The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly.  This information; however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied 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 althoughhe was married to another woman at the time. In order to receive Medicaidbenefits, Wilkes was required to establish the paternity of her son. Moselyrefused 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, afifteen-year-old acquaintance, if he would consider killing a baby and provideddetails, but Griffin refused.

On 04/21/04, Mosely asked Wilkes if he could take his son topurchase new clothes. On 04/22/09, they met at J.C. Penny. Mosely then put themboth in his Suburban and picked up Griffin. They accompanied Mosely on a drive,which ended on an unfrequented road in Jacksonville. Mosely then strangledWilkes to death, placed a bag over her head, and put her in the back of hiscar. He also placed Jay-Quan in a garbage bag next to his mother, and coveredtheir bodies with a tarp. At the time of interrogation, Griffin reported thatbaby had stopped crying stopped shortly after it was put in the bag. Moselydropped 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 todrive outside of Jacksonville, south of Waldo, to get rid of Wilkes’ body. On adirt road, Mosely poured lighter fluid on the body and lit it on fire. He thendrove to Ocala to dump Jay-Quan’s body in a dumpster behind a Winn-Dixiegrocery store.

Television reports regarding Wilkes’ case prompted Griffinto tell his mother that he knew about the murder. He spoke with the police andshowed them where Wilkes and Jay-Quan were killed and disposed of. They foundand recovered Wilkes’ burned body. Using Wilkes’ watch, which had stopped at2:29—it was unknown whether the watch stopped during the morning or evening—thepolice matched that time with a phone call that was made at 2:24 a.m. fromMosely’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’sSuburban to Wilkes’. He ascertained that she had been strangled to death,because blood from her nose and mouth had a pinkish color. The police wereunable to find the baby’s body.

Additional Information:

Griffin was convicted on two counts for being an accessoryafter the fact due to his role in the murders.

Trial Summary:

07/01/04         Indicted as follows:

                                   Count I:           First-DegreeMurder (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 ofCertiorari

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 ofSentence:

There have been no undue delays at this time.

Case Information:

On 07/25/06, Mosley filed a Direct Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court, citing the following issues: (1) the due process clause of theFlorida Constitution provides more protection to criminal defendants than theUnited States Constitution, and this court, should apply the doctrine ofprimacy to this case, (2) the prosecutor’s improper and inflammatory remarksdeprived the defendant of a fair trial, (3) the trial court erred in rulingthat the recorded husband-wife jail conversations were admissible, (4) thetrial court erred in denying the defense’s motion for continuance and for amistrial based on a defense witness failing to appear at trial, (5) the trialcourt erred in including a videotape of the defendant in chains, shackles andjail garb among the materials delivered to the jury room in violation of itsown order, (6) the trial court erred in effectively ruling that a double murderautomatically suffices as the “previously convicted of another capital felony”aggravating circumstance, (7) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’smotion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to prove its casebeyond a reasonable doubt, (8) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’smotion for a new trial because the guilty verdict was contrary to the weight ofthe evidence, (9) the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s request forthe standard jury instruction, which concerns pressure or threat against awitness, (10) Florida’s death-penalty scheme violates due process, the SixthAmendment and Ring v. Arizona, and its progeny, (11) this court’scomparative proportionality review of sentences of death is unconstitutional,(12) the defendant’s sentence of death is disproportionate, and (13) lethalinjection and Florida’s lethal injection procedures are unconstitutional. Oral Arguments were held on 03/12/09. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed theconviction and sentence on 07/16/09. A mandate was issued on 08/06/09.

Mosely file a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the UnitedStates 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 StateCircuit Court. On 11/17/10, the court ordered to strike the motion.

________________________________________________________________________

Report Date:   07/30/09         EMJ

Approved:       08/06/09         RM

Updated:         02/07/11         EMJ