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GWINNETT COUNTY, GA – A Lawrenceville man will spend life in prison for fatally choking his ex-girlfriend then burning her body in a car.
Jahir Sagahon, 32, pled guilty to malice murder for the March 2023 strangling death of 28-year-old Rubi Maldonado-Nava.
“This defendant took a mother away from her child,” District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “We are pleased with this outcome and hope that the victim’s child, her family and her loved ones are able to find closure and a sense of justice from this outcome.”
On March 23, 2023, police were called to Maldonado-Nava’s home for a wellness check. When she could not be found, investigators were directed to Sagahon, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her then-3-year-old son. In court, it was revealed that when police found Sagahon, they saw that his face and hands had severe burns.
In a court hearing before a judge, it was revealed that Sagahon admitted to investigators that he had an argument with Maldonado-Nava. Sagahon strangled her to death, then put her body into the trunk of a vehicle and drove it to Oglethorpe County, east of Athens-Clarke County. There, he stuffed a gasoline-soaked rag into the car’s gas tank and set the vehicle on fire.
It was revealed in court hearings that Sagahon took his son with him to Home Depot to purchase the two-gallon gasoline canister used to set the car on fire. It was also revealed that prior to killing Maldonado-Nava, he searched online for where to purchase chloroform and how to fatally strangle someone. Facing the amount of evidence against him, Sagahon agreed to a non-negotiated plea of guilty to malice murder and was ordered to serve a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Assistant District Attorney Gaby Benghiat and Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Sabrina Nizam prosecuted the case with assistance from Investigator Jeff Lamphier and Victim Witness Advocate Sara Gardner. The Gwinnett County Police Department, the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office were invaluable in helping to close this case.
Life sentence: Jahir Sagahon/Photo via Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office