Kansas man gets 109 years for abuse and killing of toddler
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man convicted of abusing and killing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son before encasing the boy’s body in concrete in their rental home’s garage was sentenced Monday to more than 100 years in prison.
Judge Steve Ternes sentenced Stephen Bodine to 109 years and six months after telling him during the hearing in Sedgwick County district court: “Your acts were disgusting and cowardly and monstrous.”
Bodine, 41, did not address the court.
Bodine was convicted in October of first-degree murder, child abuse and other charges in the torture and killing of Evan Brewer. Prosecutors say Bodine and Evan’s mother, Miranda Miller, chained the boy in the basement and forced him to stand in a corner for hours in the months before his May 2017 death at their rental home in Wichita.
Evan’s body was found that September by the landlord, after Miller and Bodine moved out.
Miller, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges last month and is due to be sentenced in January. Her plea deal required her to testify against Bodine.
During Bodine’s trial, prosecutors presented a cache of 16,000 photos and video files collected by the couple’s home surveillance system that detailed the boy’s abuse.
Miller testified that Bodine made Evan stand against a wall for hours for not eating on May 19, 2017. When the boy collapsed, Bodine took the screaming boy into the bathroom and later came out with his wet and lifeless body. Miller said Bodine mixed bags of concrete and buried the boy’s body in it.
When Evan’s body was found, it was so badly decomposed that an autopsy couldn’t determine how he had died. He had Benadryl in his system, and Miller said she thinks Bodine sickened him in the days leading up to his death by force-feeding him large amounts of salt.
Evan’s father, Carlo Brewer, said he began seeking custody of his son after noticing signs that he had been abused, and authorities were alerted at least six times that Evan was being abused.
After the sentencing, Carlo Brewer said he was pleased with the sentence.
“We don’t have to worry about him getting out and hurting other people or children. It’s turned into a pretty good day,” he said.
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