<\/p>\n
DENVER \u2013 Dylan Redwine would have turned 17 on Saturday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been more than three years since the teen\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n
He was on a court-ordered visit with his father, Mark Redwine, on Nov. 18, 2012, when he disappeared. Dylan was 13 at the time.<\/p>\n
In June 2013, some of Dylan\u2019s remains were found about three miles from his father\u2019s home in Vallecito. The case remains unsolved.<\/p>\n
The Dylan Redwine story is rare, but not unique. Other families across the state have been forced to deal with the killing of a loved one, and the subsequent lack of justice that can sometimes follow. In an effort to help address this failure, state lawmakers are debating a proposal that supporters hope will offer prosecutors an additional tool to resolve difficult cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany do not understand the horrific nightmare of hearing that your child is missing. You never expect it will happen to you,\u201d Elaine Hatfield Hall, Dylan\u2019s mother and Mark Redwine\u2019s ex-wife, told state lawmakers Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She testified in support of the bill that would make tampering with a body a felony.<\/p>\n
In August, the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office announced it had identified Mark Redwine as a person of interest in the case and that Dylan\u2019s cause of death had been changed from \u201cunknown\u201d to \u201chomicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall, in late June, had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her ex-husband.<\/p>\n
The emotional scars from Dylan\u2019s disappearance linger, only exacerbated by a lack of justice, Hall said.<\/p>\n
She believes lawmakers should do everything they can to add a layer of justice and closure for victims\u2019 families. Hall pointed to the state\u2019s Amber Alert, which allows law enforcement to use the Emergency Alert System so residents may assist in the search for an abducted child. Though that system doesn\u2019t always work, it offers another tool.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is essential so there is accountability,\u201d Hall said of the legislation.<\/p>\n
The bill predominantly targets someone who assists a killer with moving or disposing of a body after a crime. Such involvement is currently a misdemeanor in the state.<\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s sponsor, Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, believes the legislation would provide a felony \u201chammer\u201d for prosecutors to get people talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you helped move a body, we\u2019re going to have a conversation, because we can say \u2026 we have the evidence that you probably had something to do with that body, now you can either help us, or you can go to jail,\u201d Sonnenberg said.<\/p>\n
The bill passed its first test after the Senate Judiciary Committee backed the bill on a party-line 3-2 vote. Democrats opposed the legislation.<\/p>\n
Carrie Thompson, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified that the bill is unnecessary, pointing out that felonies exist for such crimes as tampering with physical evidence and being an accessory to a crime. In both cases, disposing of a body to cover up a crime would fit, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand what Senator Sonnenberg has to say is the intent of the bill, which is to be helpful to law enforcement, and we acknowledge that we are certainly sympathetic to the families of victims who lose loved ones to violence. But current law already addresses these concerns,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n
Sonnenberg, however, said human remains should be treated differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe simple question is: Should the penalty for messing with a bloodstain on a piece of furniture, or a fingerprint on a glass, be the same as tampering with a human body?\u201d he asked. \u201cI think not.\u201d<\/p>\n