Jury finds father guilty
Killing of son, 13, leads to convictions for child abuse and second-degree murder
A La Plata County jury convicted Mark Redwine of second-degree murder and child abuse Friday in the 2012 death of his 13-year-old son, Dylan — the culmination of nearly a decade of investigations, court proceedings and an agonizing wait for justice for the boy’s family.
Friends and relatives in the Durango courtroom erupted when the judge read the word “guilty.”
“He’s where he belongs,” Dylan’s brother, Cory, said outside the courtroom after the verdicts came down for his father. “He’s Dylan’s murderer. That’s how he’ll be remembered and how he’ll have to live the rest of his life.”
During the five-week trial, prosecutors alleged Redwine, 59, killed Dylan while the boy was on a court-ordered Thanksgiving visit to Redwine’s house outside of Durango. Prosecutors said Redwine killed his son during a fit of rage after the child confronted him about photos that showed Redwine eating feces out of a diaper.
Investigators found traces of what is likely Dylan’s blood in Redwine’s living room, but Redwine’s defense attorneys said it’s impossible to know when the blood was deposited on the couch, under the rug and on a coffee table. A former girlfriend of Redwine testified that she saw the boy cut his finger in the living room in 2011.
In closing arguments Thursday, Redwine’s defense attorney said the case was circumstantial and that it was more likely that Dylan ran away and was killed by a wild animal.
Redwine is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 8 and will be held without bail until then.
Dylan’s disappearance drew national attention and sparked large search missions. But none of his remains were recovered until 2013. Some of his bones were found about eight miles from Red
wine’s house that year. In 2015, part of Dylan’s skull was found about 1.5 miles from the other bones.
Family and friends hugged and consoled one another outside the courtroom after the verdict, many sporting blue “Justice for Dylan” wristbands.
“This entire process has been surreal,” Dylan’s mother, Elaine Hall, said outside the courtroom. “From when Dylan went missing to when they found his remains — living in a world of not knowing what happened to my son.”
Hall had no doubt that the jury would return a guilty verdict Friday.
“Mark is going to be penalized for what he did to my son,” she said. “He knows as well as us — he was the one who took Dylan’s life.”
The emotions have run the gamut over the past nine years, Hall said, adding that she hopes Dylan’s case will be used to help prevent future instances of family violence.
“I’ve cried. I’ve been mad,” Hall said. “Right now, I’m just ready to remembering Dylan and his story rather than the gruesome details of his death.”
Cory Redwine described his younger brother as “bright and powerful.”
“Going forward, our family will do everything to keep Dylan’s memory on who he was as a person and try to live our best life for him,” Cory Redwine said. “Make him proud of us.”
As for Friday night, Hall said, “We’re gonna let our hair down. That’s about all I’ll say.”