LA PLATA COUNTY, Colo. — Mark Redwine, who was found guilty of murdering his 13-year-old son in 2012, was sentenced to 48 years in prison by a La Plata County judge on Friday morning.
Judge Jeffrey Wilson said Mark Redwine, 59, still took absolutely no responsibility for what he did to his son.
At the sentencing Friday morning, Wilson said he had trouble remembering a convicted criminal defendant that has shown such an utter lack of remorse for his criminal behavior.
"The community needs to be protected from you. You need to be removed from society for a very long period of time," Wilson said. "I’m going to sentence you to 48 years on both counts, with five years of parole, will be served concurrently. You’ll receive 1,540 days of credit for time served."
In July, a La Plata County jury found Redwine guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the death of his son, Dylan Redwine, who was reported missing on Nov. 19, 2012 from his father's home near Vallecito Lake outside of Durango. The jury deliberated for about six and a half hours following a four-week trial.
Some of Dylan Redwine’s remains were found about 10 miles from his father’s home in June 2013, according to an indictment, and his skull was found more than two years later in November 2015 about a mile and a half away from the first location.
Mark Redwine was arrested in 2017.
The trial has been delayed or seen mistrials multiple times in the years since then, but finally began in June 2021.
During the trial and closing arguments, prosecutor District Attorney Michael Dougherty argued Dylan and Mark’s relationship was frayed by the time Dylan flew to Durango to visit his father in 2012, and that Mark killed his son in a fit of rage just hours later during an argument.
Mark Redwine has always denied any involvement in his son's disappearance and death.
Though much of the evidence prosecutors relied on was circumstantial, Dougherty argued at the trial Mark Redwine killed and dismembered his son, scattered his skull and other remains up Middle Mountain Road from his home, and told the jury that evidence showed signs of blunt force and sharp force injuries on Dylan’s remains.
At Mark Redwine's sentencing, Brandon Redwine, Dylan's half-brother, said he wanted to make it clear that Mark Redwine's actions alone led him to that moment. Dylan's older brother, Cory Redwine, said his younger brother is his hero and he prays to him and dreams of him. He said Mark Redwine's "selfish ways" had caught up to him.
Dougherty argued that Mark Redwine became enraged and killed his son after Dylan confronted him about photos allegedly showing Mark eating feces and wearing women's lingerie.
Mark Redwine’s public defender, Justin Bogan, said the evidence was all circumstantial and did not support Mark killing his son. Bogan said the prosecution’s evidence was “so thin” and told jurors that prosecutors were asking them to speculate in finding a verdict.
Ultimately, they found Mark Redwine guilty, almost nine years after his son was reported missing.
Dylan Redwine's mother, Elaine Hall, also spoke during the sentencing. She recalled the heartbreak of the previous nine years, and now the frustration that Mark Redwine showed no remorse for his actions.
"When I think about what happened that night, it breaks my heart to think of Dylan looking up at his dad," she said. "I don't even think it phased you, which is why you need the max sentence."
