Lifelong prison term imposed in case

SANDPOINT — A man convicted of killing Dalene Carlson, a former Bonner County resident who relocated to California, was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole, according to The Stockton Record.

A jury in San Joaquin County found Jason Ross Gilley guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping last month. Carlson, 23, was last seen in the company of Gilley in August 2011.

Carlson’s remains were discovered in a cornfield near Escalon, Calif., two months later. Gilley became a suspect in her disappearance after video surveillance footage placed them together at a Stockton grocery store. Gilley also gave inconsistent accounts of his whereabouts leading up to Carlson’s disappearance.

Gilley, 27, was charged with murder with a kidnapping enhancement, in addition to rape. Jurors, however, acquitted him of rape, which the prosecution attributed to the deteriorated state of Carlson’s remains and a resulting lack of physical evidence, the Stockton paper reported.

Gilley pleaded not guilty and reportedly told investigators he had consensual sex with Carlson, although the state argued at trial that he killed Carlson to prevent her from accusing him of rape. Carlson was shot to death with an .22-caliber pistol, which police linked to Gilley through ballistics analysis.

Carlson’s mother, who lives in Sandpoint, did not attend Gilley’s sentencing, but wrote a letter to the court expressing her grief.

“My daughter died a horrific death. She only needed a ride home and trusted this man as a friend,” Narlene Flagg wrote.

Flagg praised prosecutors and detectives for bringing Gilley to justice and said she was too numb to feel anything, but said her daughter will be at peace.

“The support and prayers from everyone has kept me strong these past two years,” Flagg added in the letter.

The Stockton Record said it will have an expanded story on Gilley’s sentencing today.