The cause of death of Utah farm boy Dylan Rounds was revealed Wednesday as the “murderous squatter” accused in the boy’s disappearance and death in 2022 pleaded guilty to murder.
james brenner He appeared in Utah’s First District Court for a preliminary hearing on charges of felony murder and two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person in connection with Lowndes’ disappearance over Memorial Day weekend two years ago. Pleaded guilty.
A preliminary hearing revealed that Lowndes’ cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
As part of the plea agreement, Box Elder County reduced Brenner’s first-degree felony aggravated murder charge to second-degree felony murder, and the second charge of desecration of a corpse was eventually dropped. This was announced by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
An unrelated aggravated assault charge was also dismissed.
“The plea agreement also includes an agreement that the sentences on the individual charges will be consecutive and mandatory prison terms.”
Brenner, 60, was squatting in a trailer on farmland near the Lowndes property in the small desert area of Ruthin, near the Utah-Nevada border.
Lowndes went missing on May 28, 2022, after talking to her grandmother on the phone saying she was “evacuating grain trucks.”
The shelter was located on a plot of land owned by Box Elder Land and Livestock, adjacent to the property where Brenner was squatting.
During the investigation, law enforcement found the missing grain truck, and during the initial search for the missing teen, a pair of bloodstained boots were discovered, and DNA analysis identified Rounds and his shoes. matched. According to KSL.com.
County authorities and the FBI later recovered several guns from Brenner’s possession, which Brenner possessed illegally due to his criminal history.
Investigators obtained Lowndes’ phone records, which were traced back to an area near Ruthin Pond, and the device produced time-lapse video of Brenner, with blood stains on his arm and shirt, cleaning his gun. It’s been found. The outlet reported.
As part of the plea agreement, Brenner was asked to reveal where Lowndes’ body was buried.
“On April 9, 2024, skeletal remains believed to be that of Dylan Lowndes were discovered in a remote area of western Box Elder County in Ruthin,” the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office announced at the time.
The murder suspect has been in jail since June 2022 after being arrested on firearms violations and charged in Ms Lowndes’ death last year.
Lowndes’ guilty plea provided some closure for the grieving family, which has set up a nonprofit organization in Lowndes’ name.
“It doesn’t necessarily end the problem, but this court is part of it, the constant waiting, ‘What’s going to happen?'” When will that happen? What if that doesn’t happen? We can finally put that part to rest,” Cooley said.
“While we had hoped for a different outcome, we knew from the beginning that Dylan would no longer be alive,” the family said. “This latest development means the investigation has come full circle and we can finally bring Dylan home and close this chapter,” he said on May 1.
Box Elder County Attorney Stephen Hadfield praised the work of detectives and law enforcement in solving the case.
“We feel a great sense of relief that we were able to bring Dylan home and successfully conclude this prosecution,” Hadfield said. “It is amazing to see what can be accomplished through the tireless efforts of so many people. Without the contributions of each and every one of them, we would not be here today.”
Prosecutor Blair Wardle worked with Lowndes’ family to structure and finalize the plea deal before Brenner signed it Wednesday, considering various options and sentencing outcomes.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 1.
“There are only charges 1 through 15 for Dylan’s murder, and the rest are gun charges,” said Lowndes’ mother, Candice Cooley. According to Fox 13 Now.
“Voters of Utah, please think carefully and consider who you vote for. These laws were created by our laws, and if you want to change them, this could be your child. He may be a man who has served more time in prison for having a gun than for killing a child.”
