The Young Farmer (Dylan Rounds)

Summary

Anatomy of Murder: The Young Farmer (Dylan Rounds)
Hosted by Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger
Release Date: October 15, 2024

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Introduction

In the gripping episode titled "The Young Farmer (Dylan Rounds)" of Anatomy of Murder, hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and Scott Weinberger delve deep into the tragic disappearance and subsequent murder of 19-year-old Dylan Rounds. This episode meticulously dissects the layers of the case, exploring Dylan's background, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the investigative hurdles, and the eventual pursuit of justice.

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Background of Dylan Rounds

Dylan Rounds was not just any young man; he was a passionate farmer with an unwavering dedication to agriculture from a tender age. Born in a rural Idaho community, Dylan's affinity for farming was evident early on. As Candace Cooley, Dylan's mother, recounts:

“He was the one at 5 years old that would run out and start the tractor, let it warm up, waiting for his dad or his grandpa. I mean, he knew how to do that at five years old.”
[04:00] Candace Cooley

By his teenage years, Dylan was already working alongside local farmers, gaining invaluable experience and saving money to purchase his own land. At 19, he partnered with his grandfather to acquire 640 acres in Lucen, Utah—a remote area chosen to avoid the encroachment of modern development, which Dylan vehemently opposed.

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Disappearance and Initial Search

On May 28, 2022, Dylan embarked on planting his first crop in Lucen. His enthusiasm was palpable, especially when he reported to his grandmother that unexpected rain had blessed his freshly planted seeds.

“I just finished planting my crop at midnight that night and it started raining. And that in that desert, to have rain on fresh seed is just amazing.”
[07:55] Candace Cooley

However, the following day, Dylan failed to return. Attempts to reach him went unanswered, marking the beginning of a frantic search:

“Somebody was always in consistent contact with Dylan. It wasn't always the same person on a daily basis, but somebody was always in contact.”
[09:18] Candace Cooley

Initial searches yielded a shocking discovery: Dylan's boots behind a dirt pile near his abandoned truck, stained with what appeared to be blood.

“We saw Dylan's boots... we knew instantly something bad had happened.”
[14:53] Candace Cooley

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Suspicion Falls on James Brenner

Investigations quickly pointed towards James Brenner, a farmhand with a dubious criminal background. Brenner's behavior raised red flags, especially his unsettling comment about Dylan's gun:

“He said Dylan wouldn't know what to do with his gun. All he could do is throw it at somebody.”
[11:56] Candace Cooley

Despite Brenner's initial denials, digital forensics played a pivotal role in unraveling the truth. A serendipitous recording on Dylan's phone captured Brenner cleaning a blood-stained shirt and a gun, inadvertently providing damning evidence.

“He just hit the right swipe... it was recording. And that's when he was cleaning the blood off his hands and off his shirt.”
[31:22] Candace Cooley

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Breakthrough with Video Evidence

The recovered video was a turning point in the case. It not only implicated Brenner but also provided a timeline of events leading to Dylan's murder. Despite the challenging terrain and initial reluctance from local law enforcement, the involvement of the FBI expedited the investigation.

“The FBI agent... said, I know something bad happened to your boy. I’m stepping into this, and you gotta give me some time.”
[28:20] Candace Cooley

Subsequent digital forensics mapped Brenner's movements post-murder, corroborating the evidence against him. The discovery of Dylan's remains further solidified Brenner's culpability.

“Dylan had been shot twice in the head... He executed our son, and the video caught him. If it wasn't for that video, we wouldn't have had anything.”
[38:18] Candace Cooley

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Legal Proceedings and Aftermath

James Brenner faced multiple charges, including aggravated murder and federal gun charges. A controversial plea bargain led to his sentencing, where he received a significantly lighter sentence for Dylan's murder compared to his gun-related offenses.

“He serves more time for having the guns that he used to murder my son than he does for murdering my son.”
[41:00] Candace Cooley

The family's fight for justice highlighted systemic issues within the legal framework, sparking broader conversations about prosecutorial decisions and plea bargains in criminal cases.

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Family Advocacy and Legacy

In the wake of Dylan's tragic death, his family founded Dylan's Legacy, an organization dedicated to supporting families affected by disappearances and advocating for policy changes to improve investigative processes. Candace Cooley emphasizes the importance of their mission:

“I feel very strongly about trying to make sure other parents don't fall victim to what we did.”
[43:03] Candace Cooley

Through planting sunflowers—a flower symbolizing loyalty, hope, and inner strength—in Dylan's memory, the family seeks to inspire resilience and community support.

“On my darker days, seeing an open sunflower has given me the reminder that I can get past the roughest times and keep helping others the way my son would want.”
[46:20] Anna Segan Nicolasi

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Conclusion

"The Young Farmer (Dylan Rounds)" serves as a poignant exploration of loss, resilience, and the quest for justice. Through meticulous storytelling and impactful interviews, Anatomy of Murder not only recounts a harrowing tale but also underscores the enduring spirit of a family determined to honor their son's legacy.

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Notable Quotes:

• “He executed our son, and the video caught him. If it wasn't for that video, we wouldn't have had anything.”
  —Candace Cooley [38:18]

• “I am working very heavily with Utah legislatures... Something has to come out of this.”
  —Candace Cooley [43:34]

• “He serves more time for having the guns that he used to murder my son than he does for murdering my son.”
  —Candace Cooley [41:00]

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the heart-wrenching journey of Dylan Rounds and his family's pursuit of justice, offering listeners an in-depth understanding of the complexities involved in unraveling such a tragic case.

Transcript

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[Scott Weinberger]

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[Candace Cooley]

He picked up his phone and he just hit the right swipe that when he walked into his camper and laid the phone down, it was recording. And that's when he was cleaning the blood off his hands and off his shirt. He executed our son and the video caught him. If it wasn't for that video, we wouldn't have had anything.

[Scott Weinberger]

I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

I'm Anna Segan Nicolasi, former New York City Homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's true conviction.

[Scott Weinberger]

And this is Anatomy of Murder.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

One of the great joys of parenting is watching kids grow to nurture them from helpless babies to inquisitive children and eventually strong and healthy young adults.

[Scott Weinberger]

And that also points to one of the central ironies of parenting too. That as a mom or a dad, your job is to provide your kids the tools and lessons they need to become independent, self sufficient humans, only to then watch them use those very tools to leave the nest and strike out on their own.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But that deep impulse to keep them safe, that never goes away.

[Scott Weinberger]

And it's why the loss of a child can be so particularly painful. But the murder of a child, that's a pain no parent should ever have to endure.

[Candace Cooley]

The funny story about Dylan is when he was born, he was supposed to be a girl. Every ultrasound, all six of them said Dylan was a girl until the day he came out.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But as it turns out, Dylan Rounds was the first son of Candace Cooley and her then husband, Justin Rounds. And from a very young age, he knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up.

[Candace Cooley]

He just latched onto farming. And I know so many people think that's crazy, but that kid, we had a big bay window, as father and I did in our house, he would sit and eat his oatmeal and wait for either his dad or grandpa to come pick him up to go farming. He would be the one at 5 years old that would run out and start the tractor, let it warm up, waiting for his dad or his grandpa. I mean, he knew how to do that at five years old.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ever since he was a little boy growing up in rural Idaho, Dylan was fascinated with planting gardens and growing flowers and his own food. And according to his mom, there was never a doubt that he would one day make a great farmer.

[Candace Cooley]

Dylan just absolutely latched onto it. You couldn't keep him away from planting and digging. You just couldn't. Farming was his passion. He could grow anything.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

And when you know what you want to do with the rest of your life, well, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. And so by the time Dylan was a teenager, he was already working for other local farmers, baling hay, hauling sugar beets in his truck, and saving up enough money to buy his own farm.

[Candace Cooley]

When Dylan was almost 16 was the first time he heard about this Lucent, Utah area through another guy that he was farming for. So my current husband, him and Dylan went out and looked at it incredibly.

[Scott Weinberger]

When Dylan was barely out of high school, he Partnered with his grandfather and purchased 640 acres of uncultivated land in Lucyn, Utah, A remote and semi desert area in the northwestern tip of the Beehive State near the Nevada border.

[Candace Cooley]

It was somewhere he could afford farm ground. He couldn't afford to pay 10, $15,000 an acre here, like where we're at, but he could afford to pay three or four hundred dollars an acre with the water rights. And that's why he chose to go. Where he went is because he would never have competition with housing developments or commercial development. Like he would just be the farmer out there, left alone by modern day development. And Dylan didn't like modern day development. He didn't like seeing farms get developed. He could not stand that. So he went to a place where he knew it would never happen.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

With the help of friends and some hired hands, Dylan spent two summers painstakingly clearing sagebrush and prepping the soil of his new homestead while living in an RV on the property.

[Candace Cooley]

The farm that he lived on was like 120 acres. And then there was other parcels of land everywhere, probably 1,000 acres total.

[Scott Weinberger]

The work was sun up to sundown, not exactly the dream job of a typical American teenager. And it often required Dylan to spend long stretches of time alone in his truck or working in remote corners of his large property.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But like many of us, his phone was his lifeline. And according to Candace and his dad, Justin, Dylan stayed in constant touch with his family.

[Candace Cooley]

I would see him at least once a week and talk to him every couple days. He was in contact with all of us. My mom, my dad, Justin's parents, Justin himself.

[Scott Weinberger]

By the spring of 2022, at only 19 years old, Dylan was ready to plant his first crop. A variety of grain called triticale and that is sold as cattle feed.

[Candace Cooley]

So he got back to Lucen on it would have been May 27 and he planted all day long.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

You can just imagine the excitement and nerves he must have felt as he embarked on his new venture. And you can also imagine the joy and relief he must have felt when he looked up and received the perfect blessing as a first time farmer.

[Candace Cooley]

He finished planting his crop at midnight that night and it started raining. And that in that desert, to have rain on fresh seed is just amazing. So he was excited. I got my whole field planted and now it's raining. I don't have to turn my pivot on. I'm gonna go put my truck in the shed with the extra seed in it so it doesn't sprout the next.

[Scott Weinberger]

Morning, which was the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend, Dylan called his grandmother to give her the good news.

[Candace Cooley]

Dylan never called unless he had a story. He always had something to tell you, was always, you'll never guess what, Mom. So that was his call to his grandma. I just finished planning at midnight and it's 7:00 in the morning and it's raining. How amazing is that? It never rains in this desert. I don't have to turn my pivot on. He was ecstatic and that's what he wanted to tell her.

[Scott Weinberger]

But as always, there was work to do. So he assured his grandmother that he would call her back later.

[Candace Cooley]

He said, I'll call you after I get my truck in the shed. He just wanted to get that little blip out of it's raining. Like, I really don't have time to talk. I'm busy. But I want you to know this. Here's my story for you.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Later that evening, Dylan's grandmother tried to reach him on his cell phone but couldn't get through. By Sunday, no one had heard from him and his family began to worry.

[Candace Cooley]

Somebody was always in consistent contact with Dylan. It wasn't always the same person on a daily basis, but somebody was always in contact.

[Scott Weinberger]

So here's a kid who's obviously self sufficient and independent, so you may be asking, what's a day or even two days of not talking to him? But as any parent or loved one will tell you, it's the break in the routine, a deviation from a pattern that gets your attention and pricks your spidey senses that maybe something is actually wrong.

[Candace Cooley]

It was May 30th. Dylan's best friend called me and he said, have you heard from Dylan? And that's when we all put together, whoa, something is wrong. Nobody has heard from Dylan and that is not normal.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

After a flurry of unsuccessful attempts to raise him on his cell phone, his mom and dad wasted no time before.

[Candace Cooley]

Jumping into action, popped up and loaded the pickup and headed to Lucen. It was that fast. I didn't even question it when I figured out none of us had talked to Dylan. And then I was able to log in to the Verizon account. See, he hadn't had any phone activity. That was it. We dropped ship and ran.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now call it a hunch, a break in Dylan's pattern, or just a mother's intuition, but something told Candace that her oldest son was in trouble.

[Candace Cooley]

We got to Park Valley, Utah, which is about 45 miles from Dylan's farm, and I told my husband, stop. I'M calling him in missing. Something is wrong. This is not Dylan's character. We called him in missing before we got to his farm.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

When they arrived at Dylan's farm, they spotted his truck parked near the RV as usual. And the seed truck was safely stored in the shed, protected from the rain, just as he had planned. But there was no sign of Dylan.

[Scott Weinberger]

They did, however, encounter a farmhand hired by Dylan that was living on the property.

[Candace Cooley]

James Brenner was squatting on the shed property, but Dylan did employ him for two years. Dylan employed him. He drove truck for Dylan. He helped on the farm. It was James. Brunner's only source of income was Dylan.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

James said that he had not seen his young boss for several days, but he wasn't exactly instilling Dylan's parents with much confidence.

[Candace Cooley]

James Berner started telling us all these wild crazy stories about how a dually pickup must have picked Dylan up or he took off this way or he took up that way.

[Scott Weinberger]

According to Candice, they asked James if Dylan had been carrying his gun, which he usually kept with him in his truck.

[Candace Cooley]

He made a very, very strange comment to us and we were the first ones there. And he said Dylan wouldn't know what to do with his gun. All he could do is throw it at somebody. So we were kind of taken aback, like what does this statement mean? And why would you even say something like that?

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Now, this is a very remote rural part of northern Utah, and the closest law enforcement agency, which was the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office, they were a few hours away on the other side of the Great Salt Lake.

[Scott Weinberger]

But while they waited for the Sheriff's office, Dylan's parents didn't just sit on their hands. And as they started looking around, they did make a few worrying observations, like.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

How Dylan's typically muddy truck appeared to have been pressure washed. And when they looked inside, it was clear that the seat had been moved forward as if to accommodate a shorter driver.

[Scott Weinberger]

They also noticed that the car was in four wheel drive, which was strange because Dylan's parents knew that the four wheel drive on Dylan's truck was broken and he never used it. I mean, these are the kind of things that a detective might not have noticed. Which just goes to show you that sometimes the best detectives may just be the people that know you the best.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

When deputies from Box Elder county did arrive, Dylan's parents were understandably sick with worry, as any parent would be. But here's the thing. Dylan was an adult. And even though he was unaccounted for, he was not in a high risk category like a senior citizen, a small child or someone who had an impairment. So from a law enforcement perspective, this was not immediately elevated to emergency status.

[Scott Weinberger]

All that being said, according to Candice, the deputy's response when they arrived was underwhelming.

[Candace Cooley]

They never asked us a single question. They never questioned us about Dylan. They just kind of stood there and shrugged their shoulders and they're like, well, he's 19 and it was Memorial Weekend. He's probably out partying. That's what we got told. And we're like, no, not our son, no way.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But if you haven't figured it out yet, Dylan's mom was not someone who took no for an answer. And before long, she had convinced the local volunteer search and rescue team to help her look for her son.

[Candace Cooley]

The Box Elder volunteers were amazing. Search and rescue got there on May 30th around 3pm it was about by 5:30 they had their little meeting and then they went out that Dylan's boots were found.

[Scott Weinberger]

The boots were discovered behind a dirt pile about two football fields south of where the grain truck was parked. And with one look at them, Dylan's parents knew something was very wrong.

[Candace Cooley]

Box Elder Search and Rescue took us over to look at the boots and I will never forget that moment. Justin, Dylan's father, and I, we looked at each other and we both seen the look on each other's faces because Dylan was so particular to his boots and he never had any other shoes and he never wore anything else and he'd wear them until they were worn out.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But now the boots were spotted with dark stains, stains that looked an awful lot like blood.

[Candace Cooley]

We knew. We knew instantly something bad, bad has happened.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But as night began to fall, deputies from the local sheriff's office collected the boots and promised to resume the search for Dylan the next day. According to canvas. They also said there was no reason yet to suspect foul play.

[Candace Cooley]

We drove to Dylan's farm, which is five miles west of the grain shed. I mean, we all slept in our pickups. Nobody left. We slept right at his camper, hoping, hey, maybe he's out there and he's going to come back.

[Scott Weinberger]

The following day, Dylan's family and volunteers meticulously combed through over 600 acres of land.

[Candace Cooley]

Search and rescue came back over early the next morning, resumed the search.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Despite the bloody boots, the abandoned truck, and Candace's gut feeling that her son was in danger, the local sheriff's office, again, according to Candace, was not ready to declare the area a potential crime scene.

[Candace Cooley]

And then they left. They left Scott. They left that day around 3:00. They left. It was us. It was us as a family.

[Scott Weinberger]

They left us, you know, anestiga. I could hear her frustration. The deputies have to make an assessment on the scene of what are the possibilities. And I believe the approach should be ruling foul play out, not just looking for obvious signs of crime. But at that moment, the responding deputies from Box Elder county felt compelled to clear the location without Any further action. And obviously, Candace did not agree with that.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

And it's always this seesaw, if you will, Right. Like, which way does that scale feel more weighted down? And as you said, Scott, it should always be looking with the eye to make sure that there isn't someone in need, someone in distress. And again, without being there and without having seen the actual case files, it's hard to say exactly the everything here, but it does seem that notwithstanding Dylan's age, there was definitely info here that seemed problematic, for sure.

[Scott Weinberger]

Yeah. And you mentioned it clearly right there. You know, he didn't have his truck. He didn't have his phone. And those are the two things right off the bat that Candace in her mind, that she knew her son so well, why wouldn't he either have his truck or have his phone? So clearly those are the things that she was trying to express to those deputies on scene in the very early hours of this investigation.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

So the next day, Candace approached deputies at the neighboring Weber county sheriff's office and asked if they would help organize a larger public search using friends and citizen volunteers.

[Candace Cooley]

So the fourth and the fifth, which was a Saturday and Sunday of June, I bet you we had over 300 people searching.

[Scott Weinberger]

Dylan was well liked and well known in his community, and word of his disappearance had spread. And by Sunday, people from all over the greater Twin Falls area had come together to help their neighbors in need.

[Candace Cooley]

We had Nate Eatin with East Idaho News, Fox 13, Emily, KSL. You know, all of our local guys out here, they were covering it. And we put a big thing up on Facebook and said, hey, please help us come find Dylan. And people showed up in waves.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But once again, according to Candice, the efforts of the local sheriff's office fell short.

[Candace Cooley]

They sent out one deputy. I asked the deputy, when are you guys going to resume the search for my son? What the heck is going on? And I was told your son's case will resume over a zoom meeting on Monday. This was a Saturday. Let's just say I had a few choice words with him, and he ended up leaving because of how I treated him. And that was it. We were left out there with 300 people. No. No help organizing, nothing. They left. They literally left us in that desert with no help.

[Scott Weinberger]

By the end of the weekend, there was still no sign of their son. So Dylan's family decided to offer a substantial reward for information of his possible whereabouts.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

As the days turned to weeks, that Reward increased from 20,000 to as much as $200,000. But while the reward generated a lot of phone calls to police. It also came with its fair share of false leads and false hope.

[Candace Cooley]

Everything you can imagine. So it started out that Dylan was in a gay vigilante group. Then it was just a vigilante group. Then he was held hostage. Once you put a reward out publicly, that's when you start getting all of this garbage. And these trolls that surf facebook and everything, they're just waiting for the next sucker.

[Scott Weinberger]

But as a parent of a lost child, Candace really had no choice but to want to believe and want to follow up on every tip, no matter how outlandish it could be.

[Candace Cooley]

Because when you're in the worst, the absolute worst moments of your life Trying to find your missing child, you grasp everything.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Dylan's family took on a relentless role in spearheading the search efforts for their son, but they were also frustrated, as many parents of potential victims can be, with the pace of law enforcement efforts, and, in this case, the hesitancy to elevate Dylan's missing person report To a potential violent crime.

[Candace Cooley]

I mean, like, at that point, it was such a kick to the gut, Seeing Dylan's boots, that we're thinking, they're gonna do their job. In all honesty, in a missing person's case and how Dylan's evolved as parents, we were never questioned. We weren't asked about our whereabouts. Family wasn't. Locals weren't. Nobody was. They literally questioned nobody.

[Scott Weinberger]

And the truth was that Candace did have a reason to believe that her son had potentially met with foul play, because just a few days before he went missing, Dylan had told her about a strange encounter he had had recently with a hitchhiker out on the road right near his farm.

[Candace Cooley]

So Dylan calls me, and it's one of dylan's famous words, hey, mom, you'll never guess what happened. So I ask him, okay, what? So he describes this situation where this kid comes running out of the desert. This. He's been beat up. He doesn't have any shoes on.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Dylan recounted to his mom how a bedraggled man had asked Dylan for a ride into montello, the nearest town. But feeling uneasy about this man's appearance and motives, Dylan told his mom that he didn't give the man a ride, Offering the use of his cell phone.

[Scott Weinberger]

Instead, which, in that situation, was likely the right move. But candace couldn't help but think that maybe this unidentified hitchhiker had somehow repaid what he perceived as a slight with violence.

[Candace Cooley]

And then three days later, Dylan shows up missing with no boots. And he didn't give this guy a ride out of the desert with no shoes on. So it's clicking in my head like, no shoes, no boots. Was it payback? Was it retaliation? Like, I didn't know.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Her fear only intensified when the man was later identified as Chase Venstra, A man with a lengthy criminal history, including a 2016 incident that resulted in a 10 hour standoff with police.

[Candace Cooley]

And everybody's like, oh, it was Chase. It was Chase. It was Chase. So we put out on Facebook a $5,000 reward for. For finding Chase Venstra.

[Scott Weinberger]

Soon after Venstra was identified, Dylan's family even received a tip from a concerned citizen claiming that Venstra was holding Dylan and another individual in a specific location in Montello. So local sheriffs, in this case from Elko county, Nevada, dispatched a team to investigate.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But the tip turned out to be a false lead, Likely another hoax motivated by the substantial reward for Dylan's safe return.

[Scott Weinberger]

The next call Candice received, however, it was the real deal.

[Candace Cooley]

It was actually Chase who called me, and he's like, man, Candace, I have been trying to call box elder. I've been trying to get ahold of him. He says, I have nothing to do with Dylan's disappearance. He tells me the story of the day. And the only difference between his story and Dylan's story is that Dylan did give him a ride.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Venstra's version of his encounter with Dylan was immediately checked against Dylan's phone records.

[Candace Cooley]

So the phone records match with Chase calling his dad. Everything matched. And then we find out that Dylan actually employed Chase's son a little bit.

[Scott Weinberger]

Dylan's parents were the first to drop their suspicion that Venstra had anything to do with their son's disappearance or that he had any motive to hurt him.

[Candace Cooley]

Chase had no guff with Dylan, but everybody wanted him to be the scapegoat. Blame it on Chase. Because in the town of Montello and Lucen, Chase is a bad dude. He steals guns. He runs him across the Utah, Nevada border. He comes back, he does it again. So it was a quick out that Chase has Dylan. Chase did this.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But Venstra did have unrelated felony warrants. And so a short time later, he was arrested on federal gun charges. And while it was unrelated to Dylan's disappearance, it actually had a huge impact on his case because it brought in the FBI.

[Candace Cooley]

Weber county arrested Chase. They called the FBI and said, hey, you know, he's got the federal gun charges. He's wanted from you guys. There's also this missing kid, Dylan Rounds. That's where the FBI came in.

[Scott Weinberger]

But so many questions were still unanswered, like whether the FBI's involvement would light the spark this investigation needed and how local law enforcement would respond. And most importantly, what happened to Dylan Rounds.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Dylan Rounds had encountered a bloody, shoeless chase. Venstra walking out of the desert just a few days before he went missing. What transpired between them was still a mystery.

[Scott Weinberger]

So now, with Venstra in federal custody, the FBI was pressing him about what might have happened to the missing teenager.

[Candace Cooley]

He basically gave himself up to go back to jail, to say, I didn't have anything to do with Dylan's disappearance. Like, I will go back to jail on gun charges, but you're not going to pin Dylan's disappearance on me.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

For Dylan's family, it was a frustrating setback, but one Candace saw coming. The involvement of the FBI in Dylan's case, however, proved to be a turning point in the investigation.

[Candace Cooley]

The FBI agent who started helping with Dylan's case is one of the most amazing people I've ever come into contact with. He came in and he said, look, Candace, I know something bad happened to you, boy. He says, but I'm stepping into this, and you gotta give me some time. You've got to give me some time to work through everything.

[Scott Weinberger]

And so they started from the beginning. From Dylan's call to his grandmother to the discovery of his bloody boots.

[Candace Cooley]

It was like a breath of fresh air to be like, somebody is finally listening. Dylan did not just walk away.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

And because they still didn't know exactly where the potential crime took place, they contacted Elko county in Nevada to see if they could provide reinforcements.

[Candace Cooley]

On Friday, June 10, I had a meeting with Elko county, the sheriff, the under sheriff, the lead detective, and lieutenant. So the next morning, Saturday morning, they brought their search and rescue team, who was top notch. For two days solid. We searched from daylight to almost dark. They coordinated everything. They organized everything. They gave everybody a quadrant. They were amazing.

[Scott Weinberger]

The investigation was picking up steam, culminating in finally getting a warrant to search the digital data on Dylan's cell phone.

[Candace Cooley]

So we got the warrant for Dylan's RTT data.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Rtt, or real time tower data, is not just phone records and pings from cell phones from incoming and outgoing calls. RTT data includes all the digital information from that phone, including Internet use.

[Candace Cooley]

It's not a phone ping if your TikTok's open, if your Facebook, if your Google mail. Anything that's Internet based is still consistently talking to the tower. It never stops.

[Scott Weinberger]

We always say how much we love these digital forensics, and it's an incredibly useful tool because those apps on your phone are constantly refreshing, Providing a virtual trail of breadcrumbs of location data.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Eventually, investigators were able to pinpoint the exact movement of Dylan's phone on the day he disappeared.

[Candace Cooley]

And in that, he was able to track Dylan's phone when it left the shed that morning. I mean, Dylan's phone's tracked everywhere, and then he tracked it right to where it was dumped in the pond.

[Scott Weinberger]

Miraculously, law enforcement was able to recover the phone from the pond, but it was still anyone's guess what that phone could potentially reveal.

[Candace Cooley]

The phone bounced around through multiple agencies, trying to figure out how to restore it after being in water. The phone was pulled out of the.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Water on June 18, and when investigators were finally able to power it up and download the digital data from the phone, they were astonished at what it revealed. It was a time stamped video clearly showing farmhand James Brenner in a bloodstained shirt cleaning a gun.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, let me know if you agree with this anestheica, but this might be the craziest break in a case I've ever heard. You're asking, how on earth is it possible that there's a video of Dylan's potential killer cleaning the potential murder weapon on the day that Dylan disappeared? I mean, if you're thinking that, you're not alone.

[Candace Cooley]

So you remember on that old software, if you have an iPhone, you put it in your pocket and it would take like 20 pictures or it would start videoing, or it'd make a call and you're like, you're in my pocket. You shouldn't be able to do this. When he picked up his phone and he just hit the right swipe that when he walked into his camper and laid the phone down, it was recorded. And that's when he was cleaning the blood off his hands and off his shirt.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

In other words, it was a pocket dial, an accidental recording, and it may have just solved a murder. At last, Bally Breathe has arrived. A breathable and breathtaking collection of bras, underwear, and shapewear that feel as good as they look. Bally Breathe bras are made with soft cotton, modal and beautifully soft lace with styles that offer comfort, smoothing, and support their light as air feeling. Wireless and underwire styles come in so many gorgeous colors. They also have matching sets for when you want to feel put together with no added effort. Bally Breathe revolves around you as the whole world should, but we'll deal with them later. Lots of things have evolved for the better with time and Our bras are one of them. We no longer have to compromise comfort for style. I have more than one set of Bally braids sitting in my drawer. They're breathable, beautiful and supportive. Best of all, super comfortable. You don't even know that you're wearing these and the silver satin color is really pretty. Visit ballybras.com and use code AOM BB20 for 20% off your purchase. That's B bras.com with code AOMB20 for 20% off your first order.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But now investigators had recovered a video of Brenner covered in blood and cleaning his gun on Dylan's cell phone.

[Scott Weinberger]

And so law enforcement from multiple agencies descended on Brenner's trailer in search of more incriminating evidence. What they found was ammunition and black powder associated with muzzle loading rifles. But no guns. And more importantly, no Dylan.

[Candace Cooley]

FBI comes out. Box Elder comes out. Search of his property Box Elder found evidence of black powder rifles, the caps, the wads, all that that goes with black powder.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But it didn't take law enforcement long to find out where he had likely stashed his guns with his one and only known friend, Don Haley.

[Candace Cooley]

That's when Box Elder told Don Hantley that either you can fess up the guns, Brenner Hid or you go to jail too. So he fessed up the guns.

[Scott Weinberger]

According to Hately, Brenner had stashed the guns there not long after Dylan went missing.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

And for good reason. Because Brenner was actually a wanted man with several felony warrants to his name, not to mention a criminal history that went back decades.

[Candace Cooley]

He has spent multiple time in jail for gun charges, shooting the one guy in the stomach back in Ohio. His criminal history is just extensive.

[Scott Weinberger]

The shirt Brenner was seen wearing in the cell phone video was seized and tested, eventually yielding a positive match for Dylan's blood.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

It was becoming clear that Brenner had something to do with Dylan's disappearance, maybe even his murder. But the worst part was that he should never have been anywhere near the property to begin with. He should have already been in jail.

[Candace Cooley]

It's horrible. If they would have executed their warrant when they should have, my son would be here.

[Scott Weinberger]

Brenner was eventually arrested and held not only on murder charges, but outstanding federal gun charges. And for months, his attorney negotiated for leniency using the only leverage Brenner had, the location of Dylan's body.

[Candace Cooley]

James Brenner's attorney kept coming to us, wanting a plea bargain. He wanted to serve five years for the gun charges, plead guilty to second degree homicide was self defense. Tell us where Dylan's body was and never serve a year for killing our son.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Candace and the rest of Dylan's family wanted justice and the truth. But most of all, they wanted their son back. And so, facing no other choice, they agreed to a deal that would require Brenner to confess to the murder and reveal the location of Dylan's remains.

[Candace Cooley]

So they were located in an undisclosed location, but it wasn't far away. It was part of the plea bargain with James Brenner. We'll cut this plea with you. You tell us where our son is and let us bring him home.

[Scott Weinberger]

On April 9, 2024, the box elder County Sheriff's Office announced that skeletal remains that belongs to Dylan Rounds were recovered in a remote area outside Lucen, Utah.

[Candace Cooley]

I just took a deep breath, like, okay, now we're gonna get Dylan. Now we're gonna find out what happened. Because you gotta realize at this point, we still don't know what happened. I mean, we know he shot Dylan, but we don't know where he's at, how many times he was shot. Like, we don't have that information at this point.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Still, an examination of the remains revealed the grim truth. Dylan had been shot twice in the head.

[Candace Cooley]

This is no self defense. This is no. There was a tussle. Dylan was shot once in the head with a.22 and once in the head with a.45 muzzleloader right on top, execution style. He executed our son, and the video caught him. If it wasn't for that video, we wouldn't have had anything.

[Scott Weinberger]

Digital forensics then helped map out Brenner's movements in the minutes after the murder.

[Candace Cooley]

And then Brenner disposes of Dylan's body, and then he picks the phone back up. He drives to go have a barbecue, and he dumps it in the pond.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But strangely, Brenner never thought to get rid of Dylan's boots, which, as Candace tells us, gave her a look into the dark, warped mind of a remorseless killer.

[Candace Cooley]

The only reason why Brenner kept Dylan's boots, he was the same size. He just wanted the boots. He took the boots off my son after he murdered him because he wanted them.

[Scott Weinberger]

Canis believes that Brenner was angry that Dylan had decided to park his seat truck in the grain shed. What other seeds of hate and rage were lying in weight inside James Brenner, causing him to kill and innocent and unarmed young man will remain a mystery.

[Candace Cooley]

I don't think Dylan seen what was coming. I think he got out of his truck that day. He came walking around, and I think Brenner shot him from a distance with his.22. The bullet hole went in his temple and came out behind his ear. And then it stunned Dylan, and he was probably on the ground, and James Brenner walked right up on top of him and shot him right in the top of the head. He executed him.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Brenner was not legally required to give a full accounting of his actions on that day on the farm, denying Dylan's family a chance to hear the full truth about what happened to their son. But Candace did make a request that Brenner face Dylan's family before the judge read his sentence.

[Candace Cooley]

He has no remorse. There is no remorse, and that's what I wanted people to see.

[Scott Weinberger]

In July of 2024 in Brigham City, Utah, the judge sentenced Brenner for each of the three counts to which he pleaded guilty, including the aggravated murder of Dylan Rounds.

[Candace Cooley]

So he's serving two to 15 on the gun charges for the two guns, but only one to 15 in Dylan's murder. He serves more time for having the guns that he used to murder my son than he does for murdering my son.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

But despite his light sentence, it is possible that Brenner, who was 60 at the time of his arrest, will never Again, see the light of day, and certainly not if Candace can help it.

[Candace Cooley]

We had to write our statements for the parole board. And my statement to him was, if you let this man out, he's going to be injected into your community where your wife, your kids, your family reside. He's going to have nothing or no one. He's got a violent past going back to 1986. He's going to take what he needs. And I left it at When's it going to be one of your loved ones with two bullet holes in the.

[Scott Weinberger]

Head still one to 15 years for murder. I mean, on the surface, it just doesn't seem fair first to lose a son and then to be denied the full measure of justice that he deserves.

[Candace Cooley]

Yeah, it sucks. It is unjust and it is unfair and it's not near what it needs to be. But unfortunately, that is what the law states it needs to be. And we all know you are not gonna change a law overnight.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

And so the work begins. In the time since Dylan's murder, Candace and her family have begun the tireless work of victim advocacy.

[Candace Cooley]

I cannot change what happened May 28, 2022, but I can change stuff now, and that is what I focus on.

[Scott Weinberger]

The Cooley Rounds family established an organization called Dylan's Legacy to not just honor their son's memory, but to provide support to individuals and families affected by the disappearance of a loved one and the frustrations that go along with those investigations. From small, under resourced law enforcement agencies to false tips and even dodgy private investigators that prey on desperate families.

[Candace Cooley]

I feel very strongly about trying to make sure other parents don't fall victim to what we did. You re victimized over and over and over, and a lot of people aren't strong enough to handle it, and it hurts and they just kind of crumple, and that is not fair.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Dylan's Legacy also focuses on community awareness and advocating for policy changes to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those dealing with the uncertainty of a missing or murdered family member.

[Candace Cooley]

I am working very heavily with Utah legislatures. I've had a meeting with the speaker of the House. I'm working with the Utah Homicide Survivors Coalition. I'm working with the victims advocate groups. It can't be for nothing. Something has to come out of this.

[Scott Weinberger]

And knowing what an impact Dylan's life had on the people that knew him, we have no doubt that something will.

[Candace Cooley]

It has forever changed us, no doubt, but it is not going to break us. And that's just kind of where we stand on it. Like you know, there's horrible days and there's days that I'm so busy working on cases, I kind of give Dylan a thumbs up, like, hey, thank you for letting me help these people. You never know. You just wake up each morning and you plug forward.

[Scott Weinberger]

Candice wanted me to know during our conversation that while she has found some peace in the resolution of this case, it's those moments early on in Dylan's disappearance that will forever haunt her. She was gripped by fear. Desperation consumed her every thought, hoping the phone would ring and she just hear Dylan's voice. Instead of the reassurance she needed, Candice says she was met with indifference or even doubt from the very people who are supposed to help. Every day, members of law enforcement make decisions that are easy to question. Some of those decisions are made in an instant, some made over an entire investigation. While in Dylan's case, we are not challenging those decisions. We just wanted clarity. So I personally reached out to the Box Elder Sheriff's Department and left word for the Chief Deputy. I felt it was important, based on just talking to Dylan's mom, to give the Sheriff's office an opportunity to give us that clarity on several issues. My call, my message, was not returned. A few days later, I was able to connect with the chief deputy prosecutor in Box Elder. His name is Blair Wardle. It was a very open and transparent conversation. Chief Wardle began by saying he's always had an open and frank relationship with Dylan's mom and that continues to this day. He also told me he was well aware of her criticisms about Box Elder Sheriff's Department. And while he declined to go point by point, he was willing to answer my questions. As to clarity, I wanted to know that if any decisions, or as Candace put it, lack of decisions that the Sheriff's office made during the case factored in at all in offering James Brenner a plea deal and subsequent light sentence. Chief Wardle assured me it did not.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

During Candace's interview with Scott, she talked about sunflowers. Her son Dylan loved sunflowers. She now carries that forward and has made it part of his legacy. They are planted in town and on their property. She sends sunflower seeds out to families in need. I did a little research on what sunflowers symbolize. Loyalty. A flower that can brighten someone's day. A flower that inspires hope and optimism in difficult times. And inner strength. We heard that inner strength in Candace's voice as she talks about losing her son, yet finding the strength within to keep moving forward, forward and to not let the incredible loss completely destroy her. She said that on her darker days, seeing an open sunflower has given her the reminder that she can get past the roughest times and to keep helping others the way her son would want. Dylan Round sounds like a special young man in many ways. He loved and cared for the earth, he loved his family and his love of sunflowers. And the light that flower helps bring to others will be part of his forever legacy. Next week we will be off.

[Scott Weinberger]

Anatomy of Murder is an Audio Chuck.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

Original produced and created by Weinberger Media and Frisetti Media.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ashley Flowers is Executive producer.

[Anna Segan Nicolasi]

This episode was written and produced by Walker Lamond, researched by Kate Cooper, edited by Ali Sirwa, Megan Hayward and Phil John Grande so what do you think Chuck? Do you approve?

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No, no no no.

[Candace Cooley]

Ruined it.

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