The man accused of killing teen farmer Dylan Rounds in 2022 pleaded guilty to second degree murder on Wednesday, a lesser charge that he agreed to in exchange for giving investigators the location of the 19-year-old’s body.
James Brenner also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, KSL reported. Blair Wardle, deputy attorney for Box Elder County, told the station that he worked closely with Rounds’ parents to review the plea deal. Prosecutors say they will recommend a mandatory sentence and ask that both sentences run consecutively.
In addition to the reduced charge, prosecutors dropped charges of desecration of human remains and a third charge of possession of a firearm as well as an unrelated aggravated assault charge.
“Being able to bring Dylan home and bring this prosecution to a successful conclusion is a great relief,” Box Elder County attorney Stephen Hadfield said in a statement. “It has been amazing to see what the tireless and unrelenting efforts of so many different people can accomplish.”
Rounds was last heard from at about 7 a.m. on May 28, 2022, when he told his grandmother by phone that he was “putting the grain truck in a shelter.” His family reported him missing two days later, as CrimeOnline reported.
Investigators found a pair of Rounds’ boots during the search for him on his property, one of which contained a blood stain that was confirmed to belong to the missing man, but no sign of Rounds himself turned up.
Brenner, who was squatting on land near Rounds’ Utah farm and was named a suspect in his disappearance a month after the teen disappeared, was arrested nearly a year later and charged with his murder.
Rounds’ remains were found on April 9 in a remote area not far from the Nevada state line. Investigators declined to release any further information about the discovery at the time.
Brenner’s sentencing is scheduled for July 1, KSL said.
