LA PLATA COUNTY, Colo. — Expert testimony continued Thursday in the Mark Redwine trial. The prosecution focused on Dylan Redwine’s skeletal remains.
Mark is accused of killing his 13-year-old son back in 2012.
Dylan’s disappearance led to a massive search effort just outside Durango. Much of Thursday’s testimony surrounded the boy’s skull, DNA extraction, wildlife impact and where there could be signs of blunt force trauma.
Some of Dylan’s remains were first discovered in June of 2013 — more than half a year after his disappearance. Other recovery sites spanned several miles apart on Middle Mountain, according to law enforcement.
The boy’s skull was found nearly three years after Dylan’s disappearance. It was sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for specialized processing.
Case analyst Krystle Rodriguez testified about positively identifying the skull by grinding part of it into powder and adding a reagent.
“[The reagent] burst open the bone cells releasing the DNA into the liquid,” Rodriguez said.
Dr. Diane France, a forensic anthropologist, testified for most of the day. FOX31 featured her previously for her work on some of the highest profile homicide cases in Colorado.
France said Dylan’s skull showed evidence of animal scavenger activity and evidence of a tool or weapon impact.
“A sharp instrument leaves a V-shape cut … that’s the cross section of the knife or whatever sharp instrument,” France said. “I think it is consistent with blunt trauma,” she later said.
The prosecution relied on experts to poke holes in a theory that Dylan may have been killed by wildlife. Colorado district wildlife manager Drayton Harrison was questioned.
“Based on animal behavior, what’s the likelihood that a 13-year-old, who is on a road or an ATV track, would be killed by wildlife,” the prosecutor asked Harrison.
“Very, very unlikely to happen,” Harrison answered.
Mark is charged with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in connection to his son’s killing.
Mark says he ran errands during Dylan’s visit and claims Dylan was gone when he returned home.
Prosecutors believe Dylan confronted his dad about compromising and embarrassing pictures that the court has now released publicly. The pictures are what prosecutors believe is the alleged motive in the killing.