28 October 2023 , 22:50
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A mother who kept chasing Mississippi police to find her missing son was devastated when she learned the dark truth—that the authorities had run him over themselves and covered it up for 172 days.
Bettersten Wade, 65, discovered that her missing son, Dexter Wade, 37, was struck and killed by a police car less than an hour after he'd left home. The police proceeded to cover up the killing by burying Dexter in the county morgue despite knowing his and Bettersten's relationship at the time.
The grieving mother had been imploring the Mississippi police department to find her son since March 14, which was a few days after the two had a fight causing Dexter to leave with a friend. The Jackson County police lied to her and said they couldn't find him. The grave plot in which Dexter was buried, which bore no name just "672," went unidentified for months.
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Dexter Wade, 37, was struck and killed by a police car on March 5 (Wade family)
Bettersten's brother died in 2019 after a Jackson county officer slammed him to the ground (Facebook)It was only a few weeks ago that Jackson cops told her the truth. Bettersten and her sister made the awkward trip to the Hinds County penal farm, where they were met by a sheriff's deputy and two inmates wearing jumpsuits. Once the mother arrived at the lump of dirt that housed her son, she fell to her knees and wept, according to NBC.
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“Really?” Bettersten said sounding rightfully angry and annoyed at authorities who let her worry for about seven months.
As Bettersten cried, she exclaimed: “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry," seemingly talking to Dexter. When her son disappeared in March, Bettersten was hesitant to call the police because of an incident with her brother.
In 2019, her 62-year-old brother tragically died after a callous Jackson police officer forcefully slammed him to the ground. The officer was tried and convicted on a charge of manslaughter but is currently appealing. Her family filed a lawsuit against the police on the grounds of wrongful death saying police used excessive force and shady actions in an attempt to conceal their actions. The family also claimed the officers weren't properly trained or supervised.
Dexter's body sat unidentified in the county morgue for 172 days (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The city expectedly denied the allegations saying it isn't liable for the death. The Jackson police's lawyer said they acted responsibly and lawfully during the entire altercation. A federal judge dismissed some of the family's allegations and others are currently pending in state court.
Bettersten's mother told her it was useless to call the police, implying they would do her wrong like they did before. “My mama told me, ‘They’re not going to do anything,’” Bettersten recalled. “But I had to do something to find Dexter, and I thought that was the best way.”
She was soon visited by an investigator who took her statement but nothing else. Even after Bettersten emailed two different investigators a picture of her son, she was kept in the dark. The mother said she kept in regular touch with authorities who ignored her requests to put Dexter's picture on TV.