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Mother delivers powerful statement at sentencing for cousin who lied during search for Eastpointe teen

Ciera Milton, mother of Zion Foster, speaks at sentencing for cousin Jaylin Brazier

EASTPOINTE, Mich. – An Eastpointe mother who spent weeks searching for her missing teenage daughter only to find out her cousin had thrown the girl’s body in a dumpster delivered a powerful victim impact statement Wednesday in court.

Ciera Milton, the mother of Zion Foster, spoke for about eight minutes Wednesday (March 30) during the sentencing for Jaylin Brazier, Foster’s cousin.

FULL STORY: Cousin who threw missing teen’s body in dumpster sentenced for lying to police, family

Brazier, 23, was with Foster, 17, when she was last seen Jan. 4. He was sentenced to 23 months to four years in prison because he lied about what happened for weeks and allowed Foster’s family to believe she was still out there, the court determined.

He said in court Wednesday that he and Foster were smoking marijuana when she suddenly stopped breathing. His defense argued that he threw her body in a dumpster and lied about it because he was panicking and didn’t know how to handle the situation.

“Yes, I lied, but I was not in the right state of mind,” Brazier said. “There was no way for me to prepare for a situation like that. I was scared.”

After he spoke, Milton gave her victim impact statement. You can read the statement in its entirety below, or watch it in the video at the top of this page.

You can watch the full sentencing below.


About the Author
Derick Hutchinson headshot

Derick is the Digital Executive Producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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