The verdict read by Charleston County Coroner said, “Homicide by the hand of another, more commonly known as homicide, and so the jurors upon their oaths do say that Elijah Washington in manner and form was killed by the hands of another. If you find the hands of another, name the principles, Bryan Seabrook, if you’d be so kind. And if there were accessories, Marty Dixon.”

Jurors found 2-year-old Elijah Washington died of homicide at the hands of his grandmother’s boyfriend, Bryan Seabrook. Elijah’s grandmother, Marty Dixon, was also named as an accessory. The coroner has the power to issue arrest warrants based on these findings. The Solicitor’s office or a judge also has the power to drop these charges and not prosecute.

Mark Peper, attorney representing Seabrook, says, “I think that they will efficiently review the proceedings, realize that absolutely nothing new came of this inquest that they already didn’t have access to when they first decided to dismiss the charges. Whether they wait for us to move for dismissal in front of a judge, that’s up to Scarlett’s Office, I’m not going to guess on that. But I think it will be an efficient conclusion that will end in the same exact form and fashion that it did two years ago.”

Peper says he plans to take a case to the federal level in an effort to eliminate the use of inquests as a legal process.

News 2 reached out to solicitor Scarlet Wilson to see if she will prosecute Bryan Seabrook again, if he is arrested and charged. Solicitor Wilson responded with the same response her office gave in 2015 when they dropped the charges against Seabrook the first time.

In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office stated, “Because of the lack of evidence as to the identity of the killer, we must dismiss the charges against Bryan Seabrook.”

If Coroner Wooten does issue an arrest warrant, Solicitor Wilson will end up dropping his charges, because no new evidence or information was brought to light during the inquest.