Posted on 10/22/2026 1:47:10 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A San Jose man made a tearful apology in court Wednesday morning moments before a judge sentenced him to prison for murdering his mother. Bradley “Brad” Dexter, 43, was sentenced by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena to a prison term of 25 years-to-life.
Kathleen Dexter, 73, was found deceased inside her bedroom on June 6, 2023. During a police interrogation, her son admitted to intentionally poisoning his mother’s cups of oat milk and wine with a deadly amount of fentanyl, according to court documents.
The victim’s son pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and he did not stand trial.
Leading up to the poisoning, the victim and her son were embroiled in a dispute over inheritance money and properties. Bradley Dexter’s grandparent died in 2018, and he believed he deserved a larger chunk of the inheritance, a family member told KRON4.
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Between his arrest in 2023 and guilty plea in 2026, Bradley Dexter claimed that he killed his mother for religious reasons because she was a “sinner,” said the victim’s sister, Pamela Endsley. “He never waivered from his story,” Endsley added.
Police detectives suspected that the motive was based on the inheritance money dispute, according to a police report from the San Jose Police Department.
However, at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Bradley Dexter asserted that he killed his mother because he was in a mental health crisis, experiencing “severe psychosis,” before, during, and after the murder. He also admitted that his crime was “disturbing.”
The convicted murderer stood up in the courtroom with his father, son, and aunt listening. He said, “I’m very sorry for what happened. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret my actions. I love my mom. If I could give up my own life to bring her back, I would. I’m not the person I was.”
He used a tissue to wipe tears away from his eyes.
Bradley DexterBradley Dexter’s Sept. 26, 2023 mugshot was released by the San Jose Police Department. Bradley Dexter, who attended Catholic school when he was younger, said he spent the past three years in jail dealing with “skeletons” and getting clean from drugs.
Kathleen Dexter did her best to support and help her son — even though he made death threats against her multiple times and he was addicted to drugs, the victim’s loved ones said.
The victim is remembered as a loving, devoted mother and grandmother. After she retired from working as a flight attendant, Kathleen Dexter dedicated herself to raising her grandson, Endsley said.
Bradley Dexter was living with his son and parents at their house on Utopia Place when he decided to kill his mother, court records state. She never used drugs, and after a coroner determined that fentanyl killed her, detectives classified her death as a homicide.
Kathleen Dexter’s friend, who met the victim in Bible study at their church, told the judge Wednesday that the victim’s son was constantly running into trouble and making threats against his mother. In Bible study, the victim would ask church members to pray for her son. “She always wanted to give Brad another chance,” the friend said.
A San Jose police report states that Bradley Dexter put fentanyl into his mother’s oak milk on the day of his son’s high school graduation ceremony, two weeks before the murder. After his mother recovered in a hospital, he poisoned her again by placing fentanyl in her wine, the report states. This time, she did not survive.
Judge Cena said Bradley Dexter’s statements at the sentencing hearing demonstrated he accepted responsibility for his mother’s death and showed remorse. The prosecutor thanked the defendant for pleading guilty and sparing his family from going through a murder trial.
Cena gave the defendant 1,123 days credit for time served in jail, and ordered him to report to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Bradley needs to tell the truth and admit he had PMS and the stress and irritability drove him temporarily insane.
Fentanyl would appear to be a better answer to capital punishment.
It just works.
He's got something there because it disturbs the heck out of me. He poisoned her TWICE?!? That's not an impulse killing, it's premeditated.
“Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge David Cena to a prison term of 25 years-to-life”
Brad gave his Mom the death sentence. Perhaps he has more family members to take care of. The judge gave him the opportunity.
“she was a “sinner,” he said. Well, since we are all sinners, that is not a good reason to kill someone.
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