lull you to sleep or perhaps to give you nightmares.

[00:01:43] On December 19th, 2018, 16-year-old Ayanna Sawyer, a straight-A student from Jacksonville, Florida, was last seen on surveillance footage leaving her high school early.

[00:01:54] It started as a typical school day, but what followed would plunge her family into an unthinkable tragedy.

[00:02:02] Ayanna was five months pregnant and her family had been supportive of the young teen mom-to-be.

[00:02:07] Yet on that morning, she vanished without a trace.

[00:02:10] Her sister noticed that Ayanna hadn't boarded the bus home, and soon frantic phone calls were made.

[00:02:17] One aunt called 911 while another rushed to the school to look for her.

[00:02:21] But there was no sign of Ayanna.

[00:02:24] In the school security footage, Ayanna was seen leaving the property at around 11am, carrying two bags.

[00:02:31] One filled with school supplies, the other with personal items including a body pillow and Victoria's Secret clothing.

[00:02:39] No one at the time knew if she was picked up by someone or if she left on her own accord.

[00:02:45] Another runaway teen.

[00:02:47] What we now know is that Ayanna had a secret.

[00:02:51] A secret that would change everything.

[00:02:54] So, dim the lights, put your phone down, and listen to the heartbreaking story of the disappearance of Ayanna Sawyer, a young woman with so much potential who never made it home.

[00:03:06] As it turned out, the dark secrets she kept held the key to the truth of what happened to her.

[00:03:13] Yet, she has never been found.

[00:03:15] So, let's jump right in.

[00:03:17] This has gotta be one of the saddest stories that I've heard in recent times.

[00:03:21] The young lady that we're talking about tonight had been victimized for much of her life.

[00:03:28] She was a minor, yet some adults treated her like a consenting grown woman for their own selfish needs.

[00:03:35] Let me be very clear here.

[00:03:37] She was a victim.

[00:03:39] Her 16-year-old brain, it just didn't have the capacity to fully understand how she was being manipulated.

[00:03:45] She couldn't consent to the things that were done to her, even if she believed that she was in a loving, legitimate relationship.

[00:03:54] Nothing was loving about it.

[00:03:57] It was abuse.

[00:03:59] Ayanna Michelle Sawyer was born on September 6, 2002 in Jacksonville, Florida, to a very loving mother that she would grow up to be very close with.

[00:04:08] Ayanna also had a sister who was just a year younger than her, so basically, a built-in best friend.

[00:04:15] According to her mom, she was happy-go-lucky and a breath of fresh air.

[00:04:19] She also had big dreams of someday becoming a pediatrician or maybe a lawyer because she, quote, could talk her way out of almost anything.

[00:04:29] Her mother would say that she was thoughtful, caring, responsible, ambitious, articulate, a leader, a comedian, and so many other things.

[00:04:38] Ayanna was also a straight-A student at Terry Parker High School, and she would have had a bright future ahead of her.

[00:04:46] But as so often happens, people try to extinguish those who shine the brightest.

[00:04:52] Things weren't always easy for Ayanna.

[00:04:55] When she was just 15 years old, she was groomed by an adult man who lived across the street from their family home.

[00:05:01] His name was Kamar Humphrey, and he was 20 years old when he sexually abused Ayanna.

[00:05:08] When her mother found out what was going on, she brought her daughter to the police station to make a report of abuse, and a rape kit was conducted at the nearby hospital.

[00:05:18] That kit confirmed that Kamar had sexual relations with Ayanna, so he was charged and found himself listed as a sexual offender on the registry.

[00:05:28] However, that did not end the abuse that Ayanna was enduring.

[00:05:32] Only a few people, including her sister, knew that Ayanna had been romantically involved with an older man named Jose.

[00:05:40] She thought that she was in love, and things became very serious when at just 16 years old, Ayanna found out that she was pregnant.

[00:05:49] At first, her mother Kimberly was frustrated with the situation.

[00:05:53] Her daughter was excelling in school.

[00:05:56] She had a bright future, and getting pregnant so young, it could put an end to all of that.

[00:06:01] It would certainly make things more difficult for her.

[00:06:05] However, it didn't take long for Ayanna's mother to come around and realize this was happening.

[00:06:11] The best thing that she could do for her daughter was support her.

[00:06:15] Together, they would get through it.

[00:06:17] She would help Ayanna raise her baby, who they learned was a little girl that Ayanna decided to name Hazel Michelle.

[00:06:25] Although she was forthcoming about her pregnancy, she was tight-lipped about who the baby's father was.

[00:06:32] Some were aware that the father's name was Jose, but nothing more than that.

[00:06:37] Ayanna refused to provide any further information about who Jose was.

[00:06:42] So, for the time being at least, her mother let it go.

[00:06:47] But everything would change on December 19th, 2018.

[00:06:51] Kimberly received a phone call while at work from her youngest daughter, letting her know that Ayanna didn't make it on the bus home.

[00:06:58] She had taken the bus home from school every single day.

[00:07:02] This was her only means of transportation, so it was worrisome.

[00:07:05] But maybe she had found a ride home with a friend or something.

[00:07:09] Not wanting to leave work just in case it was some kind of innocent mix-up, she called Ayanna, but her phone went straight to voicemail.

[00:07:18] Her phone never went straight to voicemail.

[00:07:21] It was basically attached to her hand, always on, and always answered.

[00:07:26] So next, Kimberly called friends and family members to see if anyone had heard from Ayanna, but they hadn't.

[00:07:33] She decided she better leave work and go look for her daughter, starting at the high school, while she had her sister, Ayanna's aunt, call 911 to report her as missing.

[00:07:43] To be clear, do you think it's foul play?

[00:07:49] I have no idea. This is just not like, this is out of character for her.

[00:07:55] And for me to call you wrong, something's wrong.

[00:07:58] Okay.

[00:07:59] Something is definitely wrong.

[00:08:01] The only bad judgment she did was getting pregnant.

[00:08:04] She was on track, she could graduate this year and just read.

[00:08:10] She's an anonymous, honorable student, an anonymous society student, all the, no problems.

[00:08:17] And this is just not like her at all.

[00:08:20] When the police started looking into Ayanna's disappearance, they learned from the school that she had never showed up for her last two classes of the day.

[00:08:28] School security footage would show her leaving the school grounds at around 11am.

[00:08:33] She was wearing a white hoodie with a pink logo and light blue jeans.

[00:08:38] She was also seen carrying with her two large bags, one being full of her school supplies, the other containing many of her personal belongings.

[00:08:49] At first, the police didn't really take this missing pregnant teen seriously.

[00:08:53] There wasn't really indication that she hadn't just run away.

[00:08:58] Maybe she had decided to run off with the father of the baby.

[00:09:01] Maybe she was sick of her mother pressuring her to name him.

[00:09:06] Police set up a tip line and a bolo, be on the lookout alert.

[00:09:10] She was listed as a runaway.

[00:09:13] However, after two days of no sign of Ayanna, they changed her case to a missing person.

[00:09:20] One of the first things Ayanna's mother, Kimberly, did was search her daughter's bedrooms for any clues.

[00:09:25] She was shocked to find that much of her clothing was missing, including a ton of her Victoria's Secret bras and underwear.

[00:09:34] So, had she run away?

[00:09:36] Was one of the bags she was last seen carrying with her full of her clothing?

[00:09:40] She didn't know for sure.

[00:09:42] But she had to dig deeper.

[00:09:44] So, Kimberly started looking through Ayanna's laptop.

[00:09:47] And that's when she found a treasure trove of shocking information in her computer's recycling bin.

[00:09:54] There were pages upon pages of notes, some of which were locked with a password.

[00:09:59] They appeared to be either diary entries or letters written by Ayanna to a man named Jose.

[00:10:07] The Jose that only a select few people knew she was dating.

[00:10:12] Some of these diary entries, which Ayanna obviously didn't want anyone seeing or reading,

[00:10:17] they were dated back as far as a year prior to her disappearance.

[00:10:21] In these letters, she was pouring her heart out to Jose, telling him how much she loved him, but also how she felt hurt by his betrayal.

[00:10:31] Maybe Jose, whoever he was, had something to do with her daughter's disappearance.

[00:10:36] She brought these letters to the police station hoping that they could provide her with more answers.

[00:10:42] Kimberly also talked to the police about Kamar Humphrey, the 20-year-old neighbor who had been sexually involved with her daughter a year earlier.

[00:10:50] After the rape kit had been conducted and Kamar had been charged, she had hoped that her daughter had stopped speaking to him.

[00:10:58] But maybe Kamar was Jose.

[00:11:01] Maybe Ayanna had used a fake name to hide her tracks so that she could continue on talking to him.

[00:11:06] Maybe Kamar had even fathered her baby.

[00:11:10] This was a lead that investigators thought could be important to pursue.

[00:11:13] They brought Kamar into the station for questioning and he denied having any further sexual contact with Ayanna after he had been charged.

[00:11:22] He said it would be impossible for him to be Ayanna's baby's father and he denied having any involvement in her disappearance.

[00:11:30] He also said that he was out of town at the time that she went missing.

[00:11:34] And he had an alibi which was confirmed by the police.

[00:11:39] Kamar Humphreys wasn't Jose.

[00:11:42] So, who was?

[00:11:44] Jose's identity wouldn't stay secret for long.

[00:11:47] The police were learning information that would break this case wide open.

[00:11:51] There were whisperings that Jose was actually a close family member.

[00:11:58] Ayanna's uncle, Jonathan Queels, who was married to her mother's sister, Naomi.

[00:12:02] It was shocking, disgusting, but it wasn't the first time that this allegation had been made.

[00:12:09] Ayanna and her younger sister would often stay the night at Naomi and Jonathan's house,

[00:12:14] sleeping on the pull-out couch in the living room, in order to help their aunt and uncle with their young child,

[00:12:20] especially while Naomi was pregnant with their second baby.

[00:12:24] Naomi was on the road a lot, working as a truck driver, so she definitely needed the help.

[00:12:30] But this also allowed her husband and Ayanna to have a lot of time alone together.

[00:12:36] Still, it's not something that most people would even consider as a possibility,

[00:12:40] that your husband would begin to groom and abuse your teenage niece.

[00:12:45] While Naomi would communicate about upcoming babysitting gigs with Ayanna through text messages,

[00:12:51] her husband Jonathan often used Snapchat.

[00:12:54] The unique feature with Snapchat is that, by default, messages are automatically deleted after about 24 hours,

[00:13:02] so anything that Ayanna and Jonathan would send to each other, it would disappear after a short time.

[00:13:08] While Naomi didn't think much of it, some other family members noticed that Ayanna and Jonathan were unusually close,

[00:13:16] and at times, their interactions felt inappropriate.

[00:13:20] Her grandmother had noticed that one time they had hugged after Thanksgiving dinner, and it just felt kinda icky.

[00:13:26] Ayanna's mother Kimberly had even confronted her sister about it.

[00:13:30] About a year before Ayanna had disappeared, Naomi had actually asked both Ayanna and her sister if Jonathan had ever touched them,

[00:13:39] and at that time, they both said no.

[00:13:42] Naomi would later claim that, if either girl had said yes, she would have packed up her kids and left her husband for good,

[00:13:50] but she believed them that no, he hadn't touched them.

[00:13:54] As it turned out, Ayanna wasn't the only one being abused by Jonathan.

[00:14:00] Jonathan had also been violated.

[00:14:02] She was aware of Ayanna and Jonathan's ongoing relationship, that he was Jose and that he had fathered her child,

[00:14:10] but she was too afraid to tell anyone for fear of what he might do to her.

[00:14:15] He had hurt her in the past.

[00:14:17] Now that Ayanna was missing, the tide was turning, and family members believed that Jonathan, a.k.a. Jose, might have had something to do with Ayanna's disappearance.

[00:14:29] Investigators questioned both Jonathan and his wife Naomi, Ayanna's aunt, about what they knew.

[00:14:34] When answering, he appeared unusually calm.

[00:14:38] He came across as a concerned family member who wanted to help find his missing niece.

[00:14:43] He admitted that Ayanna was often in their home helping him and his wife out with their child,

[00:14:49] but he denied ever having any sexual contact with her or knowing where she was now.

[00:14:56] He actually turned it around on Ayanna, painting her as a promiscuous teenager who used to be a straight-A student,

[00:15:04] but messed it all up by getting caught up with boys.

[00:15:07] Sadly, at that point, Naomi stood by her man, defending him against these accusations.

[00:15:14] It's time for a quick break and a word from tonight's sponsors.

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[00:16:51] Now back to our story.

[00:16:52] There was body cam footage taken the night that police visited their home.

[00:16:58] A lot of it has been redacted, so it's a bit choppy, but it's important to hear.

[00:17:04] It's infuriating, especially with what we know now, but have a listen.

[00:17:10] I don't know if we have any problems.

[00:17:10] No problem with you at all.

[00:17:12] Believe it or not, I've found people hiding in closets and underneath beds, and they thought

[00:17:16] they were missing.

[00:17:17] It's like, nope, they're out here the whole time.

[00:17:18] No, we have no problem whatsoever.

[00:17:20] See, we had no communication prior to her going missing because of different issues

[00:17:25] at the family.

[00:17:26] Oh, okay.

[00:17:26] We've been having a bit of a family issue.

[00:17:29] I know, I used to be on the job too in New York.

[00:17:34] I know you find crazy stuff like that.

[00:17:37] Yeah, yeah.

[00:17:38] But, you know, we literally had their kids, her kids for summers.

[00:17:47] A summer at a time and then, you know, weekends.

[00:17:51] Yeah, all four.

[00:17:52] And, you know, it's just like if we knew where she was at, we would have been the first

[00:17:59] ones to grab her ass and bring her over.

[00:18:02] Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[00:18:03] We're posting stuff on our Facebook trying to find her the same way they are.

[00:18:07] It's like, are you serious?

[00:18:08] Yeah.

[00:18:09] Even though we're not speaking.

[00:18:11] Exactly.

[00:18:12] I mean, she...

[00:18:14] I don't know.

[00:18:15] So you guys, what was the last time you all saw her then?

[00:18:17] The last time they stayed the night over here, which was before, it was in November.

[00:18:21] November.

[00:18:22] Last week in November, we had all four of them over here.

[00:18:25] That's what I'm saying.

[00:18:26] That's what I'm talking about.

[00:18:27] That's what I'm talking about.

[00:18:27] Yep.

[00:18:28] And still to this day, we don't know what the freak...

[00:18:32] That's an open case.

[00:18:32] We don't know what the hell happened there because it's all been, you know, this, that,

[00:18:36] you know, it's never been, nothing has been consistent at all.

[00:18:40] Yeah.

[00:18:40] So that's missing out.

[00:18:43] Man, that's crazy.

[00:18:44] That's sad.

[00:18:45] Yeah, it is.

[00:18:45] Do y'all...

[00:18:46] Has she ever done this before?

[00:18:47] Has she ever gotten this before?

[00:18:49] No.

[00:18:49] Okay.

[00:18:50] Like I told you all the officers, she's complaining, you know, and always, both of them, they always

[00:18:55] complain.

[00:18:56] She's always complaining, always complaining, you know, and I always tell her, it's like,

[00:19:00] look, first of all, your mom is your mom.

[00:19:02] You know what I'm saying?

[00:19:03] Yeah.

[00:19:03] Your mom loves the hell out of you, no matter what.

[00:19:06] And I always, always, always, always, give them a moment.

[00:19:09] She's the mom the best mom, not at all.

[00:19:11] You know what I'm saying?

[00:19:11] She comes home...

[00:19:12] She's still a mom.

[00:19:13] Yeah, she's a mom.

[00:19:13] You know what I'm saying?

[00:19:14] We only get one.

[00:19:15] Yeah.

[00:19:15] But I explained to them, I was like, listen, your situation is fucking awesome compared

[00:19:20] to my situation growing up.

[00:19:22] You know what I mean?

[00:19:23] Yeah.

[00:19:23] I had a real rough one growing up.

[00:19:25] Yeah.

[00:19:26] Just, you know, stay focused in school.

[00:19:28] Stay focused.

[00:19:29] You want to get out the house, the right way is...

[00:19:31] Get your school in.

[00:19:32] Yeah.

[00:19:33] And then, no, she's an honor student.

[00:19:35] That's good.

[00:19:35] Like, big time.

[00:19:36] Yeah.

[00:19:36] Oh, big time.

[00:19:37] She's an honor student and, you know, she's doing everything that she needs to do to go

[00:19:43] ahead and make a transition to get out.

[00:19:47] And I was like, well, that's the best way, you know, that's the best way to go.

[00:19:51] Yeah.

[00:19:52] This thing is just, I don't know.

[00:19:55] And when I asked her about it, she said that she know who the father was, but she ain't

[00:20:01] saying...

[00:20:01] Oh, she did know?

[00:20:02] Yeah, she knows who the father of her child was.

[00:20:05] And she didn't...

[00:20:05] But then, you know what I'm saying, you can't really take anything that she's saying serious

[00:20:10] because now that she's been gone, all this stuff that's been going on and going around,

[00:20:15] she's been dealing with this dude, then that dude, and this other one, something

[00:20:19] that she was dealing with, cousins at the same time, that one supposed to be the baby

[00:20:24] father or something like that.

[00:20:26] You know, another one she's dealing with.

[00:20:28] So, I question literally everything.

[00:20:32] Police serve a warrant to search their house, and both Naomi and Jonathan are very accommodating

[00:20:38] at that point.

[00:20:39] They invite the officers in, tell them to look, you know, wherever they want, even offer them

[00:20:45] something to eat while they're carrying out the search.

[00:20:47] It appears at that point that they have nothing to hide.

[00:20:52] However, the police weren't buying it.

[00:20:55] They have these statements made by several close family members and friends who believe

[00:20:59] that Jonathan was sexually involved with Ayanna.

[00:21:03] And then they had that love letter slash diary entry about Jose, who they believed was actually

[00:21:10] her uncle, Jonathan.

[00:21:11] They asked him to come back to the station for more questioning.

[00:21:15] This is when they confront him with those letters to Jose.

[00:21:18] And he completely denies any possibility that Jose is him.

[00:21:22] He says it must be some other boy that she's seeing.

[00:21:25] He also says that he was at work all day on December 19th, the day that Ayanna disappeared,

[00:21:31] and that his boss could back him up fully.

[00:21:34] He says he has never had any sexual contact with Ayanna, and he's even willing to provide

[00:21:40] a DNA sample.

[00:21:42] He's cocky, knowing that Ayanna has not been found.

[00:21:46] But what he doesn't realize is that police already have a sample to compare his DNA to.

[00:21:53] Ayanna had that rape kit conducted about a year prior to her disappearance after she

[00:21:58] was sexually abused by her neighbor.

[00:21:59] The results came back, showing two male DNA samples.

[00:22:04] One belonging to the neighbor, and one belonging to an unidentified male.

[00:22:09] When they ran Jonathan's DNA, it came back as a match to the unknown DNA found on Ayanna's underwear.

[00:22:17] Still, investigators didn't have enough to arrest him in connection to her disappearance.

[00:22:23] Until they received a shocking phone call from Jonathan's brother, Joseph.

[00:22:28] Joseph claimed that the day after Ayanna went missing, Jonathan called him four times in a panic.

[00:22:35] He told him that he had gotten a girl pregnant, and he wanted her to have an abortion.

[00:22:41] However, the girl refused to get rid of the baby.

[00:22:44] He was afraid that he was going to lose his family if she were to have the baby.

[00:22:49] So for the last four months, he had planned a way to get rid of her and the baby.

[00:22:54] He decided on that day to invite the girl to his workplace.

[00:22:59] He would lure her there with the promise that they were going to run away together.

[00:23:04] Joseph would later testify, quote,

[00:23:23] Jonathan told Joseph that he wrapped her body in a carpet and he put it in a workplace dumpster.

[00:23:29] He knew at that point that the dumpster was scheduled to be empty later that day.

[00:23:34] So it would be an easy way for him to get rid of her body.

[00:23:38] Joseph initially thought that his brother had to be joking, although like what kind of sick joke could that possibly be?

[00:23:44] He didn't believe it was true.

[00:23:46] So at first, he didn't go to the police.

[00:23:50] But when he heard news of pregnant Ayanna missing, it kind of confirmed his worst fears.

[00:23:55] This must be the girl that Jonathan was talking about.

[00:23:59] He wasn't going to protect his brother over something so horrific.

[00:24:04] This witness statement gives the police enough to finally make an arrest.

[00:24:08] They bring Jonathan back into the police station and they confront him about his brother's statement and his DNA, which they had found in Ayanna's underwear.

[00:24:18] Jonathan pulls the victim card.

[00:24:20] He calls his brother a liar and he acts like he's the one having his reputation tarnished over these false accusations.

[00:24:28] But it doesn't matter.

[00:24:30] Police charge him with sexual battery.

[00:24:32] At this point in the investigation, Ayanna still has not been found.

[00:24:37] While it is believed that she was likely killed the very same day she went missing, police don't have a body.

[00:24:43] So they aren't able to charge him with her murder just yet.

[00:24:47] Still, they are convinced that Jonathan has killed Ayanna in order to hide his abuse and how he fathered her baby.

[00:24:56] They decide to use informants to see if they can pull any more useful information out of him or maybe get him to confess to what he's done.

[00:25:04] They utilize two jailhouse informants who are behind bars with Jonathan while he's being held at the county jail.

[00:25:12] While being recorded using a wire, Jonathan starts to spill some of the most horrific, disgusting, brutal details.

[00:25:20] It was a two-hour long conversation between the inmates where Jonathan admitted to shooting her at his workplace.

[00:25:27] But here is a short clip of some of the most disturbing things that he actually admitted to.

[00:25:45] He's been there for a while.

[00:25:54] He's been there for like, like you said, one month.

[00:26:01] He's been there for a while.

[00:26:02] And with the heat index that we've been having, she's been cooking.

[00:26:08] So she almost, it could be either she turned into water or she mummified herself.

[00:26:16] He's been there for a while.

[00:26:17] He shot him one time.

[00:26:19] See what I was doing?

[00:26:20] Shot him with a, a S-R-9, P-R-P-22 or whatever f***ing.

[00:26:24] What is it?

[00:26:25] S-R-9.

[00:26:26] S-R-9.

[00:26:27] .

[00:26:34] The child lost their life and they still lost a child.

[00:26:37] He lost his child.

[00:26:39] And that s*** went all wrong.

[00:26:41] But you were feeling bad.

[00:26:42] Allegedly, allegedly my checkers, I don't know if that was mine, my child, or mine.

[00:26:49] This audio would serve as a key piece of evidence at trial.

[00:26:54] Investigators get a warrant for Jonathan's workplace, Ace Pickapart, which is a junkyard.

[00:26:59] This is where he said he was the day that Ayanna disappeared and also where he claimed to have killed her.

[00:27:05] They discover video surveillance footage showing him leaving work around lunchtime.

[00:27:11] He would say that his boss asked him to go pick up parts,

[00:27:14] but the police believe this is when he went to pick up Ayanna at school.

[00:27:19] While there was no video footage that actually showed the two together,

[00:27:24] it's believed he returned back to the junkyard with Ayanna in his van

[00:27:27] and he parked in a place where he would have known there were no security cameras.

[00:27:33] This is where they also believed that he killed Ayanna before disposing of her body in the dumpster.

[00:27:39] They also find a gun in his closet,

[00:27:41] which they thought was likely the one that he had used that day.

[00:27:45] It had been cleaned.

[00:27:47] The police agency working on this case really wanted to find the bodies of Ayanna and her unborn baby,

[00:27:53] and they believed that she was likely buried at the local landfill.

[00:27:57] They would spend over $1.5 million over a three-week period

[00:28:01] excavating through massive amounts of garbage in an attempt to locate them.

[00:28:06] However, they would find no bodies.

[00:28:08] They did find several Victoria's Secret items that they believed may have belonged to her,

[00:28:14] ones that she would have been carrying with her that day,

[00:28:17] but they couldn't confirm it 100%.

[00:28:20] On July 18th, 2019,

[00:28:23] Jonathan goes before the grand jury.

[00:28:25] While Ayanna's body has sadly not been recovered,

[00:28:29] the prosecution believes that they have enough circumstantial evidence

[00:28:32] to move forward with a murder charge.

[00:28:34] The jury agrees,

[00:28:37] and he's charged with two counts of first-degree murder,

[00:28:40] one for Ayanna and one for her unborn baby.

[00:28:43] He's also charged with sexual battery.

[00:28:47] These charges mean that he could face life in prison

[00:28:50] or even the death penalty.

[00:28:52] Because of how slow the justice system works,

[00:28:56] it would take another four years for this case to finally go to trial.

[00:29:00] But this gives the prosecution the time that they need to compile as much evidence as possible

[00:29:05] to show that Jonathan killed Ayanna and her unborn child.

[00:29:10] They knew that this would be a difficult case to try,

[00:29:13] seeing as how neither of their bodies had been found,

[00:29:16] but they came prepared.

[00:29:18] At trial, they had many witnesses take the stand,

[00:29:22] including Jonathan's brother, who he had confessed to,

[00:29:26] and the jailhouse informant.

[00:29:28] They also had Jonathan's now ex-wife and Ayanna's aunt, Naomi, testified.

[00:29:34] She said that she never really suspected anything inappropriate was going on

[00:29:39] and that at first, she believed her husband was innocent

[00:29:42] until the day he was arrested when he allegedly said to her,

[00:29:46] quote,

[00:29:47] I want to tell you the truth,

[00:29:49] but the people listening will take it the wrong way.

[00:29:53] Now, she says that she fully believes that he was Ayanna's baby's father

[00:29:57] and that he had killed her to hide what he had done.

[00:30:01] She had seen a change in her husband's behavior.

[00:30:04] Prior to Ayanna's disappearance,

[00:30:06] he appeared restless and nervous.

[00:30:09] After she went missing,

[00:30:11] he slept like a baby.

[00:30:13] The prosecution was also able to retrieve

[00:30:16] much of the Snapchat messages sent between Ayanna and Jonathan,

[00:30:19] which, of course,

[00:30:20] he was banking on being deleted.

[00:30:23] They showed a pattern of violence and manipulation.

[00:30:27] The messages spoke about how when Ayanna turned 18,

[00:30:31] they would run away together.

[00:30:33] Messages from Ayanna said,

[00:30:34] quote,

[00:30:35] You officially have broke my heart for the very last time.

[00:30:38] I feel all types of anger.

[00:30:40] I'm very hurt and stressed out,

[00:30:43] but at the end of the day,

[00:30:44] what world I live in to think you is ever going to be mine.

[00:30:48] I officially have hate in my heart for you.

[00:30:50] You'll never get my love and care back,

[00:30:52] I promise.

[00:30:54] While Jonathan writes to her,

[00:30:56] quote,

[00:30:56] I'm very aggravated right now.

[00:30:58] I'm going to hit you later.

[00:31:00] Yeah,

[00:31:01] so I need you to be like 100% with me at all times.

[00:31:04] I'm just so in love with you.

[00:31:06] I'll kill you and cry.

[00:31:09] Even without a body,

[00:31:10] a jury would find Jonathan Queels

[00:31:12] guilty of two counts of first-degree murder

[00:31:14] and guilty of sexual battery.

[00:31:17] He was sentenced to life in prison

[00:31:19] without the possibility of parole

[00:31:21] and given three consecutive life sentences,

[00:31:24] so he will absolutely die in prison.

[00:31:28] It's been almost six years

[00:31:30] since Ayanna Sawyer went missing

[00:31:32] and neither her nor her baby's remains have been found.

[00:31:36] Unfortunately, it's not likely that they ever will

[00:31:39] and her perpetrator knew that.

[00:31:42] The absolute evil that would possess a person

[00:31:45] to sexually abuse a minor,

[00:31:47] kill her and the innocent baby that you created,

[00:31:50] then to sleep peacefully at night

[00:31:52] next to your pregnant wife

[00:31:54] like nothing ever happened.

[00:31:56] It's unimaginable.

[00:31:59] Ayanna is forever 16,

[00:32:01] gone forever,

[00:32:02] and in the wake of this tragedy,

[00:32:04] there are a myriad of victims left behind.

[00:32:07] Her mother,

[00:32:08] her sister,

[00:32:09] her aunt,

[00:32:10] and the little cousins who have to grow up

[00:32:12] knowing that their father is in prison

[00:32:14] for the most vile of crimes.

[00:32:17] The message is clear.

[00:32:19] If you see something,

[00:32:21] say something.

[00:32:23] Ayanna's story is not one of a secret love affair,

[00:32:25] but of a painful violation

[00:32:27] at the hands of someone she should have been able to trust,

[00:32:31] her own family.

[00:32:33] Sadly,

[00:32:33] this is the reality for many,

[00:32:35] where the true threat

[00:32:37] is not the stranger on the street,

[00:32:39] but the monster lurking within the home.

[00:32:41] So,

[00:32:42] we must remain vigilant,

[00:32:44] always aware that

[00:32:45] abuse can hide in plain sight,

[00:32:47] and that speaking up

[00:32:48] might be the only way to stop it.

[00:32:51] That's it for me tonight.

[00:32:52] If you want to reach out,

[00:32:54] you can find me on Facebook

[00:32:55] at Serial Napper.

[00:32:56] You can find my audio

[00:32:58] on Apple or Spotify,

[00:32:59] or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[00:33:02] I post all of my episodes

[00:33:03] in video format over on YouTube,

[00:33:05] so go check it out.

[00:33:06] And if you're watching on YouTube,

[00:33:08] I would love if you can give me

[00:33:09] a thumbs up and subscribe.

[00:33:12] Every little bit helps.

[00:33:13] I'm over on X,

[00:33:15] formerly known as Twitter,

[00:33:16] at Serial underscore Napper,

[00:33:17] and I post things on TikTok,

[00:33:20] Serial Napper Nick,

[00:33:21] and that's all one word.

[00:33:22] Until next time,

[00:33:24] sweet dreams,

[00:33:26] stay kind,

[00:33:27] especially in the comments.

[00:33:30] Bye.

[00:33:30] Bye.

[00:33:30] Bye.