A Colorado father murdered and later beheaded his 13-year-old son after the boy discovered explicit photos of him in disturbing scenarios.
The chilling case of Dylan Redwine has haunted the state for more than a decade, sparking outrage, heartbreak, and legal battles.
In November 2012, Dylan Redwine reluctantly boarded a flight from Colorado Springs to Durango.
The teenager didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving with his father, Mark Redwine. But court orders forced his mother, Elaine Hall, to send him.
Hall knew her son wasn’t happy. But she risked legal consequences if she refused.
Mark picked Dylan up at the airport on November 18. Security footage showed the father and son walking through the terminal, exchanging barely a word.
They stopped briefly at Walmart. Witnesses later recalled the pair interacting very little, almost as if they were strangers.
That night, Dylan asked his father if he could stay at a friend’s house. Mark said no.
The boy texted his friend that he’d come over at 6:30 a.m. the next day instead.
But Dylan never showed up.
By 6:46 a.m., Dylan’s friend sent a text asking where he was. There was no reply.
Mark claimed he left the house early that morning to run errands and returned to find his son gone.
But Elaine Hall never believed that story.
Her gut told her that something terrible had happened to Dylan inside his father’s home.
She had reason to suspect Mark — and it wasn’t just parental intuition.
The Disturbing Photos
The year before Dylan disappeared, he and his older brother, Cory, had made a discovery that shook them.
They found graphic photos of their father dressed in women’s lingerie.
In the images, Mark appeared to be eating feces from a diaper.
The brothers were disgusted.
Cory later told PEOPLE magazine that he encouraged Dylan to confront their father about it.
“You’re old enough to speak your mind,” Cory said.
He believed Dylan deserved to tell their dad how the photos made him feel.
But Cory admitted their relationship with Mark was already strained. The divorce from their mother had fueled anger and resentment.
The photos only made the tension worse. Prosecutors believe that when Dylan confronted his father during the visit, Mark snapped.
In a fit of rage, he killed his 13-year-old son in the living room.
Investigators later found traces of Dylan’s blood in that space.
Cadaver dogs also alerted to the smell of human remains in the room — and in the bed of Mark’s pickup truck.
A Gruesome Discovery in the Mountains
For months, search teams scoured the wilderness near Durango.
Finally, in June 2013, partial remains belonging to Dylan were found eight miles away on Middle Mountain Road.
Three years later, hikers discovered his skull more than a mile further up.
Forensic experts determined Dylan had died from sharp force injuries.
The condition of the remains suggested deliberate violence, not an accident.
Experts testified that no animal could have moved the skull so far from the other remains.
Prosecutors alleged that Mark decapitated his son before leaving his body for animals to scavenge.
Mark Redwine maintained his innocence for years.
But in 2017, he was finally arrested and charged with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.
At trial, prosecutors laid out chilling evidence: the blood in his home, the cadaver dog alerts, and the family’s testimony.
The jury listened to testimony about the disturbing photos and the confrontation that likely sparked the killing.
In 2021, a judge sentenced Mark to 48 years in prison — the maximum sentence allowed by law.
The Judge’s Final Words
Judge Jeffery Wilson addressed the court at sentencing. He described the evidence against Mark as “overwhelming.”
District Attorney Christian Champagne echoed those words, saying Mark had shown no remorse and refused to accept responsibility.
“That same, cold-hearted murderer’s heart that killed Dylan Redwine is still there,” Champagne told jurors.
The DA argued that this alone justified the maximum sentence. Mark will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
For Elaine Hall and Cory, the verdict brought some closure but not true peace.
Dylan’s life was cut short before it had truly begun.
The teenager was described as funny, adventurous, and fiercely loyal to his friends.
Instead of looking forward to his high school years, Dylan’s family had to sit through a murder trial.
And all because he uncovered the darkest secrets of his father.
Why This Case Still Haunts Colorado
The Redwine case is one of Colorado’s most disturbing family tragedies.
The shocking details — lingerie, diapers, feces, decapitation — horrified the public.
It became a cautionary tale about domestic violence, hidden lives, and how far shame can push someone.
For the people of Durango, the memory of Dylan still lingers.
The mountain roads where his remains were found have become part of local history.
And his story serves as a chilling reminder: sometimes the greatest danger can come from inside a family’s own home.
Featured image credit: Police handout / Colorado Springs Police Department
