Mansfield woman arrested in Columbus in 2022 death of 14-year-old Abraxas runaway
Columbus police arrested a 21-year-old Mansfield woman after she reportedly admitted to disposing of the gun used in the 2022 death of a 14-year-old runaway from the Abraxas youth treatment facility near Shelby.
Justice Vereen has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records. The charges are in connection with the March 5, 2022, death of 14-year-old Brylan Butcher, who was found shot behind a home on the 300 block of South Terrace Avenue.
Vereen is accused of throwing the gun used in the shooting death into a trash can at a gas station in Tennessee, according to court records.
Butcher was found on the ground between two vehicles, according to court records. Video footage from the area showed that around 12:20 a.m. that morning, Butcher was shot by a person who left the scene in a vehicle. The court records said there was another person in the vehicle, who police allege in court records was Vereen.
An autopsy later revealed that Butcher died from a gunshot to the head.
The video from the shooting showed Vereen getting into the driver's side of the vehicle when the other suspect, who is not identified, got out of the vehicle to shoot Butcher. According to court records, Vereen then moved back to the passenger side so the other suspect could drive away.
Police spoke with Vereen, who allegedly told detectives she knew the other suspect, who is not identified in court records, was planning to shoot Butcher while the trio was trying to steal a vehicle, according to court documents.
Another witness told police the other suspect admitted to killing Butcher.
After the shooting, Vereen told detectives she had taken the handgun used in the shooting and placed it in a trash can at a gas station. The gun was found and matched to ballistic evidence from Butcher's shooting, according to court records.
The court documents show the offense of tampering with evidence, which was disposing of the handgun, in Jasper, Tennessee.
Vereen was scheduled to appear in Franklin County Municipal Court on Tuesday morning.
Teen was frequent runaway from Abraxas youth treatment center
Butcher was a frequent runaway from the Abraxas facility near Shelby, according to the Richland County sheriff's office.
Butcher ran away from the facility in Shelby on Feb. 20. Butcher previously was in foster care in Mansfield. On the same day, a vehicle was believed to have been stolen from nearby recycling business.
On Feb. 24, Richland County deputies learned that the Mansfield Police Department recovered the stolen vehicle.
Days later, on March 5, Columbus police received a 911 call from a woman who said she found a dead body in an alley between Eureka and Terrance avenues in Columbus.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police arrest Mansfield woman death of 14-year-old Abraxas runaway
