Dad of deceased boy found buried in cement fought for months to protect his son, additional court docs reveal

Recently-revealed court documents indicate the father of the boy found buried in a cement structure in Wichita, tried for months to get his son away from an alleged abusive mother and her boyfriend.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, the owner of a Wichita residence was cleaning out his rental house on 2037 South Vine on Sunday when he noticed a foul odor coming from inside a cement structure. Police later opened the structure and found the remains of a little boy, likely of 3-year-old Evan Brewer, who had been missing for months. The Wichita Medical Examiner’s Office is currently working on a positive identification, although authorities indicated that the remains found are probably Evan.

Evan’s mother, Miranda Miller, 36, and her boyfriend, 40-year-old Stephen Bodine, were previous tenants of the home. Shortly before they moved from the home, Bodine reportedly threatened the child’s father and stepmother when they came to the residence looking for him. Bodine was later arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and aggravated interference with parental custody. Miller was also arrested on suspicion of aggravated interference with parental custody.

According to KSHB, Evan’s father, Carlo Brewer, spent months prior to his son’s death trying to get assistance from the child welfare workers. He filed a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA) in May, after Miller kept the boy from him for months. Court documents indicate that the order stated that both Miller and Bodine had issues going back to 2016 with child abuse.

On the first order filed, Brewer wrote that a witness told him that Bodine once beat little Evan, “to the brink of death.” He also wrote that he told the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) numerous times that his son was being abused, yet nothing ever came of it.

Brewer wrote that Miller stopped letting him see Evan in February, after he questioned her about her aggressive and abusive nature towards children. After the confrontation, she not only allegedly refused to let Brewer see his son, but she also refused to take the child for a medical evaluation when requested by Brewer and his lawyer.

According to Wichita Police Lt. Jeff Gilmore, however, police couldn’t take lead on the abuse investigation until the order was served. Authorities tried several times to serve Miller, but she avoided them each time.

“DCF is the primary investigative agency involving the child until a protection from abuse order was served,” Gilmore said. “Using surveillance, speaking to neighbors and contacting the residents, officers were unable to locate the mother or the child.”

Bodine and Miller remain behind bars after their August 30 arrests, but so far they haven’t been charged with Evan’s death. The medical examiner is still working on the cause of death and authorities are still waiting on official confirmation that the body found was indeed Evan.

Additional Reading: 

Court docs reveal mother previously abused toddler boy found dead, sealed in concrete

Landlord finds toddler boy’s remains sealed into cement structure

The following video was taken by Carlo Brewer’s wife, who said Stephen Bodine threatened to “cut her up into pieces” before he took a hatchet and popped out her car tire. She said they went to the South Vine Street home looking for Evan when Bodine threatened them.

**WARNING** Graphic Language 

[Feature Photo: Handout]