Dylan Rounds' Killer Pleads Guilty - And His Cause Of Death Finally Revealed

Dylan Rounds’ cause of death was finally revealed as the suspect charged with his murder pleaded guilty this week.

As previously reported, the 19-year-old victim went missing two years ago. Dylan last spoke with his grandmother on the phone on May 28, 2022. However, no one ever heard from or saw him again following their conversation. The police received a missing person report shortly after. For two years, investigators and family worked to find answers about what happened to the teen. And all roads seemed to point to a 60-year-old man named James Brenner being a prime suspect in Dylan’s disappearance.

See, Brenner was squatting on a property near the victim’s farm when he disappeared. The family reported Dylan experienced a “weird run-in” with the man, giving him bad vibes. Police then discovered evidence for the case next to a dirt pile near Brenner’s trailer — Dylan’s boots. The teenager’s phone was also found at the bottom of a pond. All of this made Brenner a suspect by July 2022. He was also arrested on gun charges back then.

Fast forward to March 2023, law enforcement charged Brenner with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body for Dylan’s death. They came across a video on Dylan’s phone dated from around when he went missing that “showed Brenner with blood stains on his arms and shirt as he is cleaning a gun.” That same shirt had the teen’s DNA on it. The only thing the police didn’t have to close this case? A body.

Despite an extensive search, cops were unable to find Dylan’s remains since Brenner removed and concealed it. It wasn’t until this year that he made a plea deal, agreeing to lead authorities to where he buried Dylan’s body. On April 9, law enforcement located his skeletal remains at a remote site in Northern Utah near the Nevada line. At the time, the details of the plea agreement were undisclosed. But we have a full breakdown of the deal now — including information on how Dylan died two years ago.

The Box Elder County Attorney’s Office announced in a press release that Brenner appeared in First District Court in Brigham City, Utah on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to the murder of Dylan. Prosecutors then shared in the hearing that Dylan died from a gunshot wound to the head. Awful.

What does this mean for Brenner now? Again, he made a plea deal. In exchange for revealing the location of Dylan’s remains, Brenner’s first-degree felony aggravated murder charge was reduced to second-degree felony murder. Sigh. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person. As for his second charge of desecration of human remains? That was dismissed. A third case for aggravated assault — predating and not relating to Dylan’s death — was dismissed as well.

According to the plea deal, Brenner must serve the sentences for each charge consecutively, and “prison is mandatory.” Utah State Code says a second-degree felony is punishable by up to 15 years behind bars. That being said, we won’t find out how long Brenner will be in jail until his sentencing on July 1. Box Elder County attorney Stephen Hadfield said in a statement about the case outcome:

“Being able to bring Dylan home and bring this prosecution to a successful conclusion is a great relief. It has been amazing to see what the tireless and unrelenting efforts of so many different people can accomplish. We wouldn’t be here today without each of their individual contributions.”

Watch Brenner plead guilty in court (below):

We send love and light to Dylan’s family. Hopefully, this update in the case will bring some peace to them. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Sound off in the comments.

[Image via Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department, East Idaho News/YouTube]