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Riverview rapper given life sentence in 2021 murder case

Mother of murder victim finding closure after sentencing
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Posted at 6:08 PM, Aug 24, 2023
and last updated 2023-08-24 18:18:08-04

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Danita Cuevas read us her victim impact statement outside her Tampa home, two years in the making.

"Your honor," she said, "I have been robbed of so many precious moments with my son."

She told ABC Action News that it's a lengthy message she read to a Columbia county judge earlier this month—just before Javont'e Wilkins was sentenced to life in prison.

This is a pic of victim and his mom.

According to the case documents, Wilkins was found guilty of shooting and killing Cuevas' son—Kristian Lujan—while the two were driving back to Hillsborough County from a trip to South Carolina.

Prosecutor Document by ABC Action News on Scribd

Prosecutors say Wilkins then dumped Lujan on the side of the road in Columbia County and later turned himself in.

"I can finally set my son free now. I can let him go, so his soul can be at peace now," said Cuevas.

When we first spoke to Cuevas in 2021, she said one question about the case plagued her.

"What happened?" she said.

Two years later, we're finally getting answers.

Related Story: Tampa family seeking answers, donations after loved one found murdered in Columbia County

According to the arrest affidavit, the two men were on their way to shoot a music video. But they never made it to their destination.

Investigators said Wilkins, who was high on several drugs at the time, became paranoid that Lujan was conspiring with others to kill him. So he shot him.

But, according to investigators, there was no clear evidence he was in danger.

"To know that he killed my son for nothing, for nothing," said Cuevas.

In the end, Cuevas told us she feels justice has been served—but added that she carries no ill will towards Wilkins' mother and family.

"For a second, I put myself in her situation, and how I would feel if that were my son if the roles were reversed, you know? So, I don't fault her, so I don't wish anything bad on his family, you know?" she said.