Mom of woman who ‘covered for friend who dismembered missing girl, 19, and dumped body in landfill’ speaks out
THE MOTHER of a girl who attempted to mislead investigators and cover for the monster who utterly destroyed a 19-year-old girl has spoken out.
Four people are still under investigation for the grisly murder of Dystynee Avery, who was found dismembered in a landfill in Minnesota on Wednesday, April 22.
26-year-old Andrea Payne tried to cover for alleged murderer Ethan Broad, 27.
Her mother has now spoken out and says the system failed everyone involved.
With difficulties in school and overall behavior delays,
told Valley News Live that her daughter has been struggling most of her life.
However, besides tailored help in the classroom, she says not much else could be done for Andrea.
Ms Payne said: “She’s borderline. She rides the fence post and this is where the problem is. I can’t commit her. I stand back and I can’t do anything. In order for her to get help it’s gotta go through great extents.”
Payne said she tried to get her daughter help for years, pushing for Andrea to go to Prairie St. Johns, the state hospital in Jamestown, as well as various other programs in the Valley.
What happened to Dystynee Avery?
Dystynee was last seen in south Moorhead, Minnesota, on April 3 in the area of the 1300 block of 28th Ave S.
Her disappearance led investigators to suspect foul play was involved.
Moorhead Police apprehended her on-and-off-again boyfriend Ethan Broad, 27, on suspicion of second degree murder.
Broad told investigators that he killed the teenager in self-defense, dismembering her body with a saw, placing the body parts in garbage bags and throwing the bags into an apartment dumpster, according to court documents seen by KVRR.
Broad allegedly told police he was responsible for Dystynee’s death, saying another man hit her over the head with a lead pipe and cut her throat before that man and others helped Broad drag her body to his apartment garage, court documents said.
Broad also claimed he was told to cut up Dystynee’s body and dispose of the remains by dragging her body from his first-floor apartment to his garage.
He then used several saws to dismember the teen, put her remains in garbage bags and disposing of them in dumpsters at the apartment, court documents allege.
However, Payne says each time Andrea either changed her mind or she didn’t fit the criteria.
“I keep wondering how much further [I could have pushed her into getting on the programs]. Did I have to drop her off at the footstep of the door? What did I need to do? Where? I tried. I tried and I talked and I talked, but how far does the talk go?”
Payne says both Andrea and the main murder suspect, Ethan Broad, have been friends for years.
She said: “Never once did I ever, ever fear for my safety with those kids. Never.”
Payne added while she feels both are good people, neither should have been living on their own without some sort of assistance.
“There’s just a lot of things happening in that house that wasn’t stable. Something bad happened and they didn’t know what to do.”
Payne says in no way is she excusing the gruesome acts against Dystynee Avery.
“It’s horrible. No one would ever deserve that. Ever.” she said.
Rather, she says more needs to be done to prevent people like Andrea Payne and Ethan Broad from falling through the cracks, so incidents like Dystynee’s murder don’t happen again.
Payne says while she’s glad her daughter will now get the help she’s always needed, she says it’s devastating what had to happen in order for Andrea to get it
“I believe in the ‘no child left behind,’ but look what has happened!” Payne said.
Andrea Payne is currently held on a half a million dollar bond.
What was Payne's role in the murder?
Court documents say Andrea Payne admitted she had been in the apartment when Avery was killed.
Payne said she came home from work, as she was also living with Broad at the time, and said Broad and Avery were in the back bedroom. Payne says Broad later came out and said that Avery might claim he raped her.
Payne later heard Broad and Avery fighting, but said she did not get up from the couch to see what was going on.
Payne says she then heard loud thumps or strikes, and Broad soon came out and told her he hit Avery over the head with a lead pipe and had ‘cracked her skull open.’
Payne said she did not do anything to check on the victim, and soon left. When she returned several hours later, David Erno was with her.
Payne says she noticed blood on Broad’s face, and says while she was making a sandwich Broad admitted to killing Avery.
Payne did not report Avery’s death, and continued to live in the apartment with Broad.
Court documents say Payne also lied and gave misleading information to police when asked about Avery’s whereabouts.
Ethan Broad is charged with two counts of second-degree murder after court documents say he admitted to killing Avery, cutting up her body and throwing it in the garbage.
Payne, David Erno, 22 and Brandon Erbstoesser, 33, are each charged with helping Broad cover up his crimes.
Broad was previously classified as incapacitated— Spending eight years in Catholic Charities’ guardianship program until being terminated last November.
She and the other three murder suspects are set to be in court again later next month.
If convicted, Erbstoesser, Payne and Erno could spend up to 20 years in prison.
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