A Kansas man wasconvicted of murderin thegruesome death of 3-year-old Evan Brewer, whose body was found encased in concrete last year, CBS News reports.
It took jurorsless than an hour of deliberationbefore finding 41-year-old Stephen Bodine guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday, according toThe Wichita Eagle.
Throughout the six-day trial, prosecutors presented a plethora of evidence and heinous details describing the abuse little Evan endured leading up to his untimely death on May 19, 2017.
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the case was the testimony of Bodine’s own 23-year-old daughter Samantha Johnson, who toldThe Wichita Eagleshe wanted to help “tell Evan’s story.”
In court, Johnson alleged that her father would try and drown her in the bathtub when she was younger and then perform CPR on her.
“I felt like a little girl again reliving it,” Johnson told the paper. “But I had to hold it together for a 3-year-old boy.”
Wichita Police Department
At the time of Evan’s death, Millerhad full custody. However, the boy’s father Carlo Brewer, who suspected Evan was being abused, grew worried and contacted police. He filed a petition for protection from abuse.
According to the petition, Carlo Brewer detailed multiple reports of abuse made to the Kansas Department of Children and Families.
After Evan’s remains were found, Miller and Bodine were both charged with his murder. His little body was so badly decomposed that how he died could not be determined.
On Monday, Millertold the juryEvan had been sick for days before his death after Bodine allegedly made him swallow large amounts of salt. He later collapsed after standing against a wall for hours. Miller claims Bodine then slapped the child before forcing him into a bathroom. Miller then said when Evan returned, he was limp and Bodine forced her to perform CPR on him but they never called 911.
Miller negotiated a plea deal with prosecutors in which she would testify against Bodine in exchange for reduced charges.
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At Bodine’s preliminary hearing on April 16, Miller told the court that he was most responsible for Evan’s death but that she shares responsibility, theEaglereported.
“I didn’t want my son dead,”local station KWCH reports. “I wanted to raise him. I wanted to see him grow up. I wanted to be at his graduation. I wanted to see him get married.
“Stephen took that away from me and told me I was a bad mother because I didn’t know how to discipline my child and that I was weak, and that he needed to have a man take over and control him because he was turning into a monster the way I was raising my son.”
While Bodine’s conviction cannot bring back Evan, his family ispleased 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 child you know except he didn’t get to have the imagination like the other children where they might think there’s monsters in their closet or under their bed… he had real monsters.”
In addition to being convicted of first-degree murder, Bodine was found guilty of child abuse, aggravated child endangerment and two counts of kidnapping. Bodine will be sentenced in December, CBS News reports.
source: people.com
