A Jamaica man has been convicted of fatally stabbing his girlfriend and leaving her body in her car back in 2016, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Qwantrell Gilliam, 43, was found guilty of second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after a nearly three-week-long trial. He is due to return to court on April 3 for sentencing, where he faces up to 25 years to life in prison on the murder conviction, plus additional time for tampering with physical evidence.
“The victim in this case was found stabbed to death inside of her parked car,” said Queens District Attorney Chief Assistant John M. Ryan. “This was a tragic end for a woman who was victimized by someone who supposedly professed to love her. After weighing all the evidence, a jury rendered a guilty verdict and the defendant now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life locked away in prison.”
According to trial testimony, at 2:20 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2016, officers from the 113th Precinct found the body of 43-year-old Dayo Corley inside of her parked car in the vicinity of 122nd Avenue and Lakeview Lane. Corley had suffering multiple stab wounds and compression injuries to her neck and head, and there was blood splattered on the floor of the car and in the driver’s seat.
The medical examiner ruled that Corley’s cause of death was homicidal violence including stab wounds to the neck.
Trial records indicate that Corley was last seen leaving a hair salon on Merrick Boulevard just after 1:45 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2016. Her cellphone activity showed that Corley was traveling to the vicinity of Lakeview Lane and 122nd Avenue after speaking to Gilliam, who was spotted on surveillance footage walking near 122nd Avenue, where Corley’s car was recovered.
Shortly after 1:50 a.m. that day, Gilliam was seen walking toward Lakeview Lane. At approximately 2:30 a.m., Gilliam is seen again on surveillance video holding a knife, opening a bottle and pouring liquid over his hands and walking toward a nearby metal trash can, disposing of the murder weapon.
Several witnesses testified that Gilliam had been harassing Corley via cellphone following their June 2016 break up and had destroyed property belonging to her in the weeks prior to the murder.
