MAY 8, 2024
Five witnesses, including Zion Foster's mother, took the stand during the first day of testimony.
www.fox2detroit.com
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9:35 a.m. - FBI special agent George Rienerth testifies
With the jury seated and Brazier back in court, the prosecution continued its case – calling FBI special agent George Rienerth to testify.
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Brazier's phone left his home at 1:44 a.m. that day and went to the Highland Park address. It was near the lot for 6 minutes - starting at 2 a.m.
After being there for six minutes, data showed the phone taking the same route back to the home on Greenfield, where it arrived at 2:29 a.m.
Rienerth said the next day, at 1:31 p.m., the phone left the Greenfield home and went back to the parking lot, arriving at 2 p.m. Then it turned around and went back to an area on the opposite side of the Lodge Freeway from Brazier's home, arriving at 2:11 p.m.
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10:58 a.m. - Eastpointe Detective Ian Reinhold on the stand
He also obtained footage of a doorbell camera from across the street from Brazier's home in Greenfield, recorded at 11:14 p.m. – which appears to show the same the car that picked up Foster, Reinhold testified.
Two people then got out of the car and went inside the home.
The prosecutor played multiple clips throughout the night, showing the car hadn't moved until 1:41 a.m. – when the car pulled out of the driveway and was then backed into place.
At 1:50, the car pulled out of the driveway. Over the next 25 minutes, several cars passed by until 2:15 a.m. when the white car pulled back into the driveway. The next movement was 30 minutes later when the trunk of the car was opened and then closed – and then the car was backed out of the driveway.
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11:48 a.m. - Detective Brian Showers testifies
... He testified he was in Pontiac on Jan. 17, 2022, watching Brazier's vehicle. The car had been parked and police were looking for the car in an attempt to find Brazier.
After about 4 hours of waiting, Brazier left a home nearby and got into the car. Showers said police stopped him and detained him. The car was towed as part of the investigation to the Eastpointe Police lot - where it was searched two days later.
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1:00 p.m. - Jayson Chambers - FBI special agent called to testify (served a search warrant at Brazier's Detroit home on Jan. 17, 2022).
Included was a photo from the dining room table. In that photo was the alleged suicide note that police had referenced during testimony earlier on Wednesday. It was written on a cardboard box:
"I did nothing and in death I stick to that regardless of the lies being made against me. To my family Katrina, mom/dad and my siblings, I love you all more than anything in this world and I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to handle this. to my kids, Ava, Deshaun, Isaiah, daddy will always be with you and always love you."
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1:44 p.m. - Eli Bowers - FBI special agent testifies
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He said there was no evidence with ALS that prompted the need to swap for luminol in the living room – the only room he was asked to search in the home.
Under cross-examination, he said the ALS and luminol are both reliable and have been used for years in police investigations.
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2:00 p.m. - David Yount - MSP K9 unit testifies
The dog Yount trained and worked with, Jamison, is a cadaver dog within the MSP K9 unit. Yount and Jamison arrived at Brazier's home on Greenfield in January 2022. He said the dog did not indicate anything about Foster or her remains being in the home.
Yount and Jamison then searched Brazier's car at the Eastpointe Police Department. In the trunk of the car, Jamison gave an indication of human remains - but nothing was physically present.
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3:10 p.m. - Detroit Police Sgt. Shannon Jones
She testified that Brazier had his Miranda Rights read to him prior to his interview with Detroit Police on Jan. 19, 2022.
During that interview, everyone was wearing a mask due to Covid, making it difficult to hear Brazier and the police in the room with him.
Brazier admitted to police in this interview that Foster died when they were smoking weed together and that he put her body in a trash can in Highland Park.
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