(WWJ) – Jaylin Brazier, the cousin of missing Eastpointe teen Zion Foster, has been charged in her homicide, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday.
Foster. 17 at the time, was last seen with Brazier, 24, on January 4, 2022. After initially telling police he didn’t know where she was, Brazier eventually told officials he and the teen were smoking marijuana when she stopped breathing and he “acted off of fear” and threw her body in a dumpster.
He was sentenced to up to four years in prison for lying to police, but was released in January 2023.
While Foster’s body was never found after an extensive months-long search in a Macomb County landfill last summer, prosecutors allege Brazier killed her.
He was arrested for her murder on Tuesday, charged with second-degree murder.
“Our hearts go out to the family of Zion Foster. This case is a quintessential example of investigators and prosecutors who refused to give up on her homicide,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, per a press release. “For 18 months, investigators put together the evidence. Each piece of evidence in this case was examined and linked together.”
Brazier was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in 36th District Court. During the hearing, attorney Ryan Elsey described Brazier as a "flight risk," requesting he be remanded to jail.
"He's a danger to this community and a danger to the very integrity of this investigation," Elsey said.
Elsey said Brazier has shown a "proven track record of obstruction" throughout the investigation into Foster's disappearance, including making evidence disappear and making false statements.
Editor's note: The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office initially announced a first-degree murder charge in the case, but later issued a correction stating that the charge is second-degree murder.
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