Mark Redwine Sentenced To 48 Years In Prison For Killing His Teenage Son Nearly A Decade Ago

A Colorado judge sentenced Mark Redwine to 48 years behind bars last week for killing his teen son nearly a decade ago after admonishing the father for his “utter lack of remorse” in the disturbing crime.

Redwine was convicted of killing his 13-year-old son, Dylan, just hours after the teenager had come for a court-ordered visit to his home outside of Durango and a heated argument between the two broke out. Authorities believe the father then dismembered his son’s body, disposed of it in the woods and lied to investigators about the circumstances surrounding his son’s disappearance.

“As a father, it’s your obligation to protect your son and keep him from harm,” Judge Jeffrey Wilson said, according to local station KUSA. “And 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. You hid Dylan’s body, and you went so far as to remove the head from the rest of his body.”

Prosecutors said they believe the tension between the father and son reached a boiling point after Dylan had discovered compromising photos of his father wearing women’s lingerie and eating feces from a diaper, The Daily Beast reported.

Dylan was last seen alive on the night of Nov. 18, 2012, which was the same day he had gone to visit his father for his Thanksgiving break. According to prosecutors, the last known communication on his phone or iPod occurred that night around 9:37 p.m.

The devices and his backpack have never been found.

Redwine reported his son missing the next day, telling authorities that he had come home from work to find that the boy had disappeared.

A portion of the teen’s body was found in June of 2013 in Middle Mountain, according to the local station. His head wasn’t found until two year later, when hikers stumbled upon the grisly remains. The discovery would prove to be a crucial part of the prosecution’s case.

Prosecutors argued that a fracture on the skull and what they believed was evidence of sharp force injuries suggested Dylan had been violently killed.

Redwine's defense team had tried to unsuccessfully argue during the trial that the injuries had come from a wild animal after Dylan had run away from home.

Dylan’s mom, Elaine Hall, spoke during the sentencing of the heartbreak her son’s death has caused the family.

“When I think of that night, it breaks my heart to think about Dylan looking up at his dad, knowing he’s the killer. He is my killer,” she said, according to KUSA. “It breaks my heart and I wonder what were you thinking when you saw his big old blue eyes? I don’t even think it phased you which is why you really need to have the maximum sentence because you have a lot of soul searching to do.”  

The mother went on to say that Redwine should have “done the right thing” after Dylan was hurt and called 911 rather than “taking his body and letting it be scavenged on a mountain.”

During the sentencing hearing, Dylan’s older brother, Corey Redwine, said that he’s haunted by what he could have done differently to try save his little brother — who will now never meet be the uncle he could have been.

“Dylan is my hero,” his brother said. “He became more of a man in 13 years than Mark has in 60. I’m so proud of Dylan and what he stood for.”

Wilson sentenced Mark to 48 years on both counts against him, which will be served concurrently, after citing the community’s need “to be protected" from him local station KMGH-TV reported.

The judge also cited Mark’s disturbing lack of remorse for the heinous crime.

“After all this time and listening to what was heard in this courtroom, you still take absolutely no responsibility for what you did to Dylan,” he said. “I have trouble remembering a convicted criminal defendant that has shown such an utter lack of remorse for his criminal behavior.”