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.