Mom Who Spent 7 Months Searching for Missing Son Learns Police Killed and Buried Him Without Telling Her​

On March 14, Bettersten contacted the Jackson Police Department, to report that her son was missing. This call was particularly challenging for Bettersten because her 62-year-old brother was killed after a member of the same police department slammed him into the ground. The police officer was convicted of manslaughter and Bettersten’s family was in the midst of a legal battle with the Jackson Police Department.

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She later learned that Dexter was struck and killed by the off-duty corporal only an hour after he left home. The corporal contacted the police but was not given a field sobriety test or cited for any traffic violations, according to NBC News. The death was ruled an accident.
Elliot subsequently was able to confirm Dexter’s identity, through fingerprints, and forwarded the case to the Jackson Police Department – giving them an address and a phone number. He forwarded the case on March 9 – days before Bettersten contacted the police about her missing son.

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Dexter was buried on July 14, in a pauper's field, and the investigator assigned to his missing persons case retired at the end of July. A new investigator was assigned to the case on August 13. Within two weeks, she was able to inform Bettersten about what had happened to Dexter.

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Now she is left wondering if the police response was related to her brother’s death.

“Maybe it was a vendetta. Maybe they buried my son to get back at me.”

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