DETROIT – A murder trial continued Wednesday for a man accused of killing his teen cousin Zion Foster, who went missing from Eastpointe in 2022.
The trial of Jaylin Brazier, 24, who is charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, started Tuesday, May 7. The trial resumed the morning of Wednesday, May 15. You can follow along with the trial live on Local 4+ -- streaming in the video player above.
Brazier is accused of being responsible for the disappearance and death of 17-year-old Foster, who allegedly spent her last moments with her cousin. Foster’s family reported her missing on Jan. 10, 2022. She was last seen on Jan. 4, 2022, when she was picked up from her Eastpointe home by Brazier.
Police eventually traced Foster’s cellphone to Brazier’s home amid their investigation, leading them to Brazier.
Brazier’s first charges in this case
Within three weeks of Foster’s disappearance, police had arrested Brazier and charged him with lying to police.
Brazier initially told police that hadn’t seen his missing cousin at all, allowing authorities and family members to search for Foster for weeks. Foster’s mother said Brazier even helped search for Foster at that time.
Brazier later told police that he was smoking marijuana with Foster when she suddenly stopped breathing and died. He then admitted that he panicked and threw Foster’s body in a dumpster, but insisted that he wasn’t responsible for her death.
Prosecutors questioned in March 2022 whether Foster was really dead when allegedly thrown into the dumpster. Authorities searched for Foster’s body in a Lenox Township landfill for weeks in 2022, but were unsuccessful and called off the search in October of that year.
---> Court paints picture of how Eastpointe teen Zion Foster disappeared, where her body could be
Brazier was charged with lying to authorities during their investigation. He accepted a plea deal and was sentenced in 2022 with 23 months to 4 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2023 after serving 10 months.
Brazier now charged with murder
Despite Foster’s body never being found, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Brazier in June 2023 in connection with Foster’s death. Prosecutor Kym Worthy maintained that there was enough evidence to bring the case against Brazier, despite not having Foster’s body.
After hearing significant evidence at Brazier’s preliminary hearing in August 2023, a judge ordered Brazier to stand trial on his latest charges.
A jury was selected on Monday, May 6, 2024. Brazier’s trial was set to begin the following Tuesday.
Brazier’s attorney Brian Brown insists his client is innocent.
Brazier has already admitted to police that he didn’t think to call 911 when he noticed something was wrong with his cousin the night they were smoking marijuana together. He told police that he was scared and panicked, and not in the right state of mind because of the marijuana, and that he drove her body to a dumpster in Highland Park.
“I don’t know exactly how she passed or what caused her to pass,” Brazier previously said. “I just know one minute, she was cool, she was fine. She laid back for a minute, and next thing I know, she’s just -- she was dead. I don’t know what caused it. I did not cause it, or anything like that. I reacted stupidly off of fear and panic like I’ve never felt before in my life.”
When ordering Brazier to stand trial, Judge Kenneth King in the 36th District Court called Brazier a “sick person,” and asked why the man didn’t call for help for someone he was supposed to love.
A significant amount of evidence was expected to be revealed at Brazier’s trial. Click here to see witness testimony from Brazier’s preliminary hearing last fall.