WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Testimony started Tuesday afternoon in the case of a man accused in the death of his girlfriend's three-year-old son.
Evan Brewer's body was found inside a concrete structure in September of 2017. The structure was located inside the house where Evan lived with his mother, Miranda Miller, and her boyfriend, Stephen Bodine.
Both were arrested in the boy's death, but Miller agreed to testify against Bodine in exchange for having her charge of first-degree murder dropped.
Bodine's defense team said during opening statements that without knowing a cause of death, there's no way to prove Bodine killed Evan.
Prosecutors argue evidence will show even lived in a "world of abuse" and they believe Miller's testimony will prove that Bodine is responsible for his death.
Evan's dad, Carlo Brewer, talked about the final times he saw evan...and how he noticed signs of abuse.
"We'd see bruises on him...and Sarah would question it and I would question if it was just a toddler getting bruises. But when we started putting everything together, his behavior and what not. Then, that's when I really began to question if there was abuse going on in that home," said Carlo.
Shayla Johnston is a family member and acted as the family's spokesperson throughout this case. She says it's important to support the witnesses through the trial.
"It's important for us to see the entire case put together. it's a form of therapy even though it is extremely difficult to listen to," she said.
Johnston the Brewer family plans to be there for every moment of the trial, and she says they just want justice for Evan.
Evan's dad will continue his testimony Wednesday morning.
-----
Monday, October 15, 2018
The trial of a man accused in the death of three-year-old Evan Brewer starts this week.
Jury selection started Monday in the case against Stephen Bodine, the boyfriend of Brewer's mother, Miranda Miller.
Last September (2017) Brewer's remains were found encased in a concrete structure in a south Wichita home where he lived with his mother and Bodine.
Prosecutors say Bodine badly abused Brewer. Both Bodine and Miller were charged in his death, but Miller agreed to testify against Bodine in exchange for having a first-degree murder charge dropped.
In April, Miller waived her preliminary hearing in the case and testified about the abuse she says Brewer suffered at the hand of Bodine. She said Bodine even forced her to abuse the boy.
In her testimony against Bodine, Miller said in her son's final days, he was unable to eat or drink. She said she wanted to take him to the doctor, but Bodine wouldn't let her.
Miller said Brewer eventually collapsed and Bodine slapped the boy who then hit a wall. She said Bodine took her son into a bathroom where the boy stopped breathing.
Miller said she tried to perform CPR on Brewer but she couldn't revive him. She is charged with second-degree murder in the death of the three-year-old.
Bodine faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, child abuse and child endangerment. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
