A 25-year-old Jaylin Omar Brazier was found guilty of second-degree murder and messing with evidence in the death of his cousin Zion Foster, who was 17.
The body of Zion was never found, but Brazier was found guilty in the case because he helped with the search and then admitted to throwing away her body. He could spend the rest of his life in jail because of this.
She was last seen living on January 4, 2022, when she left her home in Eastpointe, Michigan. After five days, her family said she was lost.
Brazier quickly became a key figure in the case. He had already lied to the police and Zion’s mother about the last time he saw her. Even though Brazier said at first that he wasn’t guilty, his story fell apart, and he was eventually found guilty.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy praised the investigation team’s persistence by saying,
“This case is still the best example of how investigators and prosecutors refused to give up on a woman’s murder.” Investigators worked for 18 months to gather the proof.
“Each piece of evidence in this case was examined and linked together Zion’s cousin, Jaylin Brazier, with murder in the second degree for killing Zion.”
Things were hard for Zion on their way to justice. In 2022, Brazier admitted that he had lied to the police about his role in Zion’s kidnapping.
At first, he said it had been weeks since he had seen Zion. But when he was pushed, he admitted that he had thrown her body in a dumpster after she reportedly died suddenly while they were smoking pot together.
This lie got Brazier up to four years in jail, but he got out on parole in January 2023. Even though he was out on parole, the police were still eager to find the truth.
Their determination was strengthened by Brazier’s contradictory statements and shady actions after Zion went missing.
Lisa Milton, Zion’s mother, talked about how Brazier joined the search and even helped put up flyers for lost people.
“I didn’t text him. When my child didn’t come home, he called me on. He called me and said, “I don’t understand why Zion lied and put me in this.” It’s been a long time since I saw her. It’s been months since I saw her. I was like, “What?” “I saw you not too long ago,” Milton told WDIV, an NBC station in Detroit.
Later, it came out that Brazier’s actions, which seemed like those of a worried family member, were actually part of a troubling cover-up.
He said Zion stopped breathing while they were smoking pot. He was so scared and panicked that he threw her body in a dumpster instead of calling for help.
“The first thing that came to mind was how bad it looked.” How do I describe what took place? As Brazier stated, “I don’t know why she died or what killed her. A lot of ideas flashed through my mind.”
“I was reacting out of pure fear.” I’m not sure. I mean that I don’t do anything. To be honest, I had no idea what to do. I mean, “didn’t know what to do.”
“I was like, ‘What do I do?’ for at least 10 minutes.” What number do I call? My kids are upstairs. For about two years, we worked hard to get to this point, and now everything is coming apart.
Brazier stays in jail until his sentence hearing on June 3, 2024, in front of Judge Donald Knapp.