True Crime with Kimbyr - Small-Town Tragedy: The Heartbreaking Story of Diamond Bradley

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

In this episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, we uncover the haunting story of Diamond Bradley, a vibrant high schooler from small-town Illinois who sought connection online. Her life was tragically cut short in 2018, but her memory continues to shed light on the dangers of digital friendships and the vulnerability of young lives in close-knit communities. Through meticulous research and a compassionate lens, Kimbyrleigha delves deep into Diamond's life, her family bonds, and the fateful events that led to her loss. Don’t miss this compelling case that deserves more attention. Watch now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diamond Bradley was a high school student in rural Illinois. She, like many other teens, enjoyed social media and spent a lot of time making friends online. The internet connects us with so many people. The problem is, you never know if one of them is a monster. Diamond didn't know someone she was talking to didn't want to be her friend. They wanted her dead.

Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. My name is Kimberlyla. If you've never been here before, nice to find. Nice to finally meet you. Today's case is one of those cases that really didn't get as much coverage as I think it should have received, especially considering it took place

just a few years ago in 2018. But it did happen in a very small town, and that can mean less exposure. Diamond Marsha Bradley was born March 21st, 2001 in Clarksville, Tennessee, to her mother Doris and her father, Philip. Diamond had an older brother, Dekwon, who was three years older.

By 2002, Doris and Philip were living with her two children in Chicago, but they decided to split up. And now as a single mom, Doris wanted to move somewhere quieter, a safe place to raise her children away from the violence and the shootings in the city. So she picked up and moved DeQuan and Diamond to a place called Spring Valley, Illinois, where many of Doris's family members already lived. That way the kids could grow up with their family and their cousins. And being a single mom it was great to have a lot of family around for her i had never heard of spring valley before it's a very small town its population back in 2002 was only about 5,000 people and it hasn't grown much since then

it's situated on the illinois river and from this bird's eye view you can tell just how small this town really is it's residential in nature there are no big downtown areas or skyscrapers and there's really not that much to do that makes for a close-knit community where everyone relies on on one another for everything from entertainment, socialization, and even growth as an individual. Because truly, you're a product of who raised you and where you were raised. It's great to want to isolate yourself from the hustle and bustle of a large city, but sometimes narrowing the things people can do can result in disaster. And I think you'll understand more of this as the story progresses. When she arrived to Spring Valley, Doris took a job as a cook in a nursing

home where she remained a loyal employee for over 15 years. Providing for her children, working hard, but it also meant not being around as much. As the children got older, Dequan took on the role of protector and teacher and older brother to Diamond. They were very close. He was there the day she was born, of course, and she was more than just a sister. They were like best friends. But Diamond was also like a sister to her cousin, Deovanna. Many people actually thought they were twins. They looked a lot alike. And it wasn't long before Doris welcomed two additional children into the world. She had another daughter named Alia and a son Quentin. Spring Valley was a great place to raise children. Everyone there is on a first

name basis. Even the police officers are actual residents in the area, so it felt really safe to live there. You knew that people cared. And Diamond was a typical little girl growing up in this area. She loved to sing and dance and play with her siblings. And as she got older, she truly valued her family. Family was so important to her. She would frequently offer to babysit when her younger siblings that were around and her mom had to do something like go to work or just have some time for herself. And she and Doris, they were very close. They had a very special bond. As a matter of fact, even though Doris was Diamond's mom, anytime she was upset, she would actually go talk to Diamond, and she would instantly feel better. But where would Diamond go when she needed someone? Usually her brother

DeQuan. And if not, she would confide in her cousin DiOvana. However, as a preteen, growing up and a very small town. This is a time when cell phones and social media were becoming more and more popular among young people. And Diamond began turning to the internet for comfort and friendship and entertainment. I went through all of her Facebook posts from the first one that she ever posted. I wanted to truly get to know who Diamond was, in her own words. She was around 13 years old in 2014 when she began posting on Facebook and that seemed way too young to me, but I'm probably just getting old and the first post that I saw was her saying she was in a relationship with a guy named Colton Diem and again I was thinking wow she's so young to be in a relationship but then I was

like who am I to talk I was in my first relationship about the same age and it made me wonder as a mom that has an 11 year old when did your kids start dating or when are they allowed to start dating or when did you start I'm just curious have times changed I don't know so I'm in had a habit of asking people to hang out via Facebook. She would post asking, you know, can anyone chill because I'm bored? That's something I saw a lot of. Other times, she would ask if someone could just talk to her, and I felt for her. She did have a close family. I know that. And I'm sure they were there for her all the time. But there's also times when I think you might want advice from friends or attention from other people in your life. It seemed like as she came up on her teenage years, she was really

going through those common emotional changes that many young people go through. It's to transition from a child to an adult. There's a lot of hormones, which usually means drama. And there were posts where she said, you know, she couldn't trust anyone or that she just needed to talk to someone. Now granted, her mother Doris would respond to these posts and so would many of her other family members. It could have been for attention, but it was clear that there wasn't much for Diamond to do in Spring Valley. And it was obvious boys were one of the things that kept Diamond busy. As I said, she had a boyfriend. And like many young people in relationships, it was definitely back and forth and back and forth. Not to mention a lot of dirty laundry would get aired on

Facebook. She used it more like Twitter. She posted her thoughts constantly. Every few hours, she would do multiple posts a day. So you knew what Diamond was doing, what she was thinking, or how she felt. Some days, she would be on. top of the world with posts like this one that said chill in with my love one tomorrow and tagging her boyfriend colton but then there were days just days later when she would post a relationship status that said complicated only to be followed up with a gratitude post a few days later about the same guy saying seriously had the best day at school ever i spent more time with babe than usual and thanks for holding my books for me i love you hon again tagging her

boyfriend Colton. Keep in mind they are in middle school at this point. So it's not unusual for this age group to have their ups and their downs. One thing was clear. Diamond loved her mommy and her sisters and her brothers. There were plenty of posts like this where she would tag her sister, her cousin, her mom, or other loved ones, or a friend and say something like, I have the best little sister, the best friend, or I love you mommy, tagging her mom Doris, to which they would always reply in kind. But it seemed according to Diamond's posts, there were moments where she experienced extreme boredom, reaching out and noam was begging for someone to do something with her, whether it was just talk on Skype or FaceTime or Snapchat or asking if anyone wanted to hang out

with her. To blatantly even saying, I have no friends and I'm perfectly fine with that. But in all honesty, I don't think Diamond was fine with that. To the contrary, I think Diamond wanted to belong. She wanted to be loved. She wanted the attention of those she loved the most. That was apparent by her posts. By that summer of 2014, she posted that she felt like her relationship was going downhill. And by August, she said that she was living that single life, still asking if anyone wanted to do something with her that Friday night.

I have to say I felt for her, especially when I read the posts like this, where she was pouring her heart out to anyone who would read this. She posted, I do stupid shit because of you. I'm angry with myself because of you. I cry at night because I miss you. I sit in my room all day thinking, should I text you and tell you how I really feel or should I keep crying my eyes out? I know the words I say to you won't matter. You put me through so much and I deal with it. All the fun things we did together, I miss it. But mostly, I miss you. And I wish I could have you back and take back the last two words I said. I deal with it. All the fun things we did together. I miss it. But mostly, I miss you. And I wish I wish I could have you back and take back the last two words I said. I said. said to you." That's pretty deep, especially for a teenager that's only 13 years old. Of course, social media is just a sliver of a person's real life. I know that. However, it does give us some insight into what life was like for Diamond.

She was still in middle school, and throughout the next year, she would take to Facebook on a regular basis with posts like this one in October, where she was asking for someone to come hang out with her. Another thing that didn't change was how much she loved. her mother. She posted this, quote, one person I love so much as my mom. She's the only person I trust and will always go to when things go wrong and I need someone to talk to. I love my mom more than anything in this world. She's madly beautiful. So freaking gorgeous. I know I give you a hard time, but whose kids don't. I love you, mommy, so, so much. Her words, they show me her heart.

She sees beauty in others. She understands life isn't perfect and people aren't either. And she loves them through it and always will. Once she was in high school, things were exciting in her life, especially because she had a new boyfriend, Nicholas Nilsson. They made a really cute couple, and you can tell they were really in love. But before all that, in the summer, all summer long, she would constantly be asking people to hang out.

It seemed like the summer months were harder on her with no school and nothing to do, and it seemed like she reached out on Facebook during that time even more. There were so many posts like these. Anyone want to make plans. Somebody inbox me. I'm hell aboard. Or so who wants to hang out? And this one made my heart hurt.

It said, I have no friends. Someone be my friend and hang out with me today. Now sometimes Doris would respond to these posts saying, okay, or reassuring Diamond that she was there for her. But you can tell Diamond is looking beyond her family for companionship. And that's why when Nicholas comes along, the post change. They're celebrating their love, like this one. I love that my boyfriend makes me food.

He's the best. Or, I've got what I've been waiting for. I got the chance to talk to Babe twice on the phone, knowing he's okay. And God, hearing his voice made me feel more happy than ever. He made my night. I love you, babe. You can tell the connection meant a lot to Diamond. It would make her day when she felt that there was

someone who would talk to her, someone who was giving her their time. It was apparent through all of the posts that I read. One thing I read that caught me off guard was this post. She stated that she was the unknown child of the family and that they pretty much wouldn't realize if she was gone. Doris really didn't like this post and she responded about it, that it wasn't true. And we will find out that Doris was right. People would notice if Diamond were gone.

There was definitely something brewing within Diamond, anger, sadness, loneliness that didn't seem easy to resolve. But she was still the typical teenager. She loved being on her phone and taking pictures. She loved to sing and dance. And she just loved to have fun. She was the life of the party. She wanted to spice things up. She'd walk into a room and say, come on, let's turn some music on, let's party.

Because she just loved being around people that made her feel good. And photos. You probably notice there's a lot of photos of Diamond. She loved taking photos with her little brother Quinton. There's all kinds of goofy little selfies that they took together with silly faces in the camera. It was a typical big sister making her big brother laugh and entertaining him. Selfies were Diamond's thing, either in the mirror or with her phone pointing towards her face as the focal point. There were so many pictures of her in Facebook.

She loved changing her hair and getting her nails done all the time. She had a lot of fun styles. It really made her unique. And by the time October of 2017 came around, Diamond had made it to her junior year in high school. But that's when she decided to withdraw. Over the past couple years, it seemed like life got harder for her emotionally. There were plenty of posts on Facebook from Diamond talking about how much she hated going to school. She decided it would be better to get it over with by taking her GED and then going into nursing, which was her passion.

It was because of her helpful spirit that she was drawn to the nursing career. to the nursing career. And for as young as she was, Diamond had a lot of ambition. Her older brother was very proud of her. And she was proud of him too. There were times when Diamond would post about her big brother, especially on his birthday.

Diamond's last Facebook post was on August 24th, 2017. It seemed like she'd been wanting to delete her Facebook time and time again, but she didn't. She just stopped posting. Her last post addressed an issue in regard to her boyfriend, Nicholas. who she made clear she was still dating. Through that fall, Diamond was trying to get things together,

get herself enrolled in a GED program, and was setting up her plan to become a nurse. Despite Diamond's big personality and all of her goals and how outgoing she was, she was actually a tiny little thing. She was barely five feet tall. Many people actually thought she was only 10 or 11 years old when in reality she was 16.

At this point, she was spending even more time with her cousin Diavana and her sister, Aaliyah. but she was still looking toward Dequan for almost everything. He was her best friend. They'd drive and walk places together. And if she needed help with anything, she went to Dequan. Whether it was just something simple to something more serious, he was always the first person Diamond went to.

So it was hard when he moved out on his own. However, he made it a point to come see a sister on a regular basis because he didn't want to break that bond that they had. By the new year in 2018, a celebration was in the works. And the day finally came. January 23, 2018, an evening full of family and fun. The Bradley household was packed with friends and family. They were celebrating Doris Bradley's birthday.

They had birthday cake for her. They sang for her. It was an evening filled with love and fun. But little did Doris know. The less than 24 hours later, her world, would come crashing down. On the night of Doris' birthday, everyone started to leave around 10 p.m.

So Doris told Diamond that she was going to go to bed. And Diamond told her mom that she was too, but first she was going to take a shower. It was a normal night. They said good night to one another, and then they went their separate ways. The next morning,

Doris woke up a little before 7 o'clock in the morning. She always made sure that the younger kids were awake and they were getting ready for school. It was kind of a nice. for her not to at least hear Diamond around the house in the morning, either helping her siblings out or feeding her cat. So she went upstairs and she called out for her. And as she was making her way to her door, she saw Diamond's kitten outside her room. And she's usually inside the room with her.

She's wondering, why is it wandering down the hallway? So she does what a lot of moms do. She called out and said, Diamond, get your cat. But Diamond didn't come out of her room. Doris went inside and that's when she noticed the room was empty. Diamond wasn't there. There wasn't anything to worry about at first, because Doris knew Diamond love coffee,

and she would routinely walk to the Marathon gas stations right here to cross the alleyway from their house. She would grab a cup of coffee in the morning. So Doris figured, you know what, she'll be back any minute. But she wasn't. And the longer Doris waited, the more confused she was. Because where would Diamond have gone? She doesn't have a car of her own.

So Doris called Diamond's cell phone, and it went straight to voicemail, that was odd by around 8.30 a.m., de quan came by the house. Remember he had promised diamond that he would come over and spend some time with her that day because he'd been really busy lately and he hadn't been around much. He was supposed to get there much earlier, but he slept in. He was surprised when Diamond wasn't there. No one knew where she went. And it wasn't like her not to let someone know if she was going somewhere. So Dequan being the protective older brother, He becomes very concerned.

It was 26 degrees outside that day. It was snowing, cold, wet. This is not the type of weather that you'd want to be out in very long, if at all. And that made it more concerning. They were texting her. They were calling her nonstop, but there was no answer. And that was unusual. Diamond even posted something on Facebook a while back,

joking around about how protective her mother and her brother were. She tagged DeQuan in this picture, and I'm going to show it to you. It's a phone screen. I've all seen this before. And if you look closely, the post says, mom, I'll be home at nine. And the phone shows the time is 902 p.m. And there's already 22 missed calls from mom. So this just goes to show you.

Diamond knew how much her family cared and that they would worry if she wasn't home when she should be. This was now playing out in real life. And so was the reality of that post she made saying that she was the unknown child of the family and that no one would realize she was gone. Certainly that was far from the truth. For the next two hours, Dequan and Doris were trying hard to come up with reasons why she would not be home. Places that she could have gone.

They were leaving her message after message and getting frantic. They had already called all of her friends. They asked if they had heard from her or seen her that morning and none of them had. Dequan actually leaves. He gets in his car and he starts looking for her around town. This is a small community. There weren't that many places that she could be. By 2 p.m., Doris and DeQuan are both extremely concerned.

Doris is desperate to know where her daughter is. This is usually the point where loved ones usually have a swarm of emotions and thoughts going through them. Doris began thinking, maybe Diamond was kidnapped. Maybe someone snatched her up when she was on her way to or from the gas station, and she was being held captive. What else would be keeping her from being able to get on her phone and respond? She had never gone this long without contacting her mother. By this time, Doris goes on Facebook.

She's messaging Diamond there. She's asking her, please, where are you? Call us back. But by 4 p.m. that day, when Diamond still wasn't responding to even one message or call, DeQuan decided to call their cousin, Deovana. He wanted to see if Diamond had said anything to her the night before about going anywhere that day. The two girls had been hanging out together during Dorsey. Christmas's birthday party, they were in Diamond's room listening to music and laughing and just

spending time together. Diavana told De Quan that Diamond had not told her anything about any plans that she may have had that morning. Even though Diavana said that normally they would tell each other everything. And in their minds, this meant that Diamond didn't leave on her own. By the late evening, Doris couldn't hold it together anymore. She wanted to know where her baby was and she had exhausted all of her resources. Dequan told her that they need to call the police. By 6.30 p.m., Doris was walking into the police station to report her daughter missing, not just calling them. She went down there with Dequan.

And he went to high school with the son of the chief of police, Kevin Sankston. He had been working in Spring Valley for 30 years, and he knew Dequan and was surprised that they were reporting his little sister as missing. He sent Sergeant Sarah Kinkin over to the Bradley residence. She sat down with Doris, and she asked her a lot of questions. When was the last time that you saw Diamond and important details like the fact that she didn't have her own money or her own car? So they don't know how she could have gone very far. However, Doris does let her know that Diamond has her own cell phone, but that she's not returning any calls and that they're all going to voicemail.

At this point, they do make a missing persons report in the crime database. They listed Diamond as 16 years old African American black hair, brown eyes five feet tall and 115 pounds. They also got all the information about Diamond cell phone, and they give it to authorities so that they could contact the service provider. Because they wanted to try to see if they could track where her phone pinged the day that she went missing. Time is of the essence. Within half an hour, that phone company got back to them with a report that showed that the phone was last used at 7.18 a.m. That was the last time. And when it pinged, it was five miles northwest of a tower in time. Honica, Illinois. But it didn't give them any exact locations. This could be anywhere. Each tower

has a specific radius. So the phone could have been anywhere within that area, but at least it was something. What was more important was the fact it was not on, that it either died or someone turned it off. There was no activity on her phone after that time, 7.18 a.m. When they heard this, they were definitely thinking something had to have happened to her. The fact that her phone was already dead that early in the morning, that didn't make sense. So somebody had to have turned it off and they knew it wasn't Diamond. It was horrifying to think about the latter, that it could have been someone who turned it off and done something to Diamond. This made the case much more serious. There was also no social media usage either. And at this age, we know teenagers are glued to their

phones. Deovana has a gut feeling that something isn't right. All of these thoughts, they start going through her mind. What if she's hurt? What is she's waiting for us to save her? And now Dequan, he kept wishing that he would have just gotten there a little bit earlier because he said to her, I'll always be there for you. And this time, he wasn't. And that haunted him. I told you that Diamond and Deovana looked a lot alike. They looked like twins, that they were sisters.

And they shared everything together. Diamond would share her secrets, her hopes and dreams with Deiavanna. But she didn't share where she would have been going, which made her think that something sinister happened to her.