SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – A man found guilty of murdering one woman and kidnapping and raping another finds out he’ll spend the rest of his life in prison on Tuesday.
Rafeal Banda, who was found guilty of 35-year-old Jayme Dawn Morton and kidnapping and raping another woman by a jury in November 2025, was sentenced to two sentences of life in prison without parole and a 25-year-to-life sentence.
The brother and sister of one of these victims told ABC 10News they’ve been waiting quite a while for this day.
“It's been 1,104 days since we learned the news that our sister had died,” Rachel Davis, Morton’s sister, said.
Morton was found dead inside Banda’s home in Palm City on Citrus Avenue in March 2023.
Prosecutors said he also held the other woman captive at the home, raped her, and demanded she help him dismember Morton's body.
Morton’s family was present for the sentencing and gave impact statements in the San Diego courtroom on Tuesday.
“Taking her from us was a selfish, cruel act that was nothing short of pure evil done by a violent monster,” Michael Morton, Jayme’s brother, said during his impact statement.
It was an emotional moment for the family members who spoke at the microphone.
“It was gut-wrenching, and in fact, I couldn't even finish. I had a whole other page, and I was feeling myself just go inward. And I didn't want to give him that strength,” Davis said.
Deputy District Attorney Joshua Brisbane told ABC 10News that, in addition to the other previous charges, Banda had a trailing case that was pending sentence for assaulting a nurse in East County, and he got an additional 6 years for that case.
“I think that's the right sentence. I think he should not ever be out in society. He doesn't belong there, clearly,” Davis said.
“He will not be able to tear apart another family, you know, no one knows what to go through what we went through at his hands,” Morton said.
Morton's sister previously told ABC 10News that Jayme leaves behind two sons and, in recent years, struggled with drug addiction.
“She was a vulnerable woman. And then she used drugs and got out on the streets, and the other victim too, you’re drug addicted for a reason, doesn't mean you get to be brutalized like this,” Davis said.
The District Attorney’s Office feels today’s sentencing sends a loud and clear message.
“No matter how drug addicted you might be, no matter if you're unhoused, that this community and this justice system and this court still cares and that everyone can get equal justice,” Joshua Brisbane, Deputy District Attorney, said.
Banda will have a readiness hearing in April for another case relating to an assault in jail.
