Man found guilty of killing his teen cousin, tossing body in dumpster, officials say
A jury deliberated for less than one hour before finding a Michigan man guilty of killing his cousin and throwing her body in a dumpster, according to media reports.
Jaylin Omar Brazier, 25, of Detroit, was convicted May 16 on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the 2022 death of his cousin, 17-year-old Zion Foster, according to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
McClatchy News reached out to Brazier’s attorney on May 17 for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Foster’s mother reported her missing on Jan. 6, 2022, after she was last seen two days prior, according to officials.
Brazier turned himself in to police two weeks after her disappearance, saying he was with her early on the morning of Jan. 5, WJBK reported.
After changing the story he shared with authorities, Brazier told police that he and Foster were smoking marijuana when she stopped breathing, according to WWJ and WXYZ.
He told police he panicked and threw her body in a dumpster in Highland Park, according to media reports.
Brazier’s statements led to a months-long search of the Macomb County landfill where the dumpster was emptied, WXYZ reported.
Foster’s body was never found, the prosecutor’s office said.
Officials used Brazier’s own words, internet search histories and other inconsistencies in his recounting of events to build a circumstantial case, the Associated Press reported.
“For 18 months, investigators put together the evidence,” prosecutors said in the news release.
“You thought that she didn’t matter to us … you were mistaken,” Foster’s mother Ciera Milton told WXYZ after Brazier’s conviction.
Brazier’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published May 17, 2024 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Man found guilty of killing his teen cousin, tossing body in dumpster, officials say."
