Mark Redwine pleads not guilty in son's death

A father accused of killing his own son appeared in court Friday where he pleaded not guilty. Back in December, attorneys representing him asked for more time to examine thousands of documents tied to the case.

Mark Redwine is charged with killing his 13-year-old son, Dylan Redwine after he disappeared in southwestern Colorado in November 2012. He has denied any involvement in his son's death.

Last April, he had a motions hearing in court where an arraignment was set for Friday. In court, he pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial that is set for late November.

Redwine, 55, was originally fighting extradition when he was arrested in Washington years after his son's death, meaning Colorado's governor and Washington's governor would have had to get involved to bring him back to the Centennial State. In a surprise move, Redwine eventually waived his right to an extradition hearing, effectively returning him to La Plata County.

The La Plata County Sheriff's Office confirmed July 22, 2017 that Redwine was arrested in Bellingham, Washington on charges stemming from his son's death. He was being held on a cash-only $1 million bond.

He was later brought back to Colorado and is now being held on a $750,000 bond.

Redwine appeared on a video conference in a Washington courtroom the following Monday after his arrest as his charges were read to him.

Dylan Redwine disappeared more than five years ago while on a court-ordered visit at his father's home outside Durango. The elder Redwine told law enforcement he ran errands on the morning of Nov. 19, 2012 and returned to an empty home four hours later. Hundreds of people assisted in search efforts in the weeks following -- efforts that were soon put on hold when winter arrived.

Seven months later, Dylan's remains were found off Middle Mountain Road, a U.S. Forest Service road that winds through the San Juan National Forest, starting near Mark Redwine's home in the Vallecito Lake area. The road is inaccessible during La Plata County's snowy months.

From the start, Redwine maintained he was innocent, but law enforcement later said there were red flags based on "inconsistent statements" and his behavior during the investigation. He was officially named a person of interest in 2015.

His ex-wife Elaine Hall of Monument told 11 News she suspected her former spouse's involvement from the beginning.

"Dylan didn't go missing. Dylan went missing to us. Mark knew exactly where Dylan was on November 18th," she told 11 News in 2015.

The last time Hall heard from her son was Nov. 18, 2012 -- the day he arrived at his father's home.

She reacted on July 22 to news of her ex's arrest.

"How could you do that to your own son? ... He is the one who made the decision, he's the one that took our son's life away, and he is the one who needs to own up to that. There's nobody else to blame other than him."

Redwine's arrest came following an indictment issued by a grand jury, which determined there was probable cause to charge him in connection to Dylan's death, which was ruled years ago as a homicide. Redwine faces charges of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.

According to the grand jury indictment, right after Dylan's remains were found, Redwine had an "odd conversation" with Dylan's half-brother. He reportedly mentioned blunt-force trauma and said investigators needed to find the skull before they could determine the cause of death.

The grand jury indictment then cites anthropologists, who say Dylan's skull had markings consistent with tool marks from a knife that appeared to be perimortem, or at or near the time of death.

The grand jury indictment says Dylan's blood was found in his father's living room, and cadaver dogs indicated a deceased person had been in his living room and bed of his pick-up truck.

"It's something that we've been working for the last five years, trying to get justice for Dylan. It's never easy when any of this starts unfolding because we know that an arrest will not bring Dylan back. But we also know that throughout all of this he hasn't had a voice, and we've had to be his voice," Hall said.

"Dylan was one of the sweetest people, and the world was a better place because he was here with us, even though it was a short time. Thirteen years is not long. There's so many things we missed out on, so many things he missed out on. There's not one day that goes by that I don't wish I could turn back the clock, but I can't. All I can do now is hold the person accountable for his murder accountable and that's where we are.

"There should never be a motive to take your own son's life."