LUCIN, UTAH: James Brenner, 59, is the only suspect in the disappearance of 20-year-old Dylan Rounds, who went missing from his farm in Lucin, Utah, on May 28, 2022.
Brenner was squatting on the property and has a violent criminal history. He was arrested in June 2022 and charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body along with other firearms charges.
In March 2023, Box Elder County Attorney Blair Wardle confirmed Brenner as the suspect in the case. He was booked into the Weber County Jail in Ogden on federal charges.
The trial continues to this day, almost 500 days after Dylan's disappearance, and Brennar is yet to be convicted.
Investigation into Dylan Rounds' disappearance
Candice Cooley, Dylan's mother, expressed her frustration about the way the Box Elder police force handled the investigation in an interview with The US Sun.
She said that she found the incompetence of the officers unbelievable, and strongly claimed that her son was "literally under our feet" before he was allegedly moved by the killer.
Dylan's boots, which appeared bloodied, were found near the area where Brenner was living at the time. His cell phone was later discovered at the bottom of a nearby pond.
Brenner and Dylan knew each other. Candice fears they became embroiled in an argument that might have resulted in Dylan being shot.
In a letter sent to the Sheriff's Office in August 2022, Candice complained about Dylan's disappearance not being reported to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) until four weeks after he vanished.
New DNA evidence was found recently by trained dogs and is being examined to bring the case to a possible conclusion.
Another preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for October 2, has been moved to November 13.
Candice Cooley distressed by slow progress of case
"I understand our judicial system is slow," said Candice.
"But no arraignment in seven months is just unacceptable. If nothing happens with this next hearing I will push for a change of venue. The process has to move. Something has to happen," she added.
Other complaints from Candice include why Brenner was given two attorneys. "By law, he shouldn't get two attorneys, it's not capital murder and it's not the death penalty," she said.
Besides, she can't comprehend why it took so long for sniffer dogs to be unleashed around the area where it is believed Dylan was last seen.
