Man found guilty in murder of Metro Detroit teen Zion Foster will serve 38-90 years
(CBS DETROIT) - A Wayne County judge sentenced Jaylin Brazier on Monday to 38-90 years in prison for the murder of his cousin, Zion Foster.
In May, Brazier was found guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Foster.
Brazier received 38-90 years in prison for second-degree murder and an additional 5-10 years for tampering with evidence, which will run consecutively.
Foster, who lived in Eastpointe, was a 17-year-old high school student when she disappeared in January 2022. Brazier admitted to leaving Foster's body in a dumpster but says he wasn't responsible for her death.
After initially lying to authorities, saying he hadn't seen his cousin for several months, Brazier says he picked Foster up at night and brought her over to his residence, where he says she died suddenly while the two were smoking marijuana.
Brazier says he panicked, and instead of calling for medical help, he put Foster's body in a dumpster after midnight.
Despite several exhaustive searches for Foster's body in a landfill, she has never been found.
Brazier pleaded no contest to lying to police in 2022 and was released after serving nearly 10 months.
"This case remains the quintessential example of investigators and prosecutors who refused to give up on her homicide. For 18 months, investigators put together the evidence. 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," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement.
The judge credited Brazier for 365 days served.
