THE devastated family of Dylan Rounds continues to play an agonizing waiting game in the desperate search for answers.
Mom Candice Cooley told The U.S. Sun earlier this year that she was hopeful of key suspect James Brenner finally being convicted of killing her son, who went missing on May 28 last year at the age of 19 and has never been found.
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Brenner, 59, was living on farmland in Lucin, Utah where Dylan was working and was charged with aggravated murder and abuse or desecration of a human body along with firearms charges.
He has been in custody for months, yet progress in the case has been terribly slow, and with a body yet to be discovered, Candice at least wants to see Brenner caged for his alleged crimes.
Candice has been very critical of Box Elder authorities and the lack of assistance offered in the hunt for her beloved son.
She was hoping a court case would start before the end of the year after a hearing slated for October was moved to November.
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But the Rounds family was informed last week that, because of a scheduling conflict with one of Brenner's defense attorneys, the preliminary hearing won't start until May.
Candice wants action now - but knows with a date now set in stone, there is at least some light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
They feared the judge would stall the case yet again but Candice, who has fought tirelessly for answers, told The U.S. Sun: "Yes, it's disappointing it takes that long, and it's actually because of the attorney's schedule but it's not another continuance.
"It originally sounded like that was going to be the case but then the defense surprised us all.
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"I keep having people ask if we were worried that the dates could be held back again but that's not the case with a preliminary hearing. That's not something that can be altered."
Brenner, who was squatting on the property and has a history of violent crimes, was arrested back in June 2022 and still remains the only suspect in the heartbreaking case.
Candice believes the weight of evidence - Dylan's boots were found near Brenner's place and a cell phone was recovered from a pond - should have seen prosecutors act far quicker.
She told The U.S. Sun at Crimecon in September that she felt her son was "literally under our feet'' before the killer allegedly took him to a place that still remains a mystery.
Fed up at the lack of help from authorities, Candice began working with a team that owned forensic dogs, having failed to convince Box Elder cops to do it themselves.
"Everyone wanted it sooner but it's up to the judge and he said May so we just have to stick with that," she added.
"There's nothing we can do with that, we are at the mercy of the judge. To me, it's crazy to think that an attorney could be busy until May. He has two attorneys and it's only one of them who's tied up until May, but at least something is moving forward."
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