Mom of boy 'killed by his dad over fetish photos' testifies at ex-husband's

The mother of a 13-year-old boy allegedly killed by his father revealed how she became suspicious of her ex-husband just hours after their son vanished during testimony at his murder trial.   

Mark Redwine's trial for the murder of his son Dylan kicked off in Colorado's La Plata County court this week - nearly nine years after the boy disappeared in November 2012 in the Vallecito area near Durango. 

Prosecutors say Redwine, 59, killed Dylan in a fit of rage after the boy confronted him about disturbing photos he'd found of his father eating feces from a diaper and dressed in women's lingerie.   

On Wednesday, the court heard from several of Dylan's family members, including his mother, Elaine Hall. 

Hall recounted how she sent Dylan to stay with his father for Thanksgiving on November 18, 2012, and learned the next day that he was missing. 

In text messages shown to the court, Redwine wrote to Hall at 4.32pm on November 19: 'Elaine, I am wondering if you have heard from Dylan, I have been trying to reach him all afternoon.'

Hall said she immediately set out on a six-hour drive to La Plata County as she began to fear that Redwine had something to do with Dylan's disappearance. 

At 6.35pm she texted Redwine: 'He wouldn’t just leave. He would have called me. I am so suspect of you right now. How could he just disappear?'

Redwine told Hall that he had just left the Marshall's office to report Dylan missing - but she testified that when she called the office she was told that there was no record or report about her son, according to the Denver Post.  

'They didn't have a report or anything on Dylan being missing. They really didn't know anything,' Hall said.   

Hall said that Dylan didn't want to go to his father's for the holiday and instead wanted to stay with his mom and maternal grandmother, who was stricken with cancer.

When Hall consulted her attorney, however, she was left with little option.

'She basically said it was a court order and that I would be in violation of the court,' Hall testified about potentially withholding Dylan, according to 9News. 

Describing the last time she saw Dylan at the Colorado Springs Airport, Hall told the court: 'I said: "Oh, you’re too old to give your mom a hug," and then he came back and gave me a hug.' 

Under cross examination Redwine's public defender questioned whether Hall's suspicions of her ex-husband may have been unfairly fueled by their bitter divorce and custody battle. 

'I believed then that he was the last person to see Dylan and he had no answers for us and he was refusing to answer any questions or help us find Dylan and it was frustrating,' Hall replied.

She later added, 'I've always said, that I believed he had a hand in Dylan's disappearance.' 

Defending her actions in the days after Dylan was last seen - including her decision to speak to media about her suspicions - Hall said: 'I was frantic. It was so surreal. 

'You don't expect any of this to happen you and, you know, I figured he was safe because he was with his dad. And I was devastated that no one knew where my son was.

'My intention was to bring Dylan home. It wasn't to belittle or besmirch or anything like that it was to get Dylan's face out there in case anyone in this country had seen him.' 

Seven months after Dylan disappeared his remains were found scattered in southwestern Colorado mountains by wild animals. 

His skull was found by hikers in 2015 about a mile from the initial location. 

According to indictment, forensic anthropologists discovered the skull had injuries consistent with blunt force trauma at two locations.  

Redwine, who has pleaded not guilty, was arrested after a grand jury indicted him in July 2017 on charges of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. 

If found guilty of his son's death, Redwine faces up to 48 years in prison.  

Redwine's trial has been postponed at least 10 times with a judge granting multiple mistrials last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.