The Misery Machine - The Case of Dylan Redwine

Starting point is 00:00:00 Dylan Nicholas Redwine was born on February 6th, 1999 in Denver, Colorado to parents Mark Allen Redwine, a long-haul truck driver, and Elaine Hatfield Hall, who has since been remarried to a man named Mike Hall. Dylan had an older brother, Corey Redwine, who was seven years his senior. Despite their age difference, the brothers were extremely close. The family resided in Bayfield, Colorado, a small community of approximately 3,000 residents. residents near Durango, a rugged, mountainous and picturesque region adjacent to the southwest corner of the state. Dylan and Corey also had two older half-siblings, Mark Redwine Jr., and Brandon Redwine from Mark's previous marriage to Betsy Horvath. Mark and Elaine's 18-year marriage came to an end in 2007, and a contentious divorce and bitter custody battle ensued. Even though

Starting point is 00:00:56 Mark's visits with his children, while the family lived in Bayfield, were still. sporadic at best. Mark allegedly told Elaine that during the divorce and subsequent custody hearing, he would kill the kids before he let her have them. Dylan had blonde hair and blue eyes and he stood at five feet and weighed approximately 105 pounds. Time of our story, he was 13 years old. He was well liked by his peers in Bayfield, enjoyed playing baseball and was also a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Dylan was known as a trickster because he frequently pulled pranks on his four best friends. This group of five, which one member described as a brotherhood, remained intact even after Dylan moved six hours away to live with his mother.

Starting point is 00:01:38 September of 2012, Elaine gained full custody of Dylan. With Corey, they would move over 300 miles to Monument, a suburb of Colorado Springs. Though he enjoyed seeing his friends, Dylan was upset with his father throughout much of 2011 and 2012. He expressed several times that he did not want to be. to visit Mark as he lost all respect for his father. However, this was a court-ordered visitation and not one that Dylan was excited about. Elaine was concerned that if Dylan did not visit his father during his 2012 Thanksgiving break, that it would further jeopardize her sole custody of her youngest child. Her attorney also warned Elaine that she could be prosecuted if Dylan did not fly out to meet his father.

Starting point is 00:02:19 In 2011, Corey and Dylan, while on a road trip with Mark to Cleveland, came across disturbing images on their father's laptop. Specifically, the brothers stumbled upon selfies of Mark dressed in women's lingerie and a wig, soiling himself, and consuming the contents from a filthy diaper. Mark, it turned out, is a coprophiliac, one who derives erotic pleasure from poop. We're not going to share these images for obvious reasons, but they're readily available on the internet if that's your thing. Corey, who was 20 at the time, took photographs of the images with his phone. He sent them to Mark, referring to him as sweetie and a sh-eating coward. Corey further taunted his father with, hey beautiful, you are what you eat. Dylan wanted to use them as leverage against his

Starting point is 00:03:13 father during an argument where Mark claimed that Elaine and Corey were bad influences. Dylan wanted the images to show his father who he really is. Corey later told A&E that he regretted sending the photos that Dylan requested. In the months leading up to his father's visit, Dylan told multiple people, including his mother and his friends, that he did not want to visit his father. He also discussed these feelings with the judge, the attorney, and others involved with the ongoing domestic relations case. He discussed the photographs he had viewed of Mark. He stated that he planned to confront Mark out of frustration and anger. These statements were backed up by multiple text messages.

Starting point is 00:03:54 On November 18, 2012, Dylan arrived at the Durango Laplata County Airport. Dylan texted a lane upon landing with a scowling emoji. Mark picked him up and they visited the local Walmart McDonald's. Surveillance videos from the airport and Walmart show little to no personal interaction between Dylan and his father. They arrived at Mark Redwine's home located 2343 County Road 500 and via Cito about 30 miles from Bayfield. field where his friends resided. Dylan was last seen wearing a Duke Blue Devils baseball cap, a black Nike T-shirt, basketball shorts, and black Nike Air Jordans. Mark and Dylan had argued on their previous visit. Text messages found on Dylan's phone indicated that he wanted to attend a

Starting point is 00:04:37 sleepover with a friend named Ryan Nava rather than his father on the night he arrived in Bayfield. However, his father denied the request and Dylan stayed the evening with Mark. Dylan made plans with Ryan via text message to meet at 6.30 the following morning. His last phone or iPod touch activity was 9.37 p.m. on November 18th, the night he arrived. Following morning, Dylan's phone received a text message from Ryan at 6.46 a.m. asking, where are you? This message received no response. It is believed that during this time, an argument ensued between Dylan and his father. Given the duration between Dylan's activity on his phone, a narrow window existed for either Dylan to leave his father's home to seek refuge with his friend or for something far more sinister to occur.

Starting point is 00:05:24 However, if Dylan indeed went to visit his friend, stands to reason a trail of text messages would verify these plans, wouldn't they? Dylan also did not engage in any social media after 937 p.m. on November 18th, 2012. If there had been a physical altercation between them, Mark stood at five feet and 11 inches tall while weighing 225 pounds. He would dwarf his youngest son. It was just five feet tall and weighed 105 pounds. Mark Redwine reported his son missing a little before 5 p.m. on November 19, 2012. He stated that he'd run errands beginning around 7.30 that morning and returned around 11 a.m. He couldn't find Dylan, but he noticed the television was turned to Nickelodeon, and a bowl of cereal had been left on the table.

Starting point is 00:06:14 Mark then took a 45-minute nap before carrying on with his day. First responder Roy Vreeland said Mark seemed uninterested and nonchalant about his missing son. He went on to state that, from my personal experience in the same situation many times with family members, the parents, they never want to leave our side. They can be, I don't want to say annoying because I respect what they are going through, but they can get in the way.

Starting point is 00:06:43 They're constantly wanting to know what we found, if we found anything, why we're not trying hard, why we didn't stay all night. Roy described Mark's house as filled with empty alcohol bottles. He asked for clothing and even a toothbrush for the canine search dog to catch Dylan's scent, but Mark claimed that nothing in the home belonged to Dylan. Roy was suspicious, he noted, it almost appeared he knew there was nothing in the house before I asked the question.

Starting point is 00:07:12 The dog sniffed the pillow that Dylan had lied on and picked up a scent, but the trail went cold after about 100 yards. The first responder also noted that Mark turned off his lights at 11 p.m. the evening after he reported Dylan missing. Most people tend to turn every light on and make their house a beacon so that a missing person could find their way home, whether it's a spouse or a child. It was odd. The Laplata County Sheriff's Department enlisted more police in the FBI

Starting point is 00:07:41 in the days following Dylan's disappearance. Sheriff's spokesman Dan Bender stated, Fowl play is definitely something we're looking at, but we're hoping it's a runaway case and that Dylan will show up and be fine. Because we don't have any clues that point in any particular direction. We have to consider every possibility. Elaine and Corey arrived with her future husband Mike Hall the next day. Elaine expressed her fears that her ex-husband was involved in Dylan's disappearance. In an interview with ABC News, Elaine said,

Starting point is 00:08:12 if Dylan maybe did or said something that Mark didn't want to hear, I'm just afraid of how Mark would react. For his part, Mark shied away from the media, simply stating, I know they're looking for my son, but I'd prefer not to say anything. I prefer to let the investigators do their work. He added notably in the past tense, I want everybody to know how much I loved that boy,

Starting point is 00:08:37 and how much I cared about him. He was such a wonderful boy. He meant everything. It wasn't long before police ruled out the theory that Dylan was a runaway. Mark's home was an isolated location from the town. If Dylan left on his own accord, it stood to reason that he would have taken his wallet, which was recovered in Mark Redwine's house. There was a candlelight vigil in the community, however, Mark was not in attendance.

Starting point is 00:09:03 Hundreds of people searched for Dylan in the coming weeks and months. However, Mark was not among them. Because of the rough terrain, the effort was difficult, so, police use ATVs, drones, and dogs. They also searched on horseback. After an exhaustive effort lasting several months, some of Dylan's bones, including a clavicle and a tibia, along with pieces of his clothing and a tuft of his hair,

Starting point is 00:09:27 were discovered off of Middle Mountain Road in June 2013, approximately eight miles from Mark Redwine's house. The remains were compared against one of Dylan's baby teeth, and the DNA matched, confirming Dylan was deceased. However, Dylan's skull was not found among the remains. Mark was familiar with a road in the place where Dylan's remains were found was accessible via ATV. Mark owned such an ATV. Mark appeared to live his life as if nothing had ever happened.

Starting point is 00:09:59 He appeared disinterested in the efforts to find Dylan. Investigator Kevin Brown noted that Mark didn't ask how the search was going or if anything had been found. Investigator Brown had invited Mark to observe the dive team at the Vyestrian Cicdo Reservoir near Mark's house. Mark did not show up that day. Another investigator named Dan Patterson said that Elaine and Corey were right there watching, but Mark was nowhere to be found. Brandon Redwine, one of Dylan's half-brothers, drove from Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, with his family to aid in the search. See that he, Mark, and Mark's brother, David Stone, were set to go searching on Middle Mountain Road. After 20 minutes, Mark told the group that Dylan was not

Starting point is 00:10:40 there. Brandon said that they all encouraged Mark to be more active in the search. He said, it was frustrating. It's your son. Get involved. Mark agreed, but his lack of action spoke louder than the words he had for Brandon, who stated, and I figured Mark knows something. I didn't know what he knew. I didn't know how he knew it. During the search, Elaine, Corey, and Michael Hall raised over $50,000 for information concerning Dylan's whereabouts. They hosted a fundraiser and a silent auction at Dylan's new school, Louis Palmer High School in Monument, Colorado, where he had just moved earlier that year.

Starting point is 00:11:17 With the proceeds of that fundraiser, a billboard was erected in Colorado Springs, and a hotline was established for leads and tips. They set up the Facebook group, Dylan Redwine, The Journey to Justice, and remembering Dylan Redwine. On December 3rd, 2012, Elaine spoke with CNN's Nancy Grace via telephone,

Starting point is 00:11:36 where Dylan's disappearance would be the focus of the show. There it was revealed, that in 2003, Mark Redwine was charged with CA or neglect without injury, although the specifics are hazy. Brandon Redwine would once directly ask Mark if he knew where Dylan was. Yes, his father directly, do you know where Dylan is? Mark replied, I know where Dylan's at. He's in my heart. Brandon described Mark as stoic upon learning of the discovery of Dylan's remains and didn't appear to be sad whatsoever. However, Mark spoke passionately about blunt-force trauma, when Dylan's remains were first found.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Brandon found this odd because Dylan's skull had not been discovered, and there had been no mention of blunt force trauma. Mark seemingly overcame his fear of the media by appearing on the Dr. Phil show in February of 2013. Sitting across from Elaine and Corey, Mark maintained his innocence while Elaine and Corey attacked him. He attacked back, drawing booze from the audience. He also denied the photos of him dressed in,

Starting point is 00:12:40 lingerie while dining on a soil diaper were authentic. He explained that he fabricated the pictures himself because he suspected that Elaine and Corey were breaking into his home. It was pointed out that Elaine passed her polygraph with flying colors. Mark told the audience that, at first, he was told he failed the test but then was told the results were inconclusive. Ever the showman, Dr. Phil brought Mark back the very next episode to take the polygraph with an expert. But on the day of the show, Mark refused to take the test while denying any involvement in Dylan's disappearance, explaining he drank heavily the night before. In 2015, Elaine sued Mark for wrongful death.

Starting point is 00:13:22 This case was dismissed because the statute of limitations had passed. Mark would file a countersuit alleging that Elaine bullied him on social media, encouraged violence against him, and participated in protests outside his home. Mark would hold an hour-long interview following the dismissal of his. case. Mark said he didn't believe any chargers would ever be filed, especially against him, noting, if they don't have it by now, they're never going to have it. He went on to say, I've got a bad taste in my mouth about Laplata County. I've got a bad taste in my mouth about

Starting point is 00:13:57 the Laplata County Sheriff's Office. I've got a bad taste in my mouth about the judicial system. Yes, Mark, I'm pretty sure you do have a bad taste in your mouth, but I'm not sure Laplata County has anything to do with that fact. I'm pretty sure it's the soil diapers, but I digress. In November of 2015, three years after Dylan went missing, his skull was discovered by hikers approximately five miles from the location where his other remains had been found. Fractures on the skull were consistent with blunt force trauma, and the cut marks were indicative of a knife or other sharp instrument. The Laplata County Police Department zeroed in on Mark Redwood. wine after his son's skull was discovered. They obtained a warrant to search Mark's home.

Starting point is 00:14:43 Dylan's blood was uncovered in a trained cadaver dog, a German shepherd named Molly, death scents in Mark's living room, laundry room, and kitchen, as well as in the bed of his pickup truck. A grand jury convened under the request of Laplata County District Attorney Christian Champagne. The grand jury formerly charged Mark with second-degree homicide and CA resulting in death. It was held on a $1 million-dollar cash-only bond. Mark read one. was arrested on July 7th, 2017 in Bellingham, Washington. On his arrest report, Mark claimed he planned on forming a search party for Dylan once he returned to Colorado. The state of Washington comply with the findings of the grand jury that had issued the indictment in Durango, Colorado.

Starting point is 00:15:23 July 28th, 2017, Washington's state lieutenant governor, Donna Lynn, acting in place of Governor John Hickenlooper, signed an arrest and extradition order to place Mark Redwine in the custody of the state of Colorado. Mark waived his right to contest the extradition order. While awaiting trial, he was incarcerated in Laplata County Jail in Durango. The original 2019 trial date would suffer several pandemic-related delays and requests for continuances from Mark Redwine's defense team. Most notably, his public defender, John Moran, was arrested for DV on June 19, 2021. The affidated states that Attorney Moran's ex-girlfriend was sitting in a chair when he pushed

Starting point is 00:16:05 both his ex and the chair off of his back porch. She screamed to people walking by for help, but Attorney Moran sprayed her with a hose in an effort to silence her. The attorney appeared intoxicated during his arrest. John Moran then failed to appear at two hearings and was deemed by the judge unfit to properly represent Mark Redwine, resulting in yet another delay. He would be replaced by Justin Bogan, another public defender.

Starting point is 00:16:34 attorney moran would continue as the second chair as his dv case was later dismissed finally on june 21st 2021 the five-week trial would begin despite defense motions for a change of venue the trial was held in laplata county with colorado six district court judge geoffrey wilson presiding mark red wine pled not guilty to both counts of second-degree homicide in c a resulting in death of a minor he elected not to testify in his defense. Christian Champagne led the people's case against Mark Redwine. He was assisted by Michael Doherty, the district attorney for Boulder County. Prosecution alleged that Mark had erupted into a fit of rage after being confronted about

Starting point is 00:17:16 the notorious photographs, which were subsequently shown to the jury. They presented evidence in the form of text messages from Dylan to friends and family members about the strained relationship he had had with Mark and not wanting to attend the court-mandated visit. Elaine and Corey's testimonies backed up these claims. Dylan's friends took the stand, echoing Corey and Elaine. The fact that Mark transferred money from Dylan's debit card to his own personal account also raised suspicions. Additionally, the prosecution offered the blood evidence, the blunt force trauma in Dylan's skull, and the cadaver dog's findings of Dylan's scent inside Mark's house and in the bed of his pickup as further evidence that Mark killed his son.

Starting point is 00:17:57 Notably, Mark's defense did not address the disgusting images on which the prosecution based much of his speculation about Mark's motive to injure Dylan. Instead, they opted to chip away at the prosecution's evidence and instill reasonable doubt. The defense downplayed any strain in the relationship between Mark and Dylan. Bolin attacked the police force for a biased and sloppy investigation, pointing out that an expert broke part of Dylan's skull during examination and that a scientist was allowed to view the police reports before their testimony. He also contended that though the skull showed evidence of blunt force trauma, it could not be definitively said when those injuries occurred. The defense also said that Mark Redwine was made a target because investigators used cameras and GPS to monitor his movements. The defense referred to the blood found as infinitesimal and dismissed the use of canines as junk science.

Starting point is 00:18:53 They offered a different theory, one that involved Dylan being killed by a. a bear while on a walk. It should be noted that bears hibernate in the winter. Attorney Justin Bogan then spoke about his client's inability to commit the crime. He explained, Mark didn't have enough time or knowledge to dismember a body, clean up effectively to evade a luminal test for blood, and appear fine at work the next day.

Starting point is 00:19:19 He closed with, You may not like the pictures of Mr. Redwine. You may not approve of the way he handled himself during the search for his son. You may not approve of a lot of the things he's done. But if they, the prosecution, don't know what happened, you don't know what happens. On July 16th, 2021, the formerly sequestered jury found Mark Allen Redwine guilty on both counts. It took just six hours for them to reach a unanimous decision. Mark stood expressionless as the foreman read the verdict.

Starting point is 00:19:51 Mark was remanded back to Laplata County Jail where he already resided for over four years to await his fate. Dozens of people who had lined the streets outside the courthouse erupted into cheers and cried tears of joy at the announcement of the verdict. In her victim impact statement before sentencing, Elaine shared the following. You knew where Dylan was the whole time we were looking for him. Not once did you offer up any advice or suggestion as to where he would be. The night that you hurt Dylan, you should have done the right thing and called 911 and let them figure it out, instead of taking his body and letting it be scavenged on a mountain. On October 8th, 2021, Mark Redwine was sentenced to 48 years behind bars for each count,

Starting point is 00:20:33 second-degree homicide and CA resulting in death, with 1,540 days of credit for time served. These sentences were the maximum allowed by Colorado statutes, although they would be served concurrently. Mark refused to speak at the hearing, but his attorneys passed a type statement to Judge Jeffrey Wilson that he read into the court record. It read, Innocent of All Charges, Miscarriage of Justice, Fate Conviction, Sham Trial. I take this circumstance very seriously, and I want to make clear that I, too, have lost a child I love more than life itself. I will fight for true justice, not for myself, but for Dylan.

Starting point is 00:21:14 I have always shown remorse for the things that I am guilty of. Stand against fake justice. Judge Wilson admonished Mark Redwine from the bench. He said, as a father, it's your obligation to protect your son and keep him from harm. Instead of that, you inflicted enough injury on him to kill him in your living room. After the passion of whatever caused you to act the way you did subsided, you didn't think about Dylan. You thought about yourself. You sanitized the crime scene.

Starting point is 00:21:42 You hid Dylan's body. And you went so far as to remove the head from the rest of his body. Mark Redwine is serving his 48-year sentence in the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Ordway, Colorado. He is 62 years old at the time of this recording. He will be first eligible for parole in May of 2052. At that time, he will be 90 years old and most likely is never going to make it out of jail. When Elaine was asked about being seen as a pillar of strength during the years leading up to Mark's sentence, she replied,

Starting point is 00:22:18 You really have no choice when your child goes missing and is subsequently found murdered. I mean, what are you supposed to do? You can't just roll over in your bed and ignore the world. You have to fight. And that's what we did. But she conceded. We're never going to have closure

Starting point is 00:22:35 because you can't have closure when a piece of your life and your heart is missing. Dylan died on November 19th, 2012 in Viasito, Colorado in Laplata County. He is buried in the Bayfield. Field Cemetery. A stone bench inscribed with the name Dylan Nicholas Redwine sits nearby. Beneath it, among some stones and trinkets, sits a baseball glove with a ball in its webbing. The bench is adorned with a carving of a baseball player swinging a bat.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Dylan Redwine

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