They Condemn The Culprit Of The Death Of The 3-year-old Boy They Found Buried In Cement

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A Kansas man was convicted of murdering Evan Brewer, 3, whose body was found buried in concrete last year, reports CBS News.

The jury found Stephen Bodine, 41, guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday after an hour of deliberation, according to The Wichita Eagle.

Throughout the six days of trial, prosecutors presented a wealth of evidence and gruesome details describing the mistreatment little Evan endured before his untimely death on May 19, 2017.

The testimony of Bodine's daughter, Samantha Johnson, 23, was the most important aspect of the case as she indicated that she wanted to help "tell Evan's story."

In court, Johnson alleged that her father tried to drown her in the bathtub when she was younger and then gave her first aid.

"I felt like a little girl reliving it again," Johnson told the newspaper. "But I had to be strong for a 3-year-old boy."

Evan was reported missing in July 2017 and was discovered by an owner in September who was cleaning the old home of his mother, Miranda Miller, and her boyfriend Bodine. The couple had previously been evicted.

At the time of Evan's death, Miller had full custody. However, the boy's father, Carlo Brewer, who suspected that Evan was being mistreated, became concerned and contacted the police. He filed a petition for protection against abuse.

The Kansas Department of Children's Services (DCF) began an investigation and issued a child protection order in favor of his father, but when they tried to deliver the order to the mother, the boy disappeared.

While Bodine's conviction cannot return Evan, his family is satisfied with the outcome of the trial.

"This is the beginning of justice," Evan's father, Carlo, told KWCH 12 after the hearing.

"Evan was a beautiful boy," Carlo continued to the news station. "He was just like any other kid you know, except he couldn't have his imagination like other kids, where they might think there are monsters in his closet or under his bed … he had real monsters."

In addition to being found guilty of first-degree murder, Bodine was found guilty of child abuse, danger of aggravating children, and two counts of kidnapping. Bodine will be sentenced in December, reports CBS News.