MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — A man was sentenced Friday to 41 years in prison for killing a young woman, whose body has yet to be recovered nearly five years since she was reported missing in Phoenix.
Luzeia Mathis, 18, disappeared in August 2019. When police searched her Valley apartment, officers reported finding bloody clothes, cleaning supplies and biological material belonging to Mathis.
Jamal Jones, 33, was the last known person with Mathis on the morning she disappeared, prosecutors say. Surveillance video captured Jones using the victim's car to drive to a Walmart and purchase a shovel, bleach and chlorine.
A jury ultimately convicted Jones of murdering Mathis and disposing of her body. Before he was sentenced Friday in court, Jones told the judge he "didn't do it" and insisted he's not a violent person.
But the Maricopa County Attorney's Office claims the victim and defendant had a tumultuous, violent history. At Friday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors displayed a threatening text message Jones allegedly sent Mathis stating he wished to "kill" her.
Upon obtaining a restraining order against Jones, Mathis continued to be contacted by the defendant, MCAO said.
Prosecutors said Mathis was trying to pull away from Jones and had been taking steps to better her life before she disappeared.
“The evidence and testimony presented in this case was appalling, yet another horrifying example of the abuse that is commonly perpetrated behind closed doors,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement.
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