Jaylin Brazier sentenced to 38-90 years in prison for the murder of his cousin

DETROIT (WWJ) A Detroit man has been sentenced to 38 to 90 years in prison for the alleged murder of his teenage cousin, Zion Foster.

Last month, after deliberating for just an hour, a jury found Jaylin Brazier guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the alleged death of her cousin. Foster was just 17 years old the last time her mother, Ciera Milton, saw her at their Eastpointe home in January 2022.

“It's extremely difficult knowing that we have to wake up every day and see her stuff, see a video pop up on her phone and know that we can't talk about that memory with her,” Milton said before the sentencing. penalty. Monday in Wayne County Circuit Court. “We don’t get a chance to laugh and joke with her.”

Brazier told investigators she died while they were smoking marijuana and taking acid at her Detroit home, and he “freaked out” and put her body in the dumpster.

Foster's body was never found, despite an extensive search of the Lenox Township (Macomb County) landfill by authorities in the summer of 2022. During opening arguments, prosecutor Ryan Elsey said that not only had Brazier “threw her away like she was trash,” but he had done it. a factory reset on his phone that erases everything.

On the other hand; Brazier's defense attorney, Brian Brown, argued that Foster and Brazier were “favorite cousins” and that all of the “bad decisions” were the result of “fear” and “panic.” The defense initially claimed she died of a seizure, which he said she had a history of, or COVID-19.

Frazier served prison time for lying to police and was indicted in August 2023.

Brazier also spoke during the sentencing: “It was said that I never wanted to apologize, that I never tried to apologize. What I said is that my apology is worthless, because it can't change him, it won't change him. »

Milton told the court that after losing his daughter, his life changed forever: “She was my firstborn, my best friend, and he stole my baby.”