Murder In America - EP. 134 IOWA - Kidnapped From A Sleepover: The Murder of 10 Year Old Breasia Terrell
Episode Date: November 17, 2023On July 10th 2020, ten year old Breasia Terrell mysteriously went missing during a sleepover with her half brother and his father, Henry Dinkins. Throughout the investigation, authorities found video ...surveillance of Henry driving all over Davenport that morning, including a stop a Walmart to purchase bleach. Then in March of 2021, a gruesome discovery would finally lead to murder charges. - Go to: https://www.hellofresh.com/freestate and use code statefree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
This week's episode is sponsored by Hocum, the new film that critics are calling Damian McCarthy's most unnerving horror yet.
From the director of Audity, Hocom stars Adam Scott, in a deeply monstrous horror that bloody disgusting called Pure Nightmare Fuel that holds you firmly in its grip.
Don't miss Hocom, the groundbreaking new horror from Damian McCarthy, now playing in theaters.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.
is a journey. I know this. I think we all know this. Some days feel good and other days feel
absolutely overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night. It's easy sometimes to feel like you have
to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is, nobody has all the answers. And no journey
should be taken alone. However, having someone with you to listen, to understand, and to support you
can make all the difference. I know that I'm a huge therapy advocate I've advocated for therapy
for years. And if you want to give therapy a try, BetterHelp is a great place to start. BetterHelp
to work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the U.S.
BetterHelp also does the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy
goals.
A short questionnaire helps identify your needs and preferences, and their 12-plus years of
experience and industry-leading match fulfillment rate means they typically get it right the
first time.
And something that I love is if you aren't happy with your therapist match, you can switch
to a different therapist at any time from their tailored recommendations.
I've personally used BetterHelp in the past, and I think that if you're on the edge,
if you're thinking maybe it's time to start therapy, I say just go ahead and do it. There's literally
no downside because you don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you
in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash mIA. That's betterhELP.com
slash mIA. I really love to get dressed up every once in a while when I'm going out with my
girlfriends or on a date night with Colin. But lately I've been trying to be more intentional with my
every day wear. And I found that the best options that work for me are good quality, effortless
pieces that will last me forever and they still look cute, which is why Quince has always been my
go-to. The thing I love about Quince is that all of their fabrics feel elevated. Their clothing
always fits me perfectly, and I can just throw on anything from theirs and it looks so put together,
but it's so effortless. Now that the spring season is upon us, Quince makes it so easy to
refresh your wardrobe with spring pieces that feel as good as they look. I love that they always use
premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton, and ultra-soft denim. And everything at Quince
is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They also work directly with ethical factories
and cut out the middlemen, so you're paying for quality and craftsmanship, not the brand markup.
I recently have been on the hunt for a good denim skirt.
And so I went to Quince and I ordered their stretched denim miniskirt and I am absolutely obsessed with it.
It is so cute. I've already worn it several times. I have made a ton of different outfits with it.
And I could not believe the price of it. I actually had to go back and double check it because it is such good quality.
I could not believe how affordable it was. But that's been my experience with everything I've gotten from Quince.
They are so affordable and their items are amazing. And I know that.
know you will love them too. So refresh your everyday with luxury that you'll actually use.
Head to quince.com slash America for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.
Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash America for free shipping and 365-day returns.
Quence.com slash America.
The podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover
and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
The story I have for you today is heartbreaking.
It's about a 10-year-old little girl from Davenport, Iowa, named Briae, Terrell.
In July of 2020, Briae went missing from a...
sleepover. She was staying with her half-brother and his father, and by the next morning she was gone,
never to be seen alive again. Now, Brehia was responsible and a rule follower, so everyone knew that
she did not just run away on her own free will, and she didn't. Back in 2020, I remember
hearing the news of her disappearance, and I've been following her case closely ever since.
And obviously, since we are telling her story, it didn't end in the way anyone wanted it to.
In March of 2021, Briege's body would be discovered.
And just recently, her killer was brought to justice.
But even with a conviction, this is one of those stories that keeps me up at night.
And it's a case that will make you question people's intentions.
So, this is her story.
I'm Courtney Brownen and Colin is out of town for the next couple of weeks so it's just going to be me on this one, but you're listening to Murder in America.
Briaia Terrell was born on December 4, 2009 in Davenport, Iowa.
And her mother Aisha said that from the beginning, she knew her daughter was special.
She was loving, creative, fun, carefree, and always willing to lend a helping hand.
Now, Aisha and Briaja's father wouldn't end up staying together, but a few years after she was born,
Aisha started dating another man named Henry Dinkins.
And soon enough, they found out they were pregnant with a little boy.
Now, we will refer to Briaja's half-brother as D.L.
Throughout this story.
But it's been said that Briaia was the best big sister.
She doted on her baby brother and was always willing to be able to be able to be.
to help her parents out whenever she could.
And since Briaia and D.L. were half-siblings.
His dad, Henry, was really like a father figure to Briaesia in the beginning.
He was the one who helped raise her.
But after a few years, he and Aisha's relationship would sour, and they would eventually
break up.
And sadly, from there, Henry didn't come around much.
It was sad for both D.L.
Briaa not having that father figure in their life, but they also had a big support system.
Aisha had a big family who would always step in whenever she needed help.
And because of that love and support she was surrounded with, Briaia was raised with a really
good head on her shoulders. In 2020, she was 10 years old. Her family said that she had the
cutest personality ever, a ton of friends, and her.
and she loved to express herself.
Of course, 2020 was the year that TikTok really blew up,
and Briaia loved making videos of herself.
One of her absolute favorite things to do
was learn TikTok dances with her family
and take silly videos of herself.
But she also had a serious side to her.
Her mom said that Briaesia was a rule follower through and through,
and not only did she follow the rules,
but she also enforced them.
Her mom said that any time her brother was misbehaving,
she could always expect Briaesia to run over and tattle on him,
which is just what big sisters do.
Now in June of 2020,
while the entire world was in chaos from COVID,
Aisha said that her ex-boyfriend Henry Dinkins started to come around more,
and not in a romantic way.
In fact, Henry had a different,
girlfriend at the time named Andrea Colbertson. But that summer, Henry started throwing these
neighborhood cookouts, where everyone would come eat and hang out and just come to have a good time
in the midst of the pandemic. Now, like we mentioned, for the past few years, Henry hadn't been
very involved in his son's life. So these cookouts were a way for them to reconnect. Briaia would also
come to these cookouts, and she too got to spend some time with Henry as well.
Now on July 8th, 2020, Aisha and her son D.L. were driving in their car in Davenport,
when they look out of their window and they see Henry pull into a quick shop. D.L. yells out,
look, there's my dad. He then turns to his mom and he tells her that he wishes he could see his dad more,
which is heartbreaking for a mom to hear.
Dads should be present in their kids' lives.
So Aisha decides to pull the car over so D.L. can talk to his dad.
They pull into the quick shop, get out of the car, and D.L. runs over to say hi.
From here, Aisha strikes up a conversation with Henry about how he should be more involved in his son's life.
And Henry agrees.
In fact, he even tells Aisha that D.L. can come stay with him over the weekend.
And I'm sure Aisha is thinking, great, finally he's taking an interest in his son.
So they make arrangements for Henry to pick D.L. up at her mom's house the following day.
The next morning is July 9th, 2020.
And at around 11 a.m., Henry shows up at the house to pick up D.L.
Now, something to note is that Aisha was not home at the time.
She had to go to work earlier that morning,
so her mom, Danita, answered the door.
D.L. then grabs all of his things for the weekend,
but something is on his mind.
He doesn't want to leave his big sister, Briaja.
According to their family, they were inseparable.
And the thought of leaving his big sister for an entire weekend was upsetting.
So he asks his dad if Briae could come with them, and Henry agrees.
So their grandma calls her and asks if it's okay that Briaesia goes with them, and she says it's fine.
And keep in mind, this guy was in Briaja's life for, I believe, age 2 to 5.
So it's not like he was a stranger.
He's also her half-brother's dad, so in a sense, he's family.
so Aisha ultimately let her go.
Now something I haven't yet mentioned is that Aisha had another son who was 13 years old
and he also asked to come stay with Henry that weekend,
but Henry said no to him and yes to Briaesia.
Now his reasoning for not letting the 13 year old come
was that he didn't have enough space in his car.
But that wasn't true.
There was plenty of room in the car, both in the front and back seat.
Henry just didn't want the 13-year-old to come with.
So, nonetheless, Briaesia and D.L. get into the car with Henry and take off.
After leaving their home, Henry takes the kids to his friend's house, whose name is Vincent Howard.
Apparently, there were some other kids there, so D.L. and Briaia could play with them
for the next few hours.
According to Henry, he ended up leaving the house for a bit for unknown reasons
while D.L. and Briaecia played video games.
Eventually, he came back and from there, they left to go home.
Now home at the time was at Henry's girlfriend's house,
and she lived at the Jersey Meadow Apartments, located at 2744-53rd Street, Apartment 8.
Henry did have a place of his own at an RV park in town,
but he mostly stayed with his girlfriend in her one-bedroom apartment.
On this evening, he and the kids arrived at the apartment complex,
jumped out of the car, and made their way into Unit 8.
Inside, Andrea was still on her computer working.
She worked remotely for AT&T,
and when Bria came inside degree,
her, she was fascinated with Andrea's job. According to them, Breaia was asking all sorts of questions.
She wanted to know how everything worked, and she was just being a curious little girl.
Meanwhile, her younger brother, D.L. was in the living room playing video games.
Bria's mom, Aisha, would finally get off work, and she realized that Reyesha didn't have clothes for the weekend.
So being a good mother, she runs home, packs Briaja a bag, and then runs it over to their apartment.
Once she arrived, she calls Henry to let him know she's there.
And moments later, she sees Briaja walking in her direction.
Now Aisha had their family dog with her.
So when Briaesia sees the puppy, she's so excited.
She gives it a few kisses, grabs her bag, and then tells her mom.
mom, she loves her. At this point in the night, it's raining pretty hard, so their interaction
was quick. But from here, Aisha watches as her daughter runs back to apartment 8, and she
has no idea that this would be the very last time she would ever see Briaia alive. Later that
night, Aisha goes home and takes a bath. It had been a long day, and this was the first
night in a while she didn't have her children, so she was making the most of it. A few hours
later at around 11 p.m., Ayesha receives a text from Briaja that came from Henry's phone.
It read something along the lines of, Good night, Mom, I love you. Then from here, Ayesha
drifts off to sleep. The next morning, she wasn't scheduled to work, but shortly before 8 a.m.,
she got a text from her boss asking her to come in.
And I'm sure it was the last thing Aisha wanted to do,
but in the middle of a pandemic, times were tough, so she decided to pick up the shift.
Ayesha would clock in at 8.04 a.m.,
completely unaware that her life was just minutes away from turning upside down.
At 8.08 a.m., she gets a text from Henry saying, quote,
I just woke up and Briaia is gone.
From here, Aisha starts calling him over and over again,
trying to understand what's going on, but he won't answer.
And when he finally does answer,
Henry confirms her worst nightmare.
He says that they all went to sleep and by the time they woke up,
Ria was gone.
What do you mean she's gone?
Are you fucking with me right now?
She asks.
Henry is at a loss for words.
Aisha is in hysterics.
And once she finally comes to terms with what's happening,
she's angry.
You were supposed to be watching her.
She was in your care.
You were responsible for her, she says.
The next thing out of her mouth was,
have you called the police?
To which Henry says, no, he hasn't.
But he's in the car with our son Die L,
and he's on the way to the police station now.
So from here, Aisha hangs up the phone and she calls the police herself.
After telling them the situation at hand, Aisha's boss lets her leave
and she starts making her way to the police department to meet Henry.
Except on her way there, she notices Henry's car speeding through traffic,
going in the opposite direction of the police department.
and red flags are going up everywhere.
Aisha immediately makes a U-turn,
pulls up behind him,
and starts laying on her horn.
Henry ends up pulling into a McDonald's,
and from there,
Aisha gets out of her car and confronts him.
What the hell is going on?
Where is my baby? she asks.
She then grabs her son Diell and says,
I don't want you anywhere near him
when you already lost my other baby.
And another question she has for him is, what are you doing in this part of town?
You told me you were on your way to the police station.
Now, Henry starts going on and on about how he didn't know his home address and he needed to turn back around so he could get the address.
None of it was making any sense.
Something else, Aisha noticed, was that Henry's shoes are covered in mud.
At the time, with all the trauma she was experiencing, she didn't give the muddy shoes a second thought.
However, it will come up later.
But from here, she and Henry get into their cars and Aisha follows him back to the apartment.
They also communicate with Davenport PD and an officer is sent out to meet them.
Here is that body cam footage from outside of the apartment at 8.55 a.m.
And Henry lives here?
Yeah, I guess so. It's where he told me to come.
Okay.
He don't even know how long she's even been gone.
Yeah.
After gathering information on Briaesia,
Henry walks up to the police officer with his son D.L. by his side.
What's up, Henry?
So when was the last time he was?
saw her?
She was in the house.
Yeah, when was the last time you saw?
Last night?
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
When was the last time you saw her?
She was in the bed when you went to bed last night?
Okay.
This is crazy, man.
This is like, you know what I'm saying?
I know she...
Starr for me, brother.
Yeah.
D-I-N-K-I-N-S.
Is this your home address?
No.
What's your address?
It's down by Roston Corino.
It's a guy just...
Yeah, I just know that.
You don't know your address?
Do you know your phone number?
Hell no.
I don't know that.
That's what the daughter don't.
Henry, you don't know where your daughter is.
You don't know your address and you don't know your phone number.
For real.
I'm going to be lying, but...
Well, no, it's just...
Because I don't call myself.
I know, but you got to know your number.
You got to know your address.
Okay, what was she last wearing?
In the bed.
Uh, what should have?
I want some shorts.
What color?
I'm not going to allow to.
What's her height and weight, you think?
She's a little taller than he is.
She's just tall.
Okay.
She's a little taller than that.
Okay.
What's her, what's her hair look like?
She has dredds.
Long and dreds, yeah.
Long and dred's hair?
Like shoulder length or middle of the back?
Down.
Okay.
Mid back, dreads.
Right?
Is that how we would label that?
Yes.
She had shorts on.
Does she still had a white shirt on?
She had that long shirt that she had the shirt that you gave her.
The white shirt.
All white?
All white t-shirt, yeah.
After getting the information, the officer wants to know where Henry's looked for her.
And Henry says that he hasn't asked around to any of the neighbors because he doesn't know them.
But he did drive around looking for her.
Who have you called?
who what doors have you knocked on?
I don't know these people out here.
Okay.
You know what I'm saying?
Because, but I called her.
Yep.
You what I'm saying?
Okay.
And she told me she was at work.
At first I was riding around looking.
Then me and my son started riding around looking.
Okay.
You know what I'm saying?
So how long ago did you?
Has it been an hour?
It's been a couple hours.
A couple hours?
A couple hours.
The officer then turns to Aisha.
Have we called family?
I've called everybody. I have my own go out riding around. My mom's underway out here.
We've been everywhere. We've been everywhere.
And she's going to be with a friend inside some apartment most likely.
That's why I just said. I'm still look.
We don't know anybody out here, though that's the thing.
She would have never, first of all, she would have never woke up at 8 o'clock anymore.
And she would have never, she would have never,
Guys, guys, this isn't the time to fight.
Exactly. I don't give a fuck a woman.
about you walking you lost her though.
Because you was watching her, Henry, what the thing?
But, hey.
I'm gone, sir.
Come on, Dee.
Listen to me.
Well, you guys got to, you guys got to come together right now.
This isn't a time to fight about it.
Okay.
So, well, hey, if you, how am I supposed to, what do you want me to do?
See, now, she stepped on me.
I mean, I got no pitcher.
I got no.
What do you want me to do?
What am I supposed to do?
Right.
I get it.
Henry, I get it.
All I can do is look.
I get it, Henry.
The fact that Henry is yelling at a mother whose child is missing because of him is absolutely disgusting.
And then he's playing the victim.
Like, do you see what I have to deal with?
No, obviously, Aisha is angry.
She doesn't want to be around Henry.
So it's at this time where she goes home to help her family with the search.
She also wants to grab an updated picture of her daughter.
In her mind, that's way more productive than standing in this parking lot arguing.
But once she leaves, the officer goes up to the apartment to make sure Briaesia isn't just hiding somewhere.
And she isn't.
It's also at this point where he speaks to Henry's girlfriend, Andrea, who hasn't even left the apartment.
The officer even says to her,
Are you going to come out and help us look?
No, by the time the officer looks through the apartment
and he walks back outside,
Henry Dinkins is gone.
He just left without telling anyone where he was going.
He would later be seen at his mom and sister's apartment.
And from there, he would make his way to the police station for an interview.
But it also should be noted that by the time he,
arrived at the police station, he was wearing different shoes. And while Henry is being interviewed
by police, other officers are canvassing the area around the apartment. But as the hours pass,
their hope of finding Bresia is dwindling. After speaking with her family, it's clear she did not
run away on her own free will. Like her mom said, she didn't know anyone in that part of town.
She wasn't familiar with the area.
And more than anything, Briaesia was a rule follower.
She was not the type of girl to run away.
Now, as the officers do their search of the area,
they are also looking at security cameras from nearby businesses
to see if maybe Briaesia could be seen walking around.
But when they do this, they don't see Bria.
Instead, they see Henry.
Henry's Maroon Chevy Impala driving all throughout town in the early morning hours of July
10th, 2020.
Now, by the time Henry shows up at the police station, one of the first thing the detectives
want to know is where that Impala is located.
Or rather, his girlfriend's Impala that he used all the time.
But is her car parked out front?
No.
No.
Is her, where's Kerr and Paula at?
her and Paula with my homie right now, so we're at.
They're moving around in it.
After this, the detective asks about his son and the relationship he has with Breesia.
I raised, I raised Briaja since.
How old was she?
My baby.
Okay.
And so you raised her with Aisha?
Yes.
How long were you and Aisha together for?
I like two years, but we stayed close friends.
Eventually, the detective gets Henry to walk him through what happened that night.
And Henry admits that the kids went to bed, and he did leave the apartment in the middle of the night
to go see his friend, but his friend wasn't home.
So he says he comes back and that's when he notices Bresia is missing.
But if you've ever seen a police interview, they get extremely specific.
especially when it comes to the timing of everything,
but Henry can't seem to remember the time.
But nobody was there.
When I came back, you know, I did a little look around.
I didn't see brief.
No, no, that wasn't that time.
I don't remember.
No, that's the line.
That's a ball face line.
It wasn't even that time.
It's a time.
So, I mean, I'm really confused with the time.
But I know when I went and looked for,
Bree. So I only seen a little dink in the bed. Okay. And I left. So I went like moving around.
And I wanted like like left the apartment? Like the apartment. Yeah. And went like out and about.
Like I said, when I realized that, uh, and it's kind of odd because I never known Brie to ever leave.
Ever. You know what I'm saying? Never, never, ever ever leave. I never. It was just odd. You know what I mean?
And I realized, you know what I said?
Like I said, I would look in the ground.
Then when I came back, Andrea was up.
She like, what's wrong?
I'm like, man, something ain't right.
You know what I'm saying?
I was freaking out a little bit.
Henry admitted that he left the apartment again to get cigarettes from the Quickshop.
And when he returned, his son, D.L. was awake.
He said from there, they looked for Bresia all morning until he finally decided to call Aisha.
I text this mom. When I text this mom, she was at work.
And she was like, I'm like, A, uh, Breeze, not Breeze missing.
She's like, well, uh, you stop playing with me.
You know what I'm saying? Stop, stop playing with me.
I'm like, man, no, I'm not playing. I'm for real.
And she was like, um, she was like, uh, stop playing me.
And I said, look, man, I'm not playing.
So I gave, dink the phone, dink told her, like, Mom, you know, we don't know what she at.
So then he handed me the phone back, and I'm like, I got to talk to him.
Like, man, your mom mad at me.
He said that.
I don't understand why mom mad at you.
You know, you haven't done nothing.
I'm like, I mean, I mean, but I'm still responsible, you know what I'm saying.
So, like, you know, don't know what to say or do, you know.
So then she, me and her met up.
and she was like you know she met up or at burger kit okay and Iisha was like
really upset and I said I you know I understand how you come in I feel what you
saying right now but you know you're stressing out right now it's not going to
help us out right now you know what I mean we have to figure this shit out you
know so I was like well you're responsible you're responsible you know and
made me feel so fucking bad because you know I am responsible you know what I mean
but like I said I was like lost didn't know what to say did I didn't know
what to say to her I was I was lost for words I couldn't even talk to her really
she was like furious you know what I'm saying she really didn't want to talk to
me but only thing she kept saying that you're responsible you're responsible
you're responsible you're responsible you know what I'm saying why wasn't you
watching her I'm like what you mean she's sleep
the fuck you mean you know what I'm saying who watches you know what I
periodically checked but did you caught 9-1-1-1 no she did I told her I was
gonna go to the police section at first she said no let's go to the
apartment you know what I'm saying so I said well we can call at the
apartment you know what I'm saying and I usually was like because first
I'm thinking like she ain't really missing you know what I mean something you
know what I'm saying maybe something I don't know but once it really set in that
can't nobody find her that's when he hit me you don't understand like you know
she's listening so you got back from Quick Shop with the cigarettes and then
what happened for that nothing no well okay so you but then you got back
then I like I said I got back the time it was sir okay that's fine we can
move past that all I know is at one point or another you noticed
that Bree is not in the room.
Okay.
And so what do you do immediately after you notice Bree's not?
I go outside.
Go outside.
Okay.
You know what I'm saying?
That's the first thing I did.
You know what I was saying?
You know, I went outside.
Okay.
And then, like just around the area or do you get in the car and drive some?
I went around the area first.
Okay.
And then I start moving around, like trying to get close within the areas.
You know what I mean?
Trying to look to see if she was walking.
if she was walking, you know what I'm saying, or whatever.
And so you get back and then, I mean, I mean, I'm not,
the time frame in between at least, like,
are we talking like 10 to 11 at night?
Are we talking like after hours?
It was like after hours.
Like, like, I don't, I don't, I don't remember the time.
I'm not going to.
12 to 2.
I didn't even, the reason why I don't remember the time is because I didn't have my phone.
You drove and tried to find her in certain places.
That's, I would, I would, I went in the area where.
out there, you know what I'm saying, like trying to see...
Around the apartment complex.
No, like, outside, you know what I'm saying?
Like, when I put in, I would have said.
Like those businesses and stuff like that?
No, like the streets.
Okay.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, you know what streets?
I bought it.
I don't know what streets.
I mean, I don't, like, the streets that would go back,
the streets that would go forward.
You know what I'm saying?
It was like buying blockbusters.
Now, as you can tell, Henry is happy.
a hard time recalling exactly what he did that morning, which is never a good sign.
He also tells the detective that after looking for Briaesia, in speaking with the police officer,
he drove the Impala to his mom's house.
Okay.
And then so how is your car not here?
You know what I can't stay here.
But you were driving was the Impala and Impala.
I was driving in the Impala.
Well, you came in the Impala.
So you left, but you left the apartments in the Impala, right?
Yes.
Okay.
So at what point did you not have the Impala anymore?
What do that got to do with the Impala?
I mean...
Because you left there in a vehicle and that's the...
I mean, I'm not trying to make it harder on you.
Yeah, I get it.
But I mean, literally, as for the situation with the driving aspect, you know,
I'm not looking for the driving.
I'm not looking at the car.
I'm keeping that solo with the...
No, that's fine.
I'm more concerned about the car.
I mean, if you want to check the car, you can take the car.
Yeah, yeah, we would like to do that problem.
Yeah.
without a problem. Where is the car currently? It's reachable.
You had the car and then you didn't. I just want to know where that transition took place.
It's, it's reachable, bro. I just say it like that.
But you don't, but you don't want to talk about how you eventually switch vehicles or?
Never switched, I mean, that was like, I didn't switch no vehicles. Okay. Why would I switch a vehicle?
But then so someone else was with you in the car?
But why would I switch vehicles? Where do you get to switch vehicles?
Because, or so the Impala, you left the apartment in it, okay?
And then now you're here at the station, but the Impala's not here.
It's around, I said it that way, it's around.
Now, interestingly enough, Henry claimed that his friend dropped him off at the police station and the Impala,
and that they were out somewhere driving it around town.
But the authorities would later learn that that wasn't true.
In fact, shortly after this interview, officers would find the Impala parked about a block away from the police station.
So clearly, Henry drove there himself and then walked over to the police station so that they wouldn't search it.
But back to the interview, the next thing the detective wants to know about is who he called and texted that morning.
Okay. And so would you be fine if we...
downloaded the phone to have the call logs and the text for what reason to
to cooperate everything here about the call logs and the text it helps it
helps everyone out download my phone to just to get the call logs to show that
those calls were made at those certain times I can show you my phone I can just
show you my phone I got you you know what I'm saying you want to see I can just
show you my phone I mean I can just open on my phone and let you go on my phone
okay you know what's the Pasco to your phone
just give me my phone and I'll open it up for you.
Okay. Well, you'll open up right in front of here.
Yeah, I open it right here. Cool. Um, and, uh, so if you want to just take a,
while I go grab your phone, um, if you want to just take a closer look and if there's
anything that's sticking out, be sure to mark it, okay? I mean, what is there to stick out?
Like, for sure, for sure places that you went, for sure.
It's at this point where the detective puts a map down and tells Henry to mark every,
everywhere he drove that morning looking for preasia.
He then leaves the room to grab Henry's phone.
But interestingly enough, when the detective leaves the room,
Henry doesn't even touch the marker in front of him.
If he had been driving around all that morning looking for Breasia,
then he should have been able to mark where he was.
But he doesn't.
Instead, he just stares down at the map in front of him.
When the detective eventually comes back with his phone, Henry gets very paranoid as he types in his password.
Why are you looking at you to do my password?
Well, that's what I asked.
No, I said I will open it for you.
Yeah, but I'm not going to give you my password.
Okay.
I will open it for you so you can look in my phone, but I'm not going to give you my password.
Okay.
And then you're just going to lock it?
Yes, right after you finish looking.
Yeah.
I will let you look in.
I have no problem with you looking.
Okay.
That's something I know I have no problem.
Henry then sits there, wiping the sweat from his brow, as he tries to remember what his password is.
It's clear that there's something on his phone that he doesn't want them to see.
And then finally, he remembers his password.
I want to know what you do with my phone.
Okay.
That's all.
There ain't nothing that I'm hiding in my phone or anything like that.
That is no.
I would like, if you like, okay, let's connect with your something.
Okay, I want to see you what you're doing.
with my phone. That's all.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah, I mean, to be able to download,
we, yeah, we would need the pass code.
Like I said.
Which just helps speed up any suspicion we would have of.
But I don't understand how I got suspicious with my own kids, man.
These are my kids.
You know what I'm saying?
I mean, I'm just saying it would clear any suspicion, right?
Listen, I mean, I know you're going on your job.
You know what I'm saying?
I know what you have to do.
I know what you have to do, you know what you have to do.
You know what I'm not?
And I don't have no issues with that period.
But these are my kids, bro.
These are my kids.
You know what I'm saying?
These are mine.
Throughout Henry's interrogation, the entire town of Davenport was looking everywhere for Bresia Terrell.
But sadly, there had been no sightings of the 10-year-old.
However, they did have plenty of clues.
For instance, Henry's Chevy and Paula was seen driving back and forth to different locations around Davenport from 2.13 a.m. all the way until the police were called. And the story he's telling investigators isn't adding up. So they are very suspicious of him. Search warrants were eventually executed on the apartment, Henry's car, his RV, everything. But by nightfall,
there was still no sign of Briaja. During their search of the area, they did find a child's
flip-flop, but her mom Aisha said that it wasn't hers. In the body cam footage we are about to play.
You can really hear the desperation and Aisha's voice, knowing that the day was about to end,
and they still hadn't found her daughter.
behind the the scenes type stuff okay we're doing search marks we're doing
painting the phones okay but we have his mobile home down there the FBI is down
there everybody is working on it okay it doesn't end okay nobody's night 31
and I have you heard from her no I know that's not the house that's
no we just had to make sure okay yeah but we appreciate
Please.
I can't go to sleep with that.
Like, what the fuck?
It's 9.30 and she's nowhere.
Now after searching through Henry's RV,
they would find some evidence that we will get into later,
but nothing that could officially tie him to Breesha's murder.
However, he was their number one suspect.
Even further, Henry Dinkins was a registered.
sex offender. In 1990, when he was 17 years old, he was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse
of a child, and because of that incident, he had to register as a sex offender. And from then on,
he had a very lengthy criminal history, involving charges of violating his sex offender registry,
assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, domestic violence, drug possession, theft, and alluding.
From 2007 to 2014, Henry was arrested at least five times for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
In 2011, he was intoxicated driving on the wrong way on the interstate, which ended up causing an accident involving several semi-trucks.
Then in 2014 the police had to use a stun gun and pepper spray to capture him after he crashed his car while on cocaine.
Then in another incident he crashed his car driving through a residential area at 90 miles an hour while there were children playing in the streets.
And then his most recent arrest was in March of 2019, where he crashed his car into someone's yard while he was fleeing from police.
and he was allegedly high on crack at the time.
Then days later, he would get arrested for possession of 900 grams of meth
and 200 grams of amphetamines.
Now, something important to note here is that at the time of Brehia's disappearance,
Henry admitted that he had been living with his girlfriend, Andrea.
So the investigators go to check,
and they see that Henry never registered as a sex of sex.
offender in that area, which is a violation of his sex offender registry requirements.
And that alone is enough to put him in jail.
He was also forbidden to have contact with minors at all.
So knowing that he is likely involved in Brea's disappearance, they decide to go ahead
and charge him with this.
And disturbingly after he was arrested, they also found searches for child pornography and
phone. Colin and I talk about Hello Fresh all the time. We swear by it. And with the holidays
right around the corner, it is the perfect way to take the stress out of dinner because they
deliver everything you need right to your front door, saving you tons of time. And with the
holidays coming up, no one has time to be running to the grocery store, gathering all the
ingredients. And that's why Hello Fresh is so good. It's always farm fresh ingredients right
to your door and it arrives pre-portion so you can get right to cooking. I know I will be hosting
some parties this holiday season and honestly HelloFresh has just made it so easy. You can please
the crowd without the hassle and every single time we've made a Hello Fresh meal, we absolutely
love it. I am honestly not the best cook, but you get to pretend you are with HelloFresh
because they give you all the ingredients,
they tell you exactly how to do it.
It's so easy.
It's so good.
And honestly, I cannot say enough about it.
We love HelloFresh, and we know you will too.
So go to Hellofresh.com slash state free
and use code state free for free breakfast for life.
One breakfast item per box while subscription is still active.
That's free breakfast for life at Hellofresh.
com slash state free with code state free we love hello fresh and we know you will too it is america's
number one meal kit growing up my mom was always the best at handling sticky stressful situations i mean
we have so many crazy family memories so many things that stick out to me so many trips that we took
and just funny moments i mean i remember specifically one just crazy time when we had jet skis and
We took them out. We had rented them for the day and we took them out on this lake and somehow
something got on the engine of the jet ski. Mine stalled. My dad stalled. And my mom and sister had to come
rescue us because we floated to shore on the other side of the lake. We've got some hilarious
pictures from that day. But it's just one of those memories that I don't want to let die. And
aura frames can help keep those moments alive. So basically an aura frame is like a virtual frame that
can display photos and videos from anywhere. You can upload to the frame, you can share new photos,
you can constantly change the library, and it's really a perfect gift for a family member
because you can personalize it at any time. And the aura frame is the perfect Mother's Day gift
to capture the chaos that you might have put your own mom through and the memories that came with
it. With free unlimited storage, you can add as many photos and videos to your aura frame as you want.
And something that I love is that you can actually preload the aura frame with photos
before it ships, and you can keep adding to it from anywhere at any time.
Each ORAFram also comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag, so it's great
if you're giving it as a gift.
And actually, ORAFrames run off a top-rated app.
In fact, the app reached number one on the app store on Christmas Day, 2025.
So make Mother's Day special with ORAFraFraM's.
Named number one by Wirecutter, you can save on the gift's mom's love by visiting ORAFraFraM's.com.
For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best-selling Carver Matt Frame with code M-I-A.
That's A-U-R-AFrams.com promo code M-I-A.
Support the show by mentioning us at checkout, terms, and conditions apply.
Good hair days do more than we give them credit for.
When your hair feels healthy, you show up differently.
You feel more confident, more relaxed, and you're not constantly checking the mirror.
Nutraful supports hair health from within and delivers results over time, so your hair becomes something you enjoy.
not something you stress about. Nutraful is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth
supplement brand, and it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists.
And Nutriful's hair growth supplements are peer-reviewed, NSF certified for sport, and clinically tested.
It's obviously not a one-size-fits-all approach, and Nutraful offers multiple formulas for men and women,
tailored to different life stages, like postpartum or menopause, and lifestyle factors,
such as a plant-based diet, so you get support for your hair.
that's actually right for you. And adding Nutraful to your daily routine is easy. You can order
online with no prescription needed with automated deliveries and free shipping to keep you on track.
Plus, with a Nutraful subscription, you can save up to 20% and get added perks like a free
Headspace membership to support your hair health journey. I know Courtney and I both have been
using Nutraful shampoo and conditioner for years now, and we've been using their supplements for
months. We figured at one point why not try their supplements because we love their shampoo and
conditioner so much and yeah it's one of those never looking back situations but you can let your hair
become one less thing taking up space in your head and see thicker stronger faster growing hair
with less shedding in just three to six months with neutroful for a limited time neuterful is offering
our listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you visit nutreful.com
and enter promo code m ia that's nutraful.com spelled n utr a f-o-l dot com promo code m i
But now let's get back to our story.
Even in jail, Henry will not confess to what happened to Briaja.
However, the Davenport PD and the FBI work diligently to piece everything together.
And as you know, one of the first things investigators do in this day and age is check phone records.
Now all morning, Henry's phone showed that he was at the apartment.
But then randomly at around 7 a.m., it pinged near a Walmart 45 minutes away in the town of Clinton,
which is interesting because he never mentioned that in his interview.
And when the investigators get the surveillance footage from that Walmart, their heart sink.
It shows Henry at the self-checkout line purchasing two bottles of bleach.
And we all know what that means.
Now as for everything else, investigators find linking Henry to Bria's disappearance,
they keep everything pretty close to their chest.
Months would end up going by and there was still no sign of Briaja.
And everyone knew exactly what that meant, that she was dead.
By mid-July, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case.
And crime stoppers offered an extra $30,000.
500. Breesia's case was publicized all throughout Iowa, and even in jail, a news story popped up
about her disappearance. Interestingly enough, Henry's cellmate claimed that he made a pretty
strange comment after watching that news.
The news story came on and broadcasted that they were continually looking for, and he would state
that they're never going to find her.
Now, the cellmate said that Henry never admitted to killing her, but the comment was very off-putting.
It was clear that he knew exactly where Briaesia's body was.
And although Henry was confident they would never be able to find her, he was wrong.
About eight months after her disappearance on March 22nd, 2021,
Three friends got together to go fishing on Credit Island in West Davenport.
It's a very rural area that's heavily wooded and there's this big pond where people will go fishing.
On this day the men park their car and then on foot they have to walk down this steep embankment to get to the pond.
And as they make their way down, one of the men looks over and he sees something white lying in the brush.
So the group walked over and one of them actually picked it up.
It wasn't until then when they realized they were holding a human skull.
It's just not something that you see every day.
So I picked it up and kind of just sat where I was and looked around and that's when we found the other remains.
Once you picked up that skull, what did you determine?
That it was real.
It was at this point they also saw hair at the scene and they could tell that the victim
was black. And because Briaesia's case was so widely publicized, they even wondered amongst
themselves if it was Briaia. So from here, they called 911. The Davenport PD quickly made
their way to the scene. And after the crime scene was processed, the body was brought to the medical
examiner for an autopsy. Although they didn't know the victim's identity, they could tell that it was a
female African-American child who died from multiple gunshot wounds. She was shot once in the jaw
where the bullet then traveled through her spine, and then she was shot again in the back through
her scapula. Two projectiles were found at the scene. One was in the dirt, and the other was in
her hair. They also recovered black shorts, a sports bra, and a large white t-shirt. Now, the
The victim's leg still had some skin tissue on it, so they were able to take DNA and compare
it with Briaesia's mom, Aisha.
And soon enough, it confirmed that the body found on Credit Island was indeed Briaecia
Terrell.
My name is Paul Sikorski, and I'm the police chief here in Davenport.
And last Monday, the Davenport Police Department was contacted by the Clinton County Sheriff's
Department.
regarding to the discovery of human remains near 270th Avenue near DeWitt.
An autopsy on the remains was conducted by the Division of Criminal Investigation,
and we have received confirmation, we've received confirmation that the remains are those of Briaia Terell.
As you know, Briaia's been missing since July 10th from our city.
This news is heartbreaking to both Briega's family and our Davenport community.
Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers are with all of those who are affected by this tragic loss.
A few weeks later, on April 3rd, a rescue and recovery team went to the scene to search the pond for a gun.
And sure enough, they found a revolver.
A ballistics test was run on the gun and it confirmed that it was likely used in the murder.
Now, the investigators weren't able to prove that the gun belonged to Henry Dinkins, but they didn't even have to.
Throughout their investigation, they found a ton of evidence linking Henry to Bresia's disappearance, and now murder.
So he was officially charged and from here, prosecutors started preparing for charge.
trial. So I am going to walk you through the prosecutor's timeline of what they believed
happened on July 9th and 10th, 2020. After Ayesha dropped off the bag of clothes for her daughter,
Bresia and her brother D.L. played video games inside of apartment 8. But once it started getting
late, Henry told the kids to go take a bath. They took separate baths and for whatever reason,
afterwards, Briaesia wasn't given her pajamas that her mom gave her. Instead, Henry went into the
bathroom and gave her a big white t-shirt of his. From here, the kids ate dinner at the apartment
and Briaesia was the first to go to bed. Now, interestingly enough, D.L. and Bria would sleep
in the bedroom that night, while Henry and his girlfriend, Andrea,
slept on the blow-up mattress and the living room. So Preasia goes to bed by herself.
And the next to go to sleep at around 11.30 p.m. is Andrea. She lays down on the air
mattress and the living room and she would later say that the last memory she had before drifting off
is hearing Henry tell his son to turn off the video game and go to bed. And he did. A little after midnight,
D.L. gets into bed with his sister and goes to sleep. And Henry lays down on the couch.
But he doesn't go to sleep. Based on what happens next, it's clear that Henry stays up,
with horrible thoughts running through his head. And eventually, around 2 a.m., he decides to act
on those thoughts and wake Briaia up. Now, we have no idea what he said to Briaia.
to get her out of bed.
He could have said that her mom was outside
or that he needed to show her something.
But from here, Briaesha gets up
and they start walking towards the front door.
Now, Andrea Culbertson was a very heavy sleeper,
so she claimed she didn't hear them leaving,
but D.L. apparently did.
Did you ever see your sister leaving the bedroom?
You did?
When was that?
At nighttime.
At nighttime.
Were you in bed when you saw that?
What did you see?
I saw her walk downstairs with my dad.
With your dad?
And then you shut the door.
OK.
Were you out of the bed?
Or did you get up and watch them do that?
Or how did that go down?
Because from where that bed is, you can't see that.
Or did you just see them leave and you heard it?
Or how did that?
I saw them leave.
You saw them leave?
What did you see?
I'll also walk down the stairs.
Okay.
Then I heard the door open because it'll make lots of noise.
Okay.
So you can't really see the stairs, right?
You can't, right?
Where did you see your dad's sister in here?
Walking down the stairs.
From the bed, you can't see the stairs, though, right?
So you just knew they went down the stairs?
I peaked.
Oh, you got to tell me.
that. What'd you peeve? What'd you see?
I saw my sister.
They were walking down the stairs talking.
Okay. And then they slammed the door.
Then they sat the door?
Yep. Did you hear your sister say anything?
No.
Was your daddy saying anything?
Yeah.
What was he saying?
He was just talk about cars.
So as you just heard, D.L. heard his dad and sister
leaving the apartment.
And his dad was talking to Bresia about cars.
So maybe he told her that he had a car outside he wanted to show her.
We don't know.
But from here, Henry and Bresia get into his maroon Chevy Impala.
In video surveillance shows the car driving northbound on Schmidt Road at 2.13 a.m.
Minutes later, video footage shows the Impala parked at Henry's RV, located at 7.43 Schmidt Road.
Now, his RV didn't have electricity.
It didn't have running water, but it did have a bed.
Later on, they wouldn't be able to find Bria's DNA inside of the RV, but they did find
bleach.
So it was clear to the prosecution that Henry took Briaia inside and he raped her.
He knew he couldn't do it inside of his apartment since Andrea and D.L. were there.
So he took her here, getting her all alone.
And then after the sexual assault, he cleaned everything up to cover his tracks.
This happens here speaks to what Mr. Deacon's intent was.
For him to take that 10-year-old child from this apartment in the middle of the night
and take her over to this area uptown to an RV.
It speaks to his intent.
And the state asserts when you consider these circumstances,
and you consider the purchase of bleach and the use of bleach, this child was sexually assaulted in this area.
Now after sexually assaulting Briaesia, Henry quickly realized that she was going to tell someone about this.
According to her family, Briaia was a rule follower and she always told the truth.
There is no telling what Bria even said to Henry.
But it's here where he decided he needed to kill her.
to shut her up.
Now back at the Jersey Meadow apartments,
Henry's girlfriend Andrea wakes up at 3 a.m. to use the restroom.
But strangely enough, when she walked to her bathroom,
she noticed that Briaesia and Henry weren't there.
Now D.L. was in the bed, but Bria wasn't.
And immediately, Andrea had a horrible feeling.
She even grabs her phone to call Henry.
to see where he is.
It was like at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Nature called.
So I went and I kind of glanced over.
Had no glasses on.
So everything was kind of fuzzy.
So I saw that she was not there.
So I was like, okay, we go get my glasses so I can see.
And I see felt, I felt on the bed.
I'm like, okay, she's not here.
And my first reaction, called Mr. Dinkins.
No.
But as she goes to call his phone, she sees it sitting on the counter, which only makes her feel more unsettled.
Henry never goes anywhere without his phone.
And the only reason he would leave it behind is so that he couldn't be traced.
Andrea said she felt so sick to her stomach.
She couldn't even go back to bed.
I have no idea.
My mind was everywhere.
Andrea said that she even started looking around the apartment to see if Briaia was hiding.
I checked, I checked the bathroom again just in case.
I checked the bedroom.
I checked the kitchen.
I checked everywhere.
Both Bria and her boyfriend were gone.
From here, Andrea just sat around in the living room waiting.
And then at 3.30 a.m., she heard the front door open.
So when I got done going to the bathroom, it was dark.
it was dark. No lights, nothing was on. And then like a half hour later, I hear a key,
and then heard someone softly coming up the stairs. Andrea hears Henry slowly walking up the
steps. He was trying to be as quiet as he could, not to wake anyone up. But he didn't realize
that Andrea was already awake. When he reaches the top of the stairs, Andrews, Andrews,
starts asking him questions about where he was and what he was doing.
But he doesn't answer any of her questions.
I was like, what's going on?
Where are you going?
What's going on?
And he's like, I'll be back.
Instead of answering her, Henry just walked straight into the closet to grab something.
Andrea said she couldn't see what he grabbed because he tucked it into his waistband.
But the prosecution theorizes that it was his gun.
Now, it's at this point where Andrea peaks out of their bedroom window that looks out into the parking lot.
And there, she sees Briaesia standing outside next to the Chevy Impala.
She's still wearing that large white t-shirt, Henry gave her.
Andrea said she was relieved to see Bria was safe, but she still felt unsettled.
I looked out the window and saw Briaia outside of the car.
car, so now my heart's like, okay. She is with him, she's safe, but yeah, it just seems weird to me,
but. From here, Henry walks out of the apartment and he and Briaesia leave once again. About two
minutes later at 3.33 a.m. The Chevy Impala pulls into a quick shop to get some gas. Now, during
Henry's interrogation, he admitted to going there, but he said he, he said, he was a carlaping. He was
he was just grabbing cigarettes. Surveillance footage from inside shows that he did buy cigarettes,
but he also bought $35 worth of gas, and of course he paid with cash so there wouldn't be a paper
trail. But the video footage from inside shows him repeatedly looking back at his car. It's clear he was
afraid Briaesia was going to escape, but she wouldn't. She stayed put in the
inside the Chevy Impala.
After filling his car up, Henry leaves.
In video surveillance would show the Impala
driving on Highway 61 at 344 AM.
From here, he and Briae drive out to Credit Island.
It's heartbreaking to think about what was going
through Bria's mind as they drove out
into the dark rural area.
Eventually, Henry pulls the
the car over on the side of the road and orders Breaia out of the vehicle. He then points in
the direction of the woods and tells her to follow him. It's pouring down rain as the two make
their way down a steep embankment towards the large pond. Reyesha is a smart girl, so she likely
knows that these would be her last moments on earth. It makes you wonder, what was she saying
to him. Was she begging him to take her home? Did she try to reassure him that she wouldn't tell
anyone? We don't know, but we do know that she was afraid. Once they were deep enough into the
woods, Henry shot Rehasia twice. Once in the back and once in the jaw. The area where they
were located was so isolated. No one would hear the gunshots.
From there, Henry would leave her body in the woods
and quickly make his way back to the car.
Now by this point, it's around 4.30 a.m. when Henry hops into his car,
starts the engine and tries to pull forward.
But it's here where Henry realizes his car is stuck.
Like we mentioned, it's pouring down rain,
so the right tires on the Impala are stuck in the mud,
And when Henry notices this, he starts to freak out.
I mean, he's stuck in the middle of nowhere, right where he just dumped a body.
So he actually gets out of his car and tries to wave someone down for help.
There weren't many people on the road at the time, but there was one man named Jared Brink,
who was driving down Highway 61 on his way to work.
He would later say that he saw a black man waving on the side of the road next to A.A.
Maroon Chevy Impala and he decided to stop and help. Jared said from here he hooked a chain
under the Impala and helped pull it out of the mud. Once it was free, Jared said the man was extremely
grateful and he even tried to pay him $100, but Jared refused. Now it should be noted that after
Brehijia's case hit the media, Jared would come forward with this information and he gave
investigators Henry's exact physical description, but he did admit that he probably wouldn't be
able to pick him out of a lineup because it was dark out. However, Jared did give his cell phone
over to the police and they were able to verify that he was in the area at 4.30 a.m. on July 10th.
Now something else Jared noticed was that no one else was inside the Chevy Impala. So this
His encounter was just minutes after Henry killed Briaia.
But once Henry was free, he gets back onto Highway 61 and starts heading back towards his apartment.
Now back at the Jersey Meadow apartments, 8-year-old D.L. wakes up again at around 5.30 a.m.,
and according to Andrea, he's crying.
They didn't ever specify why he was crying, but maybe he was crying.
but maybe he too knew something was horribly wrong
when he woke up and his sister still wasn't there.
From here, he and Andrea sit in the living room.
And at 5.55 a.m., Henry finally comes back home,
but this time, Briaesia isn't with him.
Now, Henry didn't expect everyone to be awake.
And after walking through the front door, he's kind of frantic.
Andrea starts asking him what's going on,
but he won't say.
He just keeps saying there was an issue.
I'll talk to you about it later.
Henry then tells his son D.L. to grab his bag
and the two of them leave the apartment.
Now, he tries to leave without his phone,
but Andrea makes him take it.
However, before leaving, he takes the battery out
so it can't be traced.
And keep in mind,
eight-year-old D.L. has no idea what's going on,
but he does know that something is wrong.
After leaving the apartment complex,
the two of them drive around for a while,
about 45 minutes to be exact.
When D.L. asks his dad where they're going,
Henry says Walmart.
But they don't go to the Walmart in Davenport.
Instead, Henry goes to the Walmart in Clinton,
which is about 40 miles away.
He specifically went to this one,
thinking that the authorities wouldn't see what he was buying.
Now he and D.L. would arrive in the parking lot at 6.58 a.m.
D.L. stays in the car while Henry goes inside and walks over to the cleaning aisle.
Video surveillance then shows him walking up to the self-checkout with multiple bottles of bleach.
And again, he pays with cash so it couldn't be traced.
But little did Henry know.
authorities would eventually see exactly what he was doing that morning, all things to his
eight-year-old son, D.L. Now while Henry was inside buying bleach, D.L. was back in the car, bored.
So that's when he looks in the cup holder and sees his dad's phone with the battery removed.
Being an eight-year-old little boy, he decides to occupy his time and play games on his dad's phone.
D.L. puts the battery back into the phone, plays a few games, but then when he sees his dad
coming back, he quickly removes the battery again and places it into the cup holder. He would
later say he didn't want to get in trouble for touching his dad's phone, so he put it back
like he found it. But by putting the battery in and turning it on, investigators would be able to see
that Henry was 45 minutes away in Clinton that morning,
something he never admitted to investigators.
Now once Henry got back into the car,
D.L. saw that his dad had purchased bleach,
and from here, they drive to Credit Island where his sister's body was.
D.L. would later recall that they exited off the highway
and drove down a dirt road into a heavily wooded area.
And it's here where his dad pulled out bleach and a machete and made his way into the woods while D.L. stayed in the car.
Where were you?
In the car. I had to send no car by my toe.
You sat in the car? Did you see your dad get anything out of the car?
He grabbed some. He's complained. He grabbed some bleach. And what I saw in his trunk, he pulled it out. It was a knife.
He had some bleach and a knife?
Yeah.
What kind of knife?
What kind of knife?
Uh, it's some big knife.
After grabbing the bleach and the machete out of the trunk, Henry made his way into the woods where Breaise's body was.
He then started cutting through the brush with the machete and then he would use that brush to cover up her body.
Then once he was finished, he poured bleach all over everything to destroy any of his DNA.
Now, clearly, by the time Henry gets back into the car with his son, D.L. wants to know what's going on.
And Henry tells him that he had gone fishing with some friends over here earlier that morning.
He went to go fishing with a couple people.
He went fishing?
Oh, yeah.
He went fishing?
Uh-huh.
He went fishing for more people.
He went fishing last night?
Yeah.
With him?
No, not in the last night.
I'm sat this morning.
Yeah.
He went fishing.
Were you there?
Yeah, I was in the car.
You were in the car?
Which car were you in?
That purple one.
Purple one?
Mm-hmm. Okay.
So was this after you peeped and saw?
Yeah.
He went fishing.
Who did he go fishing with?
Some six, he said some six people.
Six people he saw the he got.
He gave them a hundred bucks.
He gave them.
see your night with fish and pools?
Or did he tell you he went fishing?
He told me he went fishing.
But he left you in the car?
Yeah.
Okay.
And then you saw him with bleach and a knife.
Yeah.
Big knife.
A big knife.
Did he go?
Did you see him go with people?
Or did he just get out by himself?
He got out by himself when he went down there.
There was already six people down there.
That's what he told you.
Did you see those six people?
You never saw anybody.
He just told me there was six people down me.
He told you there were six people down there.
There are six people down there.
How long do you think you were in that car?
Long.
How long?
I couldn't see the time.
Okay.
So Henry told his son that he went out there that morning to fish.
And that $100 he's talking about is when that man helped him get his car out of the mud.
Now, why he would be telling his son this, I don't know.
But it's clear Henry wanted to give D.L.
some reasonable explanation as to why they were out in the woods.
But it's horrifying to think that not only would this man murder a 10-year-old little girl,
but then he brings his eight-year-old son along while he tries to cover his tracks.
D.L. had no idea what his father had done that morning,
but even as an eight-year-old, he knew that something was wrong.
After leaving Credit Island, the two of them would drive back,
to Henry's RV. And again, D.L. waits in the car as his dad gets out and grabs the machete.
He then watches Henry wipe the machete off with a rag and put it inside of his RV.
Where did he grab that knife from?
His trunk. His trunk. And then he washed it off.
He washed off of what?
The knife.
Wash it off with what though?
some bleach and some, he washed it out for the right.
So by this point, Henry has covered Briaesia's body with brush.
He poured bleach on the dumping site.
He used bleach to clean the inside of his RV.
And he has wiped down the machete he used out at Credit Island.
He also used cash everywhere he went that morning.
And in his mind, his phone has been off this.
entire time. Henry has no idea that D.L. turned his phone on in Clinton, so he's fully convinced
that he's covered his tracks, and it's only at this point when he finally decides to tell
Briae's mom that she's missing. In fact, when he text Aisha at 808 a.m., he tells her that he
had just woken up and she was gone, when that clearly wasn't the case at all. Henry
Dinkins didn't get any sleep that night. After sexually assaulting Bria in his RV, he was too busy
running around town covering his tracks. But it wouldn't be long until he was the prime suspect in
Bracia's disappearance. Now after the discovery of her body in March of 2021, they were finally
able to charge Henry Dinkins with her murder. The trial started in August of 23, and Henry,
Henry would plead not guilty.
He also decided to go with a bench trial,
which means a judge would decide his fate instead of a jury.
Here is Brehijia's mom and her thoughts before trial.
It's nerve-wrecking a bit.
It's emotional, but it means everything to me right now
because I've been waiting for this day.
I've been waiting three years, three long years,
and I've been through the most.
My son has been through the most,
and we're here. And I'm so happy to finally be here because I can't wait until she get the justice that she
deserve and we get her back and we're able to kind of, you know, start healing just a little bit more.
We started as her billboards and we're going to finish as her billboards. So out here, we're just
trying to, you know, bring a peaceful thing here, you know, as far as just as for Breachia,
we can't scream it inside at the moment, but we're going for sure scream it out here. So it means
everything to us out here.
Now, this trial would not be a slam dunk by any means.
And the reason being, there was not a lot of physical evidence.
During the search of Henry's RV, they weren't able to find Breasia's DNA.
We know that's because Henry cleaned it.
Bleach was actually found sitting next to the bed inside.
Also in the RV, authorities found the machete hidden above the microwave.
And like his son, D.L. said,
There were white fibers from when Henry wiped it down with that rag.
Now, they also didn't find Bria's DNA in the Impala,
but again, Henry was thoroughly cleaning everything that morning,
so he likely cleaned the Impala as well.
And as for Briaesia's body and the dumping site,
there had been a lot of decomposition,
so there wasn't any physical evidence there either.
They did see that the Briege's body in the dumping site,
see that the branches that were on top of her were sliced with a sharp object, which we know he
used the machete, but again, it's circumstantial. They also had that man who placed Henry on the side of the
road near her body at 4.30 a.m. That man would actually die from a heart attack before Henry's
trial, but they were still able to use his testimony. Now, the main thing the prosecution had going for
them was the video surveillance of Henry driving all around town that morning and the videos
of him buying bleach. They also had D.L. and Andrea's testimony, which was huge. By 2023, D.L. was
11 years old, and he had to testify about everything he saw that morning. Now, I will say that
D.L.'s testimony at times was confusing. There were times when he contradicted himself
and other times where it was clear his memory was fuzzy. He also at one point claimed that he
saw his dad shoot Breesia, which couldn't have been the case. And the defense really grilled him
about these inconsistencies, but I think the most important part of D.L. story is the interview he
had with investigators right after Briae went missing. Most of what he said on that day aligned
with the evidence at hand. It's also important to remember that this is three years later,
and he was just eight years old when everything happened, so it's understandable that he wouldn't
remember everything. But towards the end of the trial, Judge Henry Latham had a lot to consider,
Although physical evidence was lacking, Andrea and D.L.'s testimony said a lot.
And that, along with all of the video surveillance, led him to a verdict.
51-year-old Henry Dinkins was found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping of Briaia Terrell.
And here was the judge's reasoning.
In considering the evidence presented, the court makes deductions and reaches conclusions
according to reason and common sense. Facts may be proved by direct evidence, circumstantial evidence,
or both. The court specifically finds the defendant was not savvy in any manner. The court finds
the state has met its burden of proof in this case. The court finds beyond a reasonable doubt,
the defendant committed murder in the first degree. Henry Dinkin's sentencing was on October 11,
2023. And Judge Henry Latham would sentence him to two mandatory life sentences for the
kidnapping and murder of Bresia Terrell. Following this, Henry got an opportunity to speak to the court,
or he went on and on about how he wasn't pleased with his counsel or the judge presiding over his
case. He also talked about how he believed racism played a role in his guilty verdict.
To be honest, I was already found guilty before this case in trial already began.
I can see it as racial profiling behind my background.
I'm saying this because how everything played out from the beginning all the way up to now.
I contemplated over the moves that the state used to hinder my character to fit their benefits.
But at the end of it, Briaesha's mother Aisha got to give her victim impact statement.
And here is what she said.
July 9th, 2020, exactly three years ago.
Since the last time I saw my baby girl.
When I dropped her clothes off for her in D.L.
After I got off work and showered and hit it over to the Jersey Ridge Apartments Complex,
once I got outside the complex,
Brie Asia running out smiling as she always does,
a smile that can light up a room, any room.
We spoke for a few minutes while she held her dog, Chloe.
She said she loved me and I watched her run around to the,
apartment complex while her lovely lock spounced away around 630-ish. Those are my last words with my
baby girl. So I wrapped my mental around her face. Her last words, she said to me. The amount of pain
I felt and felt that no mom should ever have to feel because, man, that stuff hurts real bad
in a different spot. I didn't even know it existed until you, Henry Dinkins, changed that for me.
broke my trust and emotions.
I had the day you took my baby girl for me
and just gunned her down
like she was nothing and left her
and never said a word at all.
It's really painful that a statement
could bring so much anger.
I have a number of questions
for you, Henry Dinkins,
surround me that night
that played through my mind every day.
Did she want me?
Was she scared?
Did she see those
gunshots coming? Did you shoot her while she was trying to get away? Did she scream for help?
Did she beg you to stop? Did you see in her face when she realized she was shot the first time?
What was her last words? Did you stay and watch my baby die? How long did she suffer? Did you
watch the life leave from her beautiful hazel eyes? What did you do to my son? Why? Do you know the
answers to any of these questions I asked, huh? Henry Dinkins, why you sit in this courtroom
as if this shit don't hurt you, watching you, watching you during these proceedings. That isn't
right. You sit there with smiles and chatter during sensitive things and then tried to speak to me
when you never once spoke to me after July 14th, 2020, you remember when I saw you in Scott
County Jail telling me you didn't do this, but why you haven't said nothing then? Why?
Henry Dinkins, closure doesn't exist here in this case. Justice doesn't exist here in this case.
You didn't just take away my baby's life. You took it away. You didn't just take away my baby's life.
You took away everything from me. My family's sense of security, laughs, health and potential.
Potential for for Bria to be someone's wife, the potential potential to be a mother, a college,
graduate, prom, everything.
Oh, oh, my baby girl, Henry.
I went from believing I wasn't the best mom, but made things happen, but best I could to down in myself day in and day out as what kind of person am I not to have protected my daughter.
I broken myself down many of times over and over, analyzing text messages, calls and conversations about everything, trying to figure out what I could have done differently.
able to shake quite yet.
Our lives change.
Three years went past us with no stops right before our rise.
And here we are in this courtroom seeking the justice she deserved.
So she could be laid to rest properly.
Still yet, this all feel like a movie.
I haven't changed the channel too because this can't just be it.
Like, that's all.
That's the piece.
that sinks in and still her because I thought hearing you get a life sentence with no possibility of row
will help me sleep in night and it just doesn't because she didn't have to be gunned down like that
nor left like that out there like she was just trashed she didn't deserve that she'd deserve to have her
lifeless remains shown across the TVs like like she did she she did a henry
Henry Dinkin.
So whatever you get won't be enough
because your family get to
come to see you.
And my baby is just that,
just gone and
never, ever, ever coming back
as she left me July 9th, 2020.
Peace, understanding, and forgiveness
will never come. I also
truly hope what you did to her
will haunt you for the rest of
your life. I'll hold onto those
good memories. We
shared and not how you left her and how she had how she laid across that damn creepy swamp
place thing where you left her and said not one word how could you how could you be such a monster
henry i am thankful for the justice for preager terrell and my baby boy following this
henry dinkins was taken off to prison where he will be until his very last breath and like iisha said
what he did DeBriacea will haunt him for the rest of his life. As for Breaia's family,
they are working to piece their lives back together after this devastating loss. While the trial
was happening, the medical examiner held on DeBriasia's remains. So now that it's all over,
her family will finally be able to put her to rest. But as we wrap up this story,
my heart goes out to D.L. Not only did he lose his sin,
through all of this, but he also had to learn that his father, the man he looked up to, was
responsible, and I truly wish him and their entire family the absolute best moving forward.
The murder of Bresia Terrell had ripple effects throughout the city of Davenport, Iowa.
There are memorials of Bresia throughout town, and still to this day, random people come
around to pay their respects.
And it's clear that no matter how much time passes, her memory will never be forgotten.
All right, everyone, that is going to do it for today's episode.
Like I said, I heard this case way back in 2020.
I have been following it since.
I watched all of the trial videos, and I knew since the beginning that I really, really wanted to cover this story.
So I hope we did it justice.
And let's keep Rieja's name alive.
As for patrons, I am going to hold off on reading the patrons.
That is Collins' job.
He's way better at it than me.
But thanks for sticking with me on this episode, everyone.
This was my first episode I ever did by myself.
Don't know how to feel about it.
I hope I did an okay job.
We love you guys.
Thank you so much for sticking with us.
You are everything to us, and we couldn't do this without you.
So thank you for listening and supporting and for everything you do.
We love you, we love you, we love you.
And we'll see you next week with a brand new episode.
