He never gave up
Relentless work by detective and his team nabs murderer of 23-year-old girl missing for over a decade, the case had gone cold.
“The case was growing colder,” writes Jason Anderson, a reporter with the Stockton Record. “Investigators had hit a number of dead ends. Detectives believed the body of 23-year-old Dalene Carlson was somewhere in a south county cornfield, but the pungent odor of feed corn was masking the smell of her remains from cadaver dogs. “Detective Brad Burrell of the Stockton Police Department endured many sleepless nights during his quest to capture Carlson’s killer, but he never relented. As the lead detective assigned to the case, Burrell coordinated a months-long investigation that eventually resulted in the arrest of Jason Ross Gilley, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in October.
Burrell will be honored for his efforts at the Institute of Criminal Investigation Detective Symposium in when he will receive the ICI award for investigative excellence. The award is presented to an investigator, law enforcement agency or task force that has conducted intensive and complex investigations ranging from identity theft to homicide.
Watch Det. Burrell explain how they did it.
“This is quite an honor and definitely something that should have the name of the Stockton Police Department on it instead of mine because this case was the epitome of a team effort,” Burrell said. “Quite literally, it seemed like at some point or another, we had every detective in our department working on this case in some capacity.”
Read Jason Anderson’s story.