On June 6, an elderly adult female lay deceased in her residence in the 1100 block of Utopia Place, San Jose. Initially, the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office had withheld the victim's death classification, but on July 18, it was determined to be a homicide, specifically, intentional fentanyl poisoning, according to the San Jose Police Department (SJPD). The case, now designated as the city's 28th homicide of 2023, evolved into a series of investigations with potentially far-reaching consequences.
In the midst of probing for the suspect responsible for the poisoning, SJPD Homicide Detectives soon came across Bradley Dexter, the son of the deceased victim. This newfound information only served to escalate the gravity of the suspect's actions. It was later determined that, on September 22, Dexter attacked his adult father, hospitalizing him with severe injuries, per the SJPD report. Detectives were successful in obtaining an arrest warrant for Dexter on charges of elder abuse and felony assault.
On September 25, patrol officers located and arrested Dexter in the city of San Jose. He was subsequently booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on multiple charges, including homicide, poisoning, and two counts of elder abuse, as reported by the SJPD.
The motive and circumstances surrounding the incident continue to be investigated.
