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Witness tells how baby was stuffed into bag
A teen drug dealer testifies about the killings of a Jacksonville woman and her baby.
Associated Press
Published November 10, 2005
JACKSONVILLE - A 16-year-old admitted drug dealer calmly told jurors Wednesday that he watched John Mosley Jr. strangle a woman, but he broke into sobs when he described how he held open a plastic bag while Mosley stuffed her screaming baby into it.
Bernard Griffin's testimony came on the opening day of Mosley's trial on two charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of 40-year-old Lynda Wilkes and her 10-month-old son, Jay-Quan Mosley.
Assistant State Attorney Libby Senterfitt told jurors in her opening statement that Mosley strangled the woman and suffocated her baby to avoid a hearing to determine whether he was the infant's father. Prosecutors want the death penalty.
Griffin said that when Mosley picked him up on April 22, 2004, Wilkes and her baby were in the passenger seat of Mosley's SUV. Griffin said Mosley drove to a deserted area, told the woman to get out of the car and then strangled her with his hands.
Griffin testified that Mosley then put a bag over Wilkes' head and placed her in the rear of the SUV. Griffin said Mosley then asked him to get a black plastic garbage bag and hold it open. The screaming baby was put into the bag, which was tied and placed next to the mother's body.
At that point in his account, Griffin buried his head in his hands for several seconds.
Griffin also said he helped Mosley dispose of Wilkes' body near Waldo, about 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville, where Mosley set it afire. He testified that the baby's body was placed in a trash bin in Ocala. Investigators searched for the baby's body, but it was never found.
Griffin faces two charges of being an accessory after the fact. Under cross-examination, he acknowledged selling drugs to help his mother pay the bills.
After his arrest, Mosley denied any involvement in the deaths and said he was not the infant's father.
The trial is expected to continue into next week.
[Last modified November 10, 2005, 01:20:16]
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