in the summer of 2011 23-year-old Dalene Carlson moved from her small town in Idaho to Stockton California Sporty sociable and adventurous Dalene enjoyed snowboarding fishing camping and long walks with her dog Maddie Dene had decided to relocate to Stockton to move in with her aunt and cousin She was here for one thing and one thing only to further her career After years and years of saving up from her various restaurant jobs she had enrolled at Sanwaqin Delta College to major in child development And with just a few months to go before college started Dene was busy putting names to new faces and getting to know the area Her cousin Cesaly was always her tour guide But on August 6th 2011 Dene would venture out alone Cesaly had a fever but Dene still wanted to go out She had made some new friends already and ever the confident person she was happy to go out by herself to places she was familiar with One of those places was Finnegan's Bar and Grill which had fast become a favorite night out for her The 23-year-old got ready and said her goodbyes As she shut the door her aunt Maggie shouted to her that she needed to be home by 3:00 a. m at the absolute latest Deng agreed and walked off into the town But 3:00 a. m would soon come and go Soon it was 3:30 and then 4 Maggie was still awake and texting Dene to see if everything was okay Hoping she had slept at a friend's house Maggie tried to get some rest But with every hour that ticked by without the sound of the door opening she was waking up tossing and turning The sun soon rose along with everyone else's concern If Dalene had spent the night at a friend's house she would have found a way to charge her phone and contact people Safe to say sometimes you just know when you know and something was seriously wrong Maggie called around her daughter and niec's friends before she decided to call 911 and report Dena's missing And with this just a couple of months after she moved the 23-year-old had disappeared Unfortunately it was too early to file an official report but police logged it anyway and her family and friends started looking around the streets for her But as it went from hot and light to cool and dark there was no sign of her The following morning the police got to work Dene had asked Cesaly to take a picture of her before she left the house so Denene could look at her outfit Her dark brown hair had been down and she was wearing a black and white vest top with ripped blue denim jeans Armed with this the officers started with Den's original plan for the evening She was supposed to go to Finnegan's bar and grill with Cesily One of the managers at Finnegan's bar remembered her Dene had been there many times before and he said she had been stood outside most of the night but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary Den had picked up a ride there with a friend and once at the bar she bumped into her on-off boyfriend Jacob Evangelisti 25-year-old Jacob admitted we weren't on the best terms I purposely got there before she did She came up to me to talk to me He said the couple had got into quite a big fight 4 days before He was drunk and grabbed Den's arm as she tried to get away from him He said he had heard from people that she had been talking to a mutual friend called James Cousins And safe to say things between the pair had been far from good Jacob said they hung out with a few friends that night but were keeping their distance That was until Denene actually broke up with him He was upset and wanted to work things out but it seemed she was done Jacob maintained Dalene had left the bar before him that he didn't see if anyone was with her His story did match with employees However police said both Jacob and James cousins were persons of interest The cameras in the building showed Dalene outside for a while smoking before moving back inside at about 10 to 1 in the morning There were quite a few people around and at one point a man even put his arm around her for a moment before walking behind her in the corridor He was 25-year-old Jason Gilly another mutual friend He even lived with James cousins Dene then went back outside where she spoke to Jacob She looked animated and was moving her arms around a lot This matched what Jacob had said to them about having a heated conversation She went inside again and Jacob stayed put with a friend finishing his cigarette 3:00 a.
m Finnegan was closed and everyone had gone Dalene had somehow left without being caught on any camera as had Jacob so they didn't know what time she was there until Jacob told police that Dalene had text him saying that she was leaving the bar to go to a party at a friend's house He then had about 12 calls from her after she left the bar During one of the brief calls he heard a man's voice in the background Den said she was drinking at Jason's house Jason was Jason Gilly who lived with James Cousins Jason was the man seen putting his arm around Den and Finneigans In one text early in the morning Denene asked Jacob if she could go to his house later and he had agreed but hours passed and he didn't hear anything else falling asleep and waking up to nothing more on his phone Police next wanted to talk to Jason Gilly and James cousins Jason Gilly shared the house with his mom grandma and James who was also staying there too James was pretty upfront and to the point Yes he and Dalene had been chatting but nothing was official and they weren't in a relationship He was also quickly able to prove that he was out of Stockton on a trip something corroborated by multiple people Jason Gilly also said he couldn't help the police He said the pair had parted ways at the bar He had offered her a lift home but had to leave without her at 1:00 a. m because his grandmother had text him that his young son was sick But Jacob said Dalene told him she was drinking at Jason Gilly's house His grandma said Jason had arrived back home himself at about 1:30 a. m Jason then pointed the detectives back to Jacob and the fight he and Denene had had He actually had witnessed the whole thing and said it was pretty bad So police were really no further forward Also new tonight the search is intensifying for a Stockton woman who mysteriously disappeared after a night out 23-year-old Denene Carlson was last seen on August 7th At the start of this case three men talked to police and said they had contact with Carlson the night she disappeared We just want her home safe Carlson's cousins held a flyer displaying her photos today The family has been fraught with worry since Carlson disappeared last weekend She was last seen at Finnegan's Pub and Grill very early last Sunday morning You know I just want my family to you know have have peace and and get you know get um my aunt get her daughter home We hope there's a hope that you know we would like love to find her safe but as time progresses it looks more grim For now investigators plan to be here all afternoon And we're told that Carlson moved here from Idaho to start a new life She had plans to attend Delta College and was living with family when she disappeared Meanwhile family and friends were working hard to raise some money managing to get $1,000 together to add to the Crimestoppers already $1,000 reward for information A local semi-pro football team wanted to host a game and raffle to raise more money and everyone was out giving out flyers and searching but things were really not looking good friends said "Having to talk your brain out of every single possible scenario is exhausting and scary The not knowing trying to connect the dots that may or may not exist creating lines to read in between to maybe figure something out is all consuming But when someone is missing your mind is constantly going at a million miles an [Music] hour.
" Unfortunately investigators had exhausted all of their leads from Finneans so they had to move elsewhere going from business to business in the area asking for any and all camera footage They finally got a lead from a 24-hour food vest store At 1:30 a. m the camera showed Dene and a man buying some alcohol in [Music] there It was Jason Gilly the same man that had told them he had left her at the bar and hadn't seen her since The police took him in for questioning a second time because now he had been caught in a pretty big lie But they gave him a chance to come clean What time did you get home At about 1:20 1:30 When he confirmed his original story of being home at 1:30 a. m They showed him the CCTV footage We know a lot more of what's going on right Okay Wait a minute Wait wait wait wait wait I left the bar with Den to Food for Jason then suddenly remembered that he had gone to buy some Jerger with Denene at Food for Less but he said he had dropped her back off at Finnegan's before heading home Detectives could tell there was definitely more to his story And as they pressed him more he started getting tearary Jason let's make it better Let's make it better right now Okay Did you guys have sex No Jason Jason what were you Jason we had sex and we we hang out for a little bit more and we should want to go home He admitted that they had gone to his house where they had had consensual sex but he said she was angry after and seemed to regret sleeping with him so she decided to walk home He followed her in his car picked her up and drove her 40 mi south dropping her off at a random place at her request and then getting gas He said he felt horrible about his decision and as the days passed the more worried he became knowing he was seemingly the last person to see her he had lied to protect himself The police felt in their guts that Denene was dead and they bluntly came out and asked Jason where her body was Where are we going to find her body Help us find her Her family deserves it too She has a special Jason Don't do this please Really It was here just as they felt they might be getting somewhere Jason asked for a lawyer Investigators arrested 25-year-old Jason Gilly for kidnapping and holding Denene against her will They did not have enough for a murder charge Jason was denying everything His mom was adamant that he was innocent and Jason's family would then say that in fact Dene was at the house with Jason but she left alive and well Sunday morning Another contradiction Although Jason was now the only suspect in her disappearance he walked out of custody after prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to press charges against him for kidnap The prosecutor said "It doesn't matter how strong your gut is You have to be able to prove something So the police needed more They needed to find a out of jail Jason said he had basically been caught up in a bad situation but he was not a bad person It was wrong place wrong time and yes it looked a certain way but it didn't mean it was that way Gilly told KC3 earlier this week that Carlson was at his home in those early morning hours Sunday but left on her own He spoke to the media and said "It's been a rough few days I'm trying to recuperate right now I hope they find her okay I wish they would find the facts first before they arrest somebody They've been interrogating my mom my grandma everybody All fingers are pointing at me I understand Why would I be charged with kidnapping when I'm totally not that person I'd never hurt myself or anybody Everybody that knows me knows that CCTV from a 7-Eleven showed that at 11:00 a.
m the following morning he had topped up the gas in his car Whilst in the 7-Eleven he was seen wiping his arms and shirt and further enhancement on the footage showed he was covered in dirt They then focused their attention on searching new areas including parts of the Calaveris River commonly used as a dumping ground for all kinds of things This area was particularly muddy and overgrown and it was just a few blocks from Jason's house Stockton police out on the Calaveris River searching for any signs of a woman who disappeared more than a week and a half ago This is exclusive video from Live Copter 3HD right over the search 23-year-old Den Carlson hasn't been seen or heard from since August 7th Police aren't saying at this point what led them to the Calaveris River The search is taking place just north of the University of Pacific campus That location just about 2 miles from the Food for Less grocery store where she was last seen and just two blocks from the home of a man who was initially arrested in her disappearance 25-year-old Jason Kelly of course remember was arrested this week He was arrested on Monday on charges of false imprisonment and kidnapping Now he was released again on Wednesday afternoon but police say he's still a person of interest Newly released documents show that police believe Jason Gilly has been lying to them since the first time they questioned him The documents show that Gilly first told officers he wasn't with Dalen Carlson the night she disappeared But former boyfriend Jacob Evangelista told police that at 5 Sunday morning he received a text message Den said she was at Jason's house drinking but that she would be leaving soon to come to his house This was the last time Jacob has seen or spoken with Dene Gilly later said he and Delene went to his home had sex and then an argument ensued but he gave her a ride The report states that Jason got on the crossdown freeway and then south on Highway 99 for approximately 40 minutes until stopping at an unknown location where he claims he let Dalene out of the car And for the first time we are hearing Dalen's phone sent a text message late Sunday morning At about 11:25 Sunday morning Gilly's roommate received a text saying Dalene said she was somewhere on Country Club and that her phone was dying James said he did not know if it was Dalene that was sending these messages only that they were coming from her phone Text message is just that It's texts that come to you Uh but who's sending that It could be sent from anybody Anybody could have had control of that phone and been sending those messages Search for Denene Carlson has now lasted more than 7 weeks Here's a look back Dene was last seen August 7th leaving Finnegan's pub Then August 15th police arrested 25-year-old Jason Gilly who was seen leaving with Carlson the night she disappeared Two days later Gilly was released after the DA decided not to file criminal charges because of lack of evidence And then on August 18th search crews looking for Dalene found a flip-flop that may have belonged to her in the Calveris River Holding out help but fearing the worst The family of a missing woman from Stockton spoke to KC 3 giving their perspective about the discovery of a body yesterday in rural Sanwaqin County and the chance it is their missing loved one 2 months after she went missing a farm worker in a cornfield would find Dalene Her body was so badly decomposed it was virtually just her skeleton She was naked and had been shot five times from behind One bullet was to the back of her head and two had hit her in the back It appeared she was clutching her head as she fell and it looked like an execution style killing with her having been on her knees and facing away from the gun A black bra was located near her body And a few days later her jeans were discovered 6 miles away From a missing person's case to a murder mystery We have this new at 5 tonight We now know the body of a woman found this weekend in a Sanwaqin County cornfield has been identified as Dene Carlson We continue to follow this incoming information in this case out of Stockton KC3's Rich Iber joins us now from the police department So Rich what's next now in this murder investigation Well the identification of Daly Carlson was made through her dental records and now investigators will have to see how she was killed and link that with any evidence that may lead to her killer Couldn't believe that everything happened the way it did Uh I thought that she'd turn up somewhere Glad the family can get some closure finally but uh wish it was under different circumstances Police said that there were huge inconsistencies in Jason's statements and despite what his grandma said his alibi had now been picked apart She would later admit to lying to police to protect him They also got a call from someone else close to Jason saying they knew he owned a gun And sure enough the casings found at the crime scene matched that very gun Cell phone tower data put the pair of them together in the area she was found in and authorities were confident that Jason had been using Den's phone to send messages to people after she was dead Den's aunt said "I can't conceive why someone would do it to somebody who just wanted to be a friend She wanted people to like her She loved people She was a little social magnet you know I can't understand why I honestly think he probably advanced himself and she probably refused it The prosecutor added that based off of all of the evidence they had Jason had convinced Ailen to go to his house after stopping for some alcohol possibly offering to drive her home after But when they got to his house things took a quick and dark turn They believe he raped her grabbed his gun forced her back into his car and drove her to the cornfield where he shot her to death According to text messages it appeared Jason had spoken to Dalene far more than had been let on In a 3-day span he had sent her 200 texts the final few being on the same day she was last seen The messages had become more demanding and sexual including incessant requests for her underwear and photographs of her naked Dene would either try to laugh them off and ignore them or just dismiss him outright He had a real fixation with her and authorities said the only possible motive for wanting her dead would be because he sexually assaulted her and he knew she would report him The prosecutor said he killed her because he raped her and he didn't want that information to get out Why bring the gun to take her home Because you were never going to take her What was going through her head when she was being marched in that cornfield The defendant had Den strip and kneel down with her hands behind her head The prosecution's case was now as strong as it could be and they had more than 1,000 pages of evidence and that was without the phone records Jason Gilly was charged with the kidnap rape and murder of Dalen Carlson We're learning more information tonight about the death of a Stockton woman and the evidence against the man accused of killing her KC3's Melinda Mesa was in court for the second day of hearings to look at the evidence against Jason Gilly Well court just wrapped up a short time ago on this day two of Jason Gilly's preliminary hearing Now it's up to a judge to decide if there's enough evidence in this case to go to trial Gilly is accused of murder rape and and kidnapping of Den Carlson Because of the special circumstances of the kidnapping and rape it made him eligible for California's capital punishment However back in February 2006 the execution of condemned inmate Michael Morales was temporarily suspended because of his defense claims that California's administration of the lethal injection would subject him to an unnecessary risk of excessive pain and thus it would violate the ETH amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment Morales had been on death row since 1983 for the kidnap rape and murder of Terry Winchell This had flowed into other capital punishment cases and the DA announced they would not be seeking the death penalty but they were pushing for life without parole given the level of premeditation His former best friend Robert Cousin said he was disgusted and had completely written him out of his life When things in the media were tough Robert let him stay at his house to get away from it all Everyone had defended him so much because of how adamant he was that he had nothing to do with it 23-y old innocent woman she didn't deserve to die the way she did at all So why'd you come down here today To be honest I want to watch this step by step I want to see this man go down for what he did to that girl I got a 5-year-old daughter at home so I don't feel any sympathy for him or his family anybody alive harm anybody that helped him out I don't feel sorry for you How did you know MrGilly I've known him for 20 years was my best friend His story's changed so many times I mean I don't see how people could sit back and look like if this guy's innocent why is he continuing to lie Did you have any interaction with him after Den went missing Yes Describe that Uh he was uh I been he had been staying my house for a couple weeks you know just to get away from it all People coming by his house bugging him you know 20 years I you know was trying to help him out How was his demeanor Cool calm and collected Really He wasn't worried That's what the eerie part is just cool calm and collected Was it worried Not at all It didn't seem like it at all Sat him down one night and I asked him "Did you have anything to do with it Do you know what happened to her? " He said "No I don't know what happened to her.
