The third week of Mark Redwine’s murder trial opened with hours of testimony about a specific investigative tool used to help find 13-year-old Dylan Redwine’s remains: the cadaver dog.

One of the most controversial “witnesses” to date after 12 days of trial is now deceased. Molly, a German shepherd trained in human remains detection, died in January 2018 at age 11, four years after she investigated the case. Molly, whose nickname was “Bitty” because she was small, was first brought to Redwine’s home in August of 2013, nine months after the boy disappeared.

Redwine, 59, is standing trial for second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in Dylan’s death. Dylan went missing in November 2012, during a court-ordered visit.

Molly’s work was the subject of hours of legal argument before trial, as public defenders John Moran and Justin Bogan fought to keep dog cadaver scent evidence out, even hiring the Innocence Project to argue the scientific reliability of the animals as a forensic tool. Judge Jeffrey Wilson ultimately decided to allow the dog scent evidence in July 2019 when he wrote, “All or nearly all of the evidence against the defendant in this case is circumstantial, and if the jury believes that the defendant intentionally misled the scent tracking dog handlers, such evidence will be very probative as to whether the defendant committed the crimes charged.”

Carren Gummin, a dog handler and the founder of Verona, Wisconsin’s Canine Search Solutions, told the jury she worked with Molly for eight to nine years in the assistance of locating 14 bodies before the animal died, including spending time investigating Dylan Redwine’s disappearance.

Gummin testified that during the investigation, Molly alerted on human remains on the first floor of Redwine’s home, “I would say there was a large source of human remains odor in my experience.” Gummin also verified that Molly alerted near Redwine’s garage, front door and on the shed behind the house.

Gummin added that Molly alerted on the back seat and driver’s side of Mark Redwine’s pickup and that the dog also signaled 12 times on Middle Mountain Road. Gummin testified that Molly had eight responses on the first day of work in that rugged terrain and four responses on the next.

Gummin said that when she first brought Molly to La Plata County, the animal was shown three evidence bags which contained various items. She said Molly signaled on two items: a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of blue jeans. Detectives then had Gummin take Molly to a vehicle impound lot for an experiment to see how she did there. At the lot, she signaled on two vehicles which Gummin said had the scent of human remains.

Gummin’s testimony was fraught with many objections from Moran, who questioned Molly’s certifications, experience in other cases and her history of false alerts. He questioned Gummin on whether the scent of human remains would be present almost a year after Dylan went missing and brought up the fact that Molly failed a certification test in 2008.

When questioned about whether cadaver dogs are reliable when it comes to blood evidence, she replied, “Blood is a sticky subject.”

Criminal defense attorney David Kaplan says dog evidence is inconsistent and unreliable despite the fact that dogs are a popular animal.

“The handlers love their dogs, but I have never seen testimony that did not suggest the dogs were responding to the desires of law enforcement rather than the scent they are told to detect,” Kaplan told The Durango Herald. “It is an inappropriate justification to conduct a search.”

Kaplan had recent experience attacking the credibility of dog scent evidence while defending Devon Erickson during Douglas County’s STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting trial last month. A Douglas County jury convicted Erickson of murder in the first degree in the 2019 shooting.

Gummin testified from Tuesday morning until Wednesday when she was excused at the mid-morning break.

When the dog handler was finally released after hours of grilling by both sides, Judge Wilson remarked, “We will take our recess. I’m sure Erin’s (Erin Grigsby, the official court reporter) fingers are having problems.”