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Dexter, a San Jose man, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for spiking his mother’s drink with fentanyl and causing her death. The case involved inheritance disputes, threats of domestic violence, and long-term drug abuse.
san francisco A Santa Clara County judge sentenced a San Jose man to 25 years in prison for murdering his mother three years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.oats mixed with milk and wineFentanyl (fentanyl) caused his death. He had threatened the victim several times before and there was an inheritance dispute between the two parties.
Bradley Dexter, 43, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge David Cena last Wednesday after entering a “no contest” plea in July to a charge of murder in the June 6, 2023, death of 72-year-old Kathleen Dexter.
Deputy District Attorney Marissa McKeown said: “Kathleen was an extremely loving mother who supported her son for many years, including difficult years of drug addiction and crime. That’s why it is even more shocking that he would carry out this deadly attack on the mother who always looked after him.”
The conviction and sentencing took a lengthy process: police said that after Dexter was arrested in September 2023 for brutally beating his then-76-year-old father with a folding baton, he late in the investigation confessed to his mother’s murder during a related interrogation.
He reportedly admitted in a confession included in a “probable cause affidavit” that he had spiked his mother’s oat milk with fentanyl and later spiked her wine with the same narcotic the day before she was found unconscious in bed.
According to the San Jose police investigation, before Dexter’s confession, the grandson who found his body told detectives that he had no major health problems during his lifetime, but that three days before his death he had a sudden illness and vomited 20 times during that period. The deceased’s husband also told the police that two weeks before her death she had experienced dizziness and vomiting and was admitted to the hospital for some time.
The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a lethal dose of fentanyl, and her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators focused on Dexter as the prime suspect. According to statements from relatives and friends, the son had a dispute with his mother over the property he would inherit after her death and was suspected of stealing his mother’s Social Security benefits. Before the victim’s death, her son had threatened to kill her.
During his sentencing hearing, Bradley Dexter expressed remorse and claimed that he was struggling with severe drug addiction and a mental health crisis when he murdered his mother. Judge McCain agreed.
According to the verdict, Dexter will have to serve a minimum of 18 years in prison before being eligible to apply for parole.
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He was convicted in June 2023 of poisoning his 72-year-old mother, Kathleen Dexter. The court found that he mixed oat milk and alcohol with fentanyl, which caused his death, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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Police confirmed from the autopsy that the cause of death was a lethal dose of fentanyl combined with testimony from family members, the victim’s symptoms before death, and his confession. After his arrest, Dexter confessed to administering the poison, which became a key piece of evidence in the case.
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After deducting the three years already served, Dexter must serve at least 18 more years before being eligible for parole. The judge also considered his self-described addiction and mental health crisis.
