A 27-year-old Arizona man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend and endangerment of their child. Antwaun T. Ware was convicted for the 2018 murder of Jasmine Rain Dunbar and for leaving their baby abandoned on the side of the road. The sentencing was announced by the county judge on Friday, following Ware’s guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder and felony child endangerment.
Ware’s heinous crime was committed while he and Dunbar were en route to a paternity test. After killing Dunbar, Ware set her body on fire and left their seven-month-old baby by the roadside. The child was discovered by a couple who noticed a child’s car seat on the side of the road near 83rd Avenue and Camelback Road on the evening of March 6, 2018. They found the baby, Dunbar’s ID, and several other items, prompting them to call 911.
The Phoenix Police Department, after contacting Dunbar’s family, learned that Ware was supposed to accompany Dunbar for a paternity test on the day the baby was found. The police retraced Ware’s route and discovered the field near 107th Avenue and Camelback Road where he had killed Dunbar and set her body on fire.
Further details about the murder were revealed in a probable cause statement. Ware and Dunbar were last seen together around 9 p.m. on March 6, 2018. An hour later, a call was made about the discovery of Dunbar’s baby. Dunbar’s roommate confirmed that she had left with Ware, her ex-boyfriend, for a paternity test earlier that evening.
Ware was located by the police at his home early on March 7, where he confessed to the murder. He admitted to physically assaulting Dunbar and leaving her in a field, claiming she was still alive at the time. He then drove away with their child in his backseat, later abandoning the baby because he panicked. Ware returned to the field, set Dunbar’s body on fire, and watched it burn.
Upon returning to the area where he had left the baby, Ware noticed police cars and took a detour to his then-girlfriend’s home. Dunbar’s body was soon discovered, and Ware was arrested.