A woman who visited Mark Redwine in 2011 said he saw his son bleed on the living room, an area where crime scene investigators said they found blood.
DURANGO, Colo. — A former romantic interest of Mark Redwine testified that he was an “attentive” father who was “very upset” when he learned his 13-year-old son Dylan Redwine was dead.
“He loved Dylan very much, talked about him all the time,” said Karen Alexander, who lives in Bakerfield and visited Mark Redwine at his Vallecito home in 2011.
Alexander took the witness stand on Monday as a witness for Mark Redwine’s defense. He is charged with second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death for his son’s 2012 disappearance.
During her testimony, Alexander also said that she saw Dylan Redwine bleed onto the floor of Mark Redwine’s living room after he cut himself with a knife during a barbecue. This is significant because prosecution witnesses have said blood belonging to Dylan Redwine was found in this area.
RELATED: DNA expert: Dylan Redwine’s blood was found in his father’s living room
During cross-examination, Alexander conceded she had never been asked about this detail before, and had not disclosed it earlier in the investigation or when she appeared on the “Dr. Phil Show” in defense of Mark Redwine.
Dylan Redwine was last seen alive on Nov. 18, 2012 while on a court-ordered visit with his father. His partial remains were found on nearby Middle Mountain Road in June 2013. His skull wouldn’t be found farther up the mountain until 2015.
Mark Redwine was indicted in 2017, and his trial has been delayed multiple times by everything from his attorney’s arrest to the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the beginning of the fourth full week of testimony.
> Watch the video above for a recap of the prosecution’s case against Mark Redwine.
Before Alexander took the witness stand, the jury heard from two expert witnesses, including animal behavioral expert James Ha, who continued his testimony from Friday afternoon. He called into question the use of a cadaver dog by investigators.
That cadaver dog signaled the possible presence of human remains in Mark Redwine’s house and on his vehicle. It also signaled 12 times on Middle Mountain in areas where no remains were ultimately found.
Kevin Torres, a special agent for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, testified that tests for blood yielded no evidence on Mark Redwine’s vehicle. He and another witness were probed about the investigation into Dylan Redwine’s disappearance and the searches of Mark Redwine’s property.
RELATED: Here’s where a cadaver dog smelled human remains during the investigation into Dylan Redwine’s death
RELATED: Dylan Redwine suffered skull fracture, sharp force injury around time of death, expert testifies
Dr. Eric Smith, an expert in firearms and tool marks, testified about the markings found on Dylan Redwine’s skull. A prosecution witness said there was evidence of post-mortem tool marks, but Smith said his findings were inconclusive.
“I couldn’t exclude that these were produced accidentally with the environment,” he said.
The final witness who took the stand on Monday afternoon was Richard Swayze, who worked with Mark Redwine at United Pipeline. He saw Mark Redwine on Nov. 19, 2012 — the day after Dylan Redwine was last seen.
He said Mark Redwine looked “happier than I’d ever seen him” and that he was “sober, clearer and happy” than he usually would be. He said that Mark Redwine lingered at his desk and talked about at least one of his sons, which he didn’t typically do.
“He just kept talking,” Swayze said. “That’s what I found strange about the whole conversation … just seemed really strange to me.”
> 9NEWS is providing daily digital updates on the Mark Redwine trial. For all of our coverage, visit 9news.com/dylanredwine.
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