Murder Trial Opens in Death of Detroit-Area Teen Whose Disappearance Led to Grueling Landfill Search

Defendant Jaylin Brazier, left, and his attorney, Brian Brown, right, listen as Asst. Wayne County Prosecutor Ryan Elsey questions prospective jurors during the jury selection for his murder trial in the death of his cousin Zion Foster at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Detroit. Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP

DETROIT—A man who dropped a Detroit-area teenager’s body in a dumpster “left behind a trail of digital evidence” implicating him in her death, despite a fruitless, extraordinary search to find the remains in a landfill, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

Jaylin Brazier, 25, is on trial for second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Zion Foster, whose body hasn’t been found.