{"id":45745,"date":"2021-07-17T01:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T07:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dylans-mother-says-she-never-gave-up-fighting-for-justice\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:27:12","slug":"dylans-mother-says-she-never-gave-up-fighting-for-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dylans-mother-says-she-never-gave-up-fighting-for-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Dylan\u2019s mother says she never gave up fighting for justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Elaine
Elaine Hall and her son, Cory Redwine, talk about the trial and Dylan Redwine after Mark Redwine was convicted Friday of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the death of his son, Dylan Redwine. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Elaine Hall said Friday\u2019s guilty verdict is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t bring closure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to have closure because you can\u2019t have closure when a piece of your life and your heart is missing,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

About 20 friends and family members of Hall gathered outside the La Plata County Courthouse after a 12-person jury found her ex-husband, Mark Redwine, guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the death of their 13-year-old son, Dylan.<\/p>\n

Some cheered, others hugged and wept tears of joy.<\/p>\n

Friends described Hall as a pillar of strength throughout the yearslong effort to seek justice. But Hall shrugged it off, saying she did what came naturally.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really have no choice when your child goes missing and is subsequently found murdered,\u201d Hall said. \u201cI mean, what are you supposed to do? You can\u2019t just roll over in your bed and ignore the world. You have to fight, and that\u2019s what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thanked the La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the 6th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office for the time and resources they spent bringing the case to trial. It never would have happened without a turnover in leadership at the Sheriff\u2019s Office and the District Attorney\u2019s Office, she said.<\/p>\n

In a phone interview Friday, Sheriff Sean Smith said his office looked for the facts and presented the evidence the best it could.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the result today showed that the jury understood the case we presented and the goal of seeking justice for the family,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

The Sheriff\u2019s Office will likely do an \u201cafter-action review\u201d to determine how much time and money was spent on the case.<\/p>\n

District Attorney Christian Champagne said the case wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the support of the Sheriff\u2019s Office, his team at the 6th Judicial District Attorney\u2019s Office and the community as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be able to bring justice to Dylan and his family,\u201c Champagne said in a phone interview after the verdict.<\/p>\n

He dismissed any notion that the case was brought to justice as a result of a change in leadership in his office or the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the major developments in the case is that new evidence was uncovered, so that played a big part in us being able to come forward and bring charges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He declined to comment further because the case awaits sentencing Oct. 8.<\/p>\n

Public defender Justin Bogan, who represents Redwine, did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Hall spent nearly five weeks in the courtroom with her ex-husband, but she said she didn\u2019t notice anything remarkable about Redwine\u2019s demeanor or his reaction to Friday\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n

And she doesn\u2019t try to understand what he might be thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t get in the mind of someone crazy like that,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no logic. There\u2019s nothing. He looked just like he did when Dylan went missing. Mark has always been worried about one person, and that\u2019s Mark, and that will never change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her son, Cory Redwine, told jurors that he still loves his father, whom he refers to as Mark. And he said that remains true today, even after Friday\u2019s guilty verdict.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted Mark and Dylan to be a part of my life,\u201d he said outside the courthouse. \u201cI loved Mark for many, many years, and he was kind to me for many years, and those are memories that I will always hold onto. But he did what he did, and he\u2019s going to have to face the consequence for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall said it was a complicated case with a mountain of evidence. Even she learned new details about the investigation sitting through the five-week trial, she said.<\/p>\n

It was tough seeing some of Dylan\u2019s friends take the witness stand and imagining who her son might have become, she said. She said his future was wide open, but she is certain he would have been a loving uncle and a \u201cstand-up man like his brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt breaks my heart, but at the same time I\u2019m so proud of them,\u201d she said of Dylan\u2019s friends, who are now in their 20s.<\/p>\n

\"Ryan
Ryan Nava, a childhood friend of Dylan Redwine's, tears up Friday outside the La Plata County Courthouse as he talks about his friend. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

One of those friends was Ryan Nava, whom Dylan planned meet the morning he went missing. Outside the courthouse, Nava expressed relief that the justice system works, something he hasn\u2019t been certain of since childhood.<\/p>\n

Nava said he never had a strong opinion about Redwine\u2019s guilt, but now he can say without a doubt Redwine is guilty.<\/p>\n

Nava knew Dylan for about three years. He said Dylan probably would have grown up to look a lot like his older brother, Cory, and had similar traits. But Dylan was a unique person, and so much fun, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about him a lot,\u201d Nava said. \u201cI hope I made him proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall thanked the community for its support and resources spent in bringing the case to trial.<\/p>\n

She said strangers missed Thanksgiving with their families to search for Dylan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s frustrating to me,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause throughout the whole time that Dylan was missing, Mark knew where he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

shane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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