The Commission on Capital Cases updates this information regularly. This information; however, is subject to change and may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon for statistical or legal purposes.
Mosley, John (B/M)
DC# J30192
DOB: 08/24/64
4th Judicial Circuit, Duval County Case # 04-06675
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Michael R. Weatherby
Attorney, Trial: Richard Kuritz and Quentin Tille – Registry
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Ryan Truskoski – Registry
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Rick A. Sichta – Registry
Date of Offense: 04/22/04
Date of Sentence: 06/30/06
Circumstances of Offense:
John Mosely had a son, Jay-Quan, with Lynda Wilkes although he was married to another woman at the time. In order to receive Medicaid benefits, Wilkes was required to establish the paternity of her son. Mosely refused to take the paternity test and was ordered to pay for child support. Prior to the murder of Wilkes and Jay-Quan, Mosely had asked Bernard Griffin, a fifteen-year-old acquaintance, if he would consider killing a baby and provided details, but Griffin refused.
On 04/21/04, Mosely asked Wilkes if he could take his son to purchase new clothes. On 04/22/09, they met at J.C. Penny. Mosely then put them both in his Suburban and picked up Griffin. They accompanied Mosely on a drive, which ended on an unfrequented road in Jacksonville. Mosely then strangled Wilkes to death, placed a bag over her head, and put her in the back of his car. He also placed Jay-Quan in a garbage bag next to his mother, and covered their bodies with a tarp. At the time of interrogation, Griffin reported that baby had stopped crying stopped shortly after it was put in the bag. Mosely dropped Griffin off, and then went to his job.
Around 11:00 p.m., Mosely left work to pick up Griffin. Griffin commented that Mosely’s car had a foul smell. His comment led Mosely to drive outside of Jacksonville, south of Waldo, to get rid of Wilkes’ body. On a dirt road, Mosely poured lighter fluid on the body and lit it on fire. He then drove to Ocala to dump Jay-Quan’s body in a dumpster behind a Winn-Dixie grocery store.
Television reports regarding Wilkes’ case prompted Griffin to tell his mother that he knew about the murder. He spoke with the police and showed them where Wilkes and Jay-Quan were killed and disposed of. They found and recovered Wilkes’ burned body. Using Wilkes’ watch, which had stopped at 2:29—it was unknown whether the watch stopped during the morning or evening—the police matched that time with a phone call that was made at 2:24 a.m. from Mosely’s cell phone. The antenna used for the call was located near Wilkes’ body. The medical examiner was also able to link blood found in Mosely’s Suburban to Wilkes’. He ascertained that she had been strangled to death, because blood from her nose and mouth had a pinkish color. The police were unable to find the baby’s body.
Additional Information:
Griffin was convicted on two counts for being an accessory after the fact due to his role in the murders.
Trial Summary:
07/01/04 Indicted as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lynda Wilkes)
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Jay-Quan Mosley)
11/18/05 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
11/30/05 Jury recommended death for Count II conviction by a vote of 8-4
06/30/06 Sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree Murder (Lynda Wilkes) – Life in Prison
Count II: First-Degree Murder (Jay-Quan Mosley) – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 06-1408
46 So.3d 510
07/25/06 Direct Appeal filed
03/12/09 Oral Arguments held
07/16/09 FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence.
08/06/09 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari
USSC# 09-11555
131 S.Ct. 219
12/22/09 Petition filed
10/04/10 Petition denied
State Circuit Court – 3.851 Motion
CC# 04-06675
08/06/10 Motion filed
11/17/10 Order to strike motion
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition of Sentence:
There have been no undue delays at this time.
Case Information:
On 07/25/06, Mosley filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court, citing the following issues: (1) the due process clause of the Florida Constitution provides more protection to criminal defendants than the United States Constitution, and this court, should apply the doctrine of primacy to this case, (2) the prosecutor’s improper and inflammatory remarks deprived the defendant of a fair trial, (3) the trial court erred in ruling that the recorded husband-wife jail conversations were admissible, (4) the trial court erred in denying the defense’s motion for continuance and for a mistrial based on a defense witness failing to appear at trial, (5) the trial court erred in including a videotape of the defendant in chains, shackles and jail garb among the materials delivered to the jury room in violation of its own order, (6) the trial court erred in effectively ruling that a double murder automatically suffices as the “previously convicted of another capital felony” aggravating circumstance, (7) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, (8) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial because the guilty verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence, (9) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s request for the standard jury instruction, which concerns pressure or threat against a witness, (10) Florida’s death-penalty scheme violates due process, the Sixth Amendment and Ring v. Arizona, and its progeny, (11) this court’s comparative proportionality review of sentences of death is unconstitutional, (12) the defendant’s sentence of death is disproportionate, and (13) lethal injection and Florida’s lethal injection procedures are unconstitutional. Oral Arguments were held on 03/12/09. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 07/16/09. A mandate was issued on 08/06/09.
Mosely file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 12/22/09. This petition was denied on 10/04/10.
On 08/06/10, Mosley filed a 3.851 Motion in the State Circuit Court. On 11/17/10, the court ordered to strike the motion.
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Report Date: 07/30/09 EMJ
Approved: 08/06/09 RM
Updated: 02/07/11 EMJ