![#DexterWade: Mississippi Mom Who Searched 7 Months For Missing Son Learns That He Was Killed By Off-Duty Cop, Buried In Unmarked Grave #DexterWade: Mississippi Mom Who Searched 7 Months For Missing Son Learns That He Was Killed By Off-Duty Cop, Buried In Unmarked Grave](https://bossip.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2023/10/16982712394692.jpg?strip=all&quality=80)
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Content warning: This story is sad, infuriating, and could be triggering for some.
On March 5 of this year, Jackson, Mississippi resident Bettersten Wade lost contact with her 37-year-old son, Dexter Wade, a father of two daughters who suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Source: Mark Thomas / Getty
Bettersen admitted that her son had been through some rough times, including run-ins with the law, drug addiction, and prison time, and after several months of frantically searching for himâ172 days to be exact, she was finally informed that he had been killed after being struck by a police car. To make matters worse, he had been buried in an unmarked grave since July and she had no absolutely no idea.Â
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NBC News reports that earlier this month she was finally taken to a pauperâs field where she walked to the mounds of loosely packed dirt and stopped at grave No. 672 where her son was buried.
âIâm sorry, baby. Iâm so sorry,â Bettersen said at the unmarked grave.
So, how the hell did this happen? Well, it all started when Bettersten came home on March 5 to find a window on her home broken. She argued with Dexter about it, which resulted in him leaving the home. It was the last time she would see him alive.
On March 14, Bettersten called the Jackson Police Department to report him missing. It wasnât an easy decision and she had been advised her against it, she said. Why? Because her son was actually the second Black man in her family to be killed by a Jackson police officer.
NBC News notes that in 2019, her 62-year-old brother died after a Jackson officer slammed him to the ground. The officer was convicted of manslaughter but is appealing and the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing Jackson officers of excessive force and attempting to cover up their actions,. They also accussed the city of failing to properly train and supervise the officers. The city has denied the claims and said it isnât liable for what happened.
See, this is why we side-eye âback the blueâ enthusiasts when they say, âEverybody hates cops until they need them.â Itâs a sentiment that reeks of white privilege. For many people, especially Black people, cops are still absolutely feared and distrustedâeven when we need them.Â
Anyway, after Bettersten called the authorities, an officer showed up at her home and took a statement. That was the beginning of several monthsâagain, 172 days to be exactâof her calling the police constantly to check on her sonâs case only to be told there was no new information, reaching out on social media to anyone who may know of her sonâs whereabouts, and generally getting the run-around from every official she asked about Dexter, whose death authorities were aware of the entire time.
NBC Newsâ extensive report adds that the polie department âdid not respond to detailed questions and has not commented on or explained how it handled Dexterâs death.â
With that in mind, reporters had to piece together waht happened via a coronerâs investigator, court records and documents provided in response to public records requests: a crash report, incident reports and coronerâs office records.
The girieving mom also shared personal notes, emails, Dexterâs death certificate, a coronerâs report and case information cards provided to her by police to NBCâs Jon Schuppe.
Dexter Wade Was Struck And Killed By An Off-Duty Corporal On March 5, His Mother Was Informed Of His Death On August 24
NBC News reports that just 8 p.m. on March 5, Dexter was walking across Interstate 55, a six-lane highway, when a Jackson police SUV driven by an off-duty corporal struck him in the southbound lanes. The corporal was not given a field sobriety test or cited for any traffic violations and Dexteâs death was ruled an accident.
An investigator from the Hinds County coronerâs office responded to the scene. He did not find identification on Dexter while examining him but found a bottle of prescription medication in his pocket with his name on it, adds NBC News.
From there there are conflicting reports about what happened next.
Investigator, LaGrand Elliott reported that on March 8, he contacted the medical facility that had provided the prescription and received Betterstenâs name as Dexterâs next of kin, according to Elliottâs case notes and said he called and left a voicemail but got no response. Ms. Bettersen said she doesnât remember recieving the phone call.
The investigator went on to allegethat he passed on Bettersenâs phone number and address to the Jackson Police Departmentâs accident investigation squad so they could notify the mom about Dexter, reports NBC News.Â
One can only wonder what little effort must have been put into notifying Dexterâs family of his death when his mother, sister, children, and mother of his children spent all these months searching for him and pleading on social media for help finding his location.
Meanwhile, on April 3, just under a month after Dexterâs death, the Jackson Board of Supervisors approved the coronerâs burial request after no one had claimed his body.
It wasnât until August 24 that Bettersten finally received the news that her son was dead and she continues to wonder if the delay is connected to the case involving her late brother.
âThey had me looking for him all that time, and they knew who he was,â Bettersten told NBC News. âMaybe it was a vendetta. Maybe they buried my son to get back at me.â
To add insult to all of that injury, Bettersten had to pay the coronerâs office a $250 fee to claim Dexterâs body, and it took her several more weeks to find out where he was buried. She had to make an appointment in early October in order to finally visit where her son was laid to rest.
There is no plausible excuse that would justify how something like this could happen to anyone.
This is cruel, and hopefully, Dexterâs family will receive all the justice and compensation they deserve.