DENVER (AP) 鈥� A Colorado father was convicted Friday of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the 2012 disappearance of his 13-year-old son.
Mark Redwine, 59, was indicted in 2017 in connection with the disappearance of Dylan Redwine, who was reported missing on Nov. 19, 2012, while on a court-ordered Thanksgiving visit to his father鈥檚 home outside the city of Durango.
Redwine did not show any reaction when the verdicts were read as he stood with his hands clasped in front of him.
Dylan Redwine鈥檚 remains were found a few miles from his father鈥檚 home in 2013, and hikers found his skull in 2015.
Prosecutors argued that Redwine killed Dylan in a fit of rage after they argued over embarrassing photos of Redwine wearing women鈥檚 lingerie and eating feces from a diaper. Dylan鈥檚 older brother testified that Dylan discovered the photos before he went missing.
Redwine, who didn鈥檛 testify at trial, told investigators he left Dylan alone at home to run errands and returned to find him missing. Defense attorneys suggested the photos have no connection to Dylan Redwine鈥檚 death and that the boy ran away and may have been killed by a wild animal.
The case drew national attention when Redwine and the boy鈥檚 mother, Elaine Hall, leveled accusations at each other during appearances on the syndicated 鈥淒r. Phil鈥� television show in 2013.
鈥淭his has been an extremely difficult case for everybody involved,鈥� Judge Jeffrey Wilson said before the verdict was read. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been difficult for the parties, for the attorneys, for their staff. It鈥檚 been difficult for the families, the entire community.
Jurors delivered their verdict after less than a day of deliberations.
Hall testified at trial that she sent Dylan to his father鈥檚 house on Nov. 18, 2012, learned he was missing the next day and immediately drove six hours to southwestern Colorado鈥檚 La Plata County to search for her son. Hall said she had no knowledge of her son confronting his father about the photos.
Hall almost immediately suspected her ex-husband wasn鈥檛 telling the full truth about their son鈥檚 disappearance, text messages introduced as evidence suggested. Two hours after learning Dylan was missing, Hall texted Mark Redwine.
鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 just leave,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淗e would have called me. I am so suspect of you right now. How could he just disappear?鈥�
Public defender Justin Bogan suggested that her account was tainted by a contentious divorce and custody battle with Redwine. Bogan also suggested that Hall鈥檚 appearance on national TV turned public opinion against her ex-husband and influenced the direction of the police investigation.
Hall insisted she spoke with media and attended a protest at Mark Redwine鈥檚 house in an effort to bring Dylan home.
鈥淚 figured he was safe because he was with his dad, and I was devastated that no one knew where my son was,鈥� she said.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors doubled down on the compromising photos of Redwine, arguing the father-son relationship was in decline long before Dylan鈥檚 disappearance. Prosecutors also focused on comments Dylan made to family and friends about dreading the court-ordered visit.
Public defender John Moran said during his opening statements that Dylan ran away from home and suggested he could have been attacked by a bear or a mountain lion. He referred to an injury on Dylan鈥檚 skull as a tooth mark.
A forensic anthropologist, Diane France, testified that Dylan suffered a fracture above his left eye. Two marks on the boy鈥檚 skull were likely caused by a knife or sharp tool at or near the time of death, France said.
Meanwhile Redwine鈥檚 defense said in closing arguments that expert testimony had showed Dylan鈥檚 skull was still in a peri-mortem state in 2015. He said that means it retained elasticity and wetness, making it susceptible to environmental factors like animal scavenging for three years before it was discovered.
Bogan called the investigation 鈥渂iased鈥� and 鈥渟loppy鈥� because of evidence destruction by an expert who broke off a piece of Dylan鈥檚 skull during their examination and a scientist who revealed in court that the prosecution gave police reports to them before their testimony.
Fred Johnson, special deputy district attorney, told jurors that investigators found traces of Dylan鈥檚 blood in Redwine鈥檚 living room and that a cadaver-sniffing dog alerted them to the smell of human remains in the back of Redwine鈥檚 truck and on his clothing.
But Moran said the 鈥渋nfinitely small鈥� amount of blood found in the living room is likely to be found in anyone鈥檚 house. He also referred to the use of the dog as 鈥渏unk science.鈥�
Redwine was arrested in Bellingham, Washington following a grand jury indictment in 2017. At the time, prosecutors said 鈥渃ompromising photographs鈥� were a point of contention between Redwine and Dylan. They didn鈥檛 elaborate.
Redwine鈥檚 sentencing hearing is scheduled for October.
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Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Patty Nieberg, The Associated Press
