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Breasia Terrell

Report as Found / Update

Disappearance

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Circumstances (Circunstancias)

Breasia Terrell, also known as Brea, is a 10-year-old girl who went missing on July 10, 2020, in Davenport, Iowa, USA.

That fateful Thursday evening was meant to be one of family and fun, the kids were all on summer vacation and Breasia was spending the night playing with her eight year old half-brother (D.L.). D.L. was visiting his father, Henry Earl Dinkins, and Henry’s girlfriend, Andrea Culberson, at their home in Davenport, Iowa.

Thursday morning, a witness saw Breasia walking near Dinkin’s apartment and it is assumed she and her brother spent the day enjoying themselves. Breasia was a sweet child and did not forget to send her mother a ”Good night” text from Dinkins phone that evening before she went to bed. Her mother responded “Goodnight. I love you Brea. Thank you” and every settled down for the night.

• 9:00pm – 10:00pm (21:00 – 22:00) — Breasia texts her mother

According to Andrea, Breasia and D.L. were in the bedroom playing video games while she and Henry both slept in the living room. Henry had loaned both D.L. and Breasia two of his 4-XL shirts to wear as pajamas; D.L. later said it was unusual as their mother had left pajamas for both children earlier. When she went to sleep before midnight, Henry was still awake on the couch; however he appears to have left the home a couple hours later, taking Breasia with him.

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A car matching the Description of Henry’s maroon 2007 Chevy Impala was recorded five times along the river on West River Road and Schmidt Road between 2:00am – 3:00am. It was first picked up around 2:13am about 20 minutes from Dinkin’s home before pulling into the parking lot at 743 Schmidt Road where Dinkin’s kept his King’s Highway RV. The vehicle left at around 2:50am and headed back towards West River Drive.

At this point, for some reason the vehicle heads the opposite direction from the apartment and crosses onto Credit Island; the road there forms a loop that exits the same way it entered. The vehicle drives back off the island a couple minutes later at 2:53am.

• 1:40am – 1:55am — Dinkins apparently leaves the home, taking Breasia.
• 2:14am — Dinkins pulls into the parking lot where he has an RV
• 2:50am — Dinkins leaves, heading to Credit Island.
• 2:53am — Dinkins leaves Credit Island

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Andrea woke up at this point around 3:00am on Friday morning to find Henry and Breasia both missing from the home. She attempted to call Henry but discovered his phone was still in the apartment so she was unable to get in touch with him.

Around thirty minutes later, at 3:30am, Henry returned to the apartment to pick up his phone and something from his bedroom closet; he promptly left again without apparently telling Andrea what is going on. It is not clear at this point if she found this behavior out of the norm or if she tried to find out what was happening. She did however see Breasia standing outside beside Henry’s Impala in what appears to have been the final sighting of the child. Breasia was still wearing the large nightshirt she had borrowed.

• 3:00am — Andrea awakes to find Henry and Breasia gone
• 3:30am — Henry returns to the apartment with Breasia and leaves again

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From the apartment, Henry headed west to the Kwik Shop about 10 minutes away at 201 W 53rd St; he arrived there at 3:33am. Henry buys gas ($35 worth), a light, and two packets of cigarettes before leaving and heading back east towards the apartment. Henry does appear to have gone home at some point, but when and where he went in the interim is unclear.

At around 5:35am, Henry’s phone puts him driving away from the apartment complex when Andrea calls him for a brief forty second conversation. Based on sightings of his vehicle, he appears to have made a loop up Eastern Avenue and down Jersey Ridge Road on his way back home again; a nine secondcall to Andrea at 6:01am puts him back at the apartment where he picks up D.L. It appears Andrea had left home by this time so she cannot say whether Breasia was there at the time or not.

• 3:33am — Henry fills up on gas at the Kwik Shop
• Time Between — Henry’s actions are unknown
• 5:35am — Henry is leaving home; he gets a call from Andrea
• 6:00am — Henry has returned home; picks up D.L.

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Leaving home again with D.L. in the vehicle, Henry headed north on US Highway 61 and then went east on US Highway 30 towards Clinton and the Iowa/Illinois border. Henry reached Clinton around 7:00am, where he stopped at the local Walmart and purchased two (81oz) bottles of Clorox Bleach which was thrown in the trunk. A passenger was spotted and appears to have been D.L.; there was no sign of Breasia at this time. Dinkins phone puts him in Clinton at this time which suggests he is the one driving the Impala. He promptly turns around, drives back the way he came and arrives back in Davenport around 8:00am.

• 6:11am — Henry is heading northeast towards Clinton, Iowa
• 6:43am — Henry is on Highway 30 near Clinton.
• 6:49am — Henry stops at Walmart to pick up bleach.
• 7:10am — Henry leaves Walmart and heads back towards Davenport.
• 7:52am — Henry arrives in Davenport and heads south.

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Following his 80 mile trek to buy bleach, Henry heads south in Davenport back along the river. Strangely, he now texts Breasia’s mother, Aishia Lankford, at 8:08am that he had ‘just woken up’ and found Breasia gone. Aishia had just gotten to work and is immediately concerned.

Despite this concerning message he does not immediately begin looking for Breasia. Henry then takes a circuitous route along Concord, Rockingham, and Schmidt Roads before re-entering Credit Island once more. His cell phone also places him at the Island at that time. The island has no separate exit and this is the second time that morning that Henry has driven on and off the island within a few minutes for reasons unknown. Police and private search parties both later combed the area in Credit Island park; however, it does not appear that they were able to find any information that would assist with Breasia’s case.

After leaving the Island at 8:22am, Henry returns to the parking lot that holds his motor home and both Henry and D.L. are recorded on cameras in the area. Again, there is no sign of Breasia at this point. They only stay a brief moment and are leaving again by 8:27am. While there, D.L. would later testify that he saw his father cleaning a machete with the bleach; the machete was later discovered above the refrigerator i the RV.

• 8:08am — Henry texts Aishia that Bresia is missing
• 8:14am — Henry heads north on Concord and then east on Rockingham Road.
• 8:15am — Henry passes the Purina plant heading towards Credit Island
• 8:18am – 8:22am — Henry drives onto Credit Island before leaving again a few moments later
• 8:24am — Henry and D.L. are at the mobile home

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At this point, Aishia was extremely distressed and had left work to try to find Henry who is not answering his phone. She finally passed him on the road and followed him to the McDonald’s on Kimberly Road. She demanded answers but Henry just kept repeating that he woke up and Breasia was gone. Aishia takes D.L. and Henry heads back out on the road.

He again makes another loop around town, heading north towards 53rd street and then, a little more than 2 hours later, back south towards the direction of his mother and sister’s apartment.

• 8:27am — Henry has left the mobile home and is heading north again
• 8:42am — Henry meets Aishia Lankford (Breasia’s mother) and drops off D.L.
• 9:33am — Henry is back on 53rd Street, not far from his home.
• 11:45am — Henry is heading south towards the apartment of his mother and sister.

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At noon, Dinkins arrived at the Davenport Police Station for interviews but denied having any information that could help.

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After that moment where Andrea saw Breasia outside that warm summer morning, standing by Henry’s vehicle, the child seemingly vanished without a trace. Unfortunately, as seen in all-too-many cases, the amber alert was not released until five days after she disappeared (Link). It would run for six months before being cancelled in January the following year.

“I miss her. I miss her smell. I miss her smile. I miss everything about her. . . . I love that she’s a truth-teller — I could use a truth-teller right about now.”

Aishia Lankford (mother) ~ Des Moines Register

Although a person of interest, Henry was not arrested until later in July when he was picked up for violating the sexual offender registration laws (in 1999 he was charged with assaulting a girl under 13 years old). Police issued a request for any information linking Dinkins and his three vehicles to the case of Breasia’s disappearance. The vehicles included a 2007 Maroon Chevy Impala, a 2012 Black Chevy Camaro, and a 1980s Kings Highway RV.

A search of the Impala revealed the smell of bleach and an Axe containing traces of what may have been blood (animal or human is not clear). The boxes for two throw-away phones were also found but the phones themselves have not been recovered. Police did locate a phone near the highway in or around Clinton, Iowa but it is not clear if this is one of the missing phones. D.L. also said he found a phone and turned it on for a while (when is not clear?).

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On July 16, police shifted the investigation to Clinton County following a lead from an unnamed source, but the search ended on July 20.

It was not until eight months later (on March 22, 2021), that the Sherriff’s Department in Clinton reported the discovery of a body by fishermen near DeWitt, Iowa. The heartbreaking find occurred south of Kunau Implements approximately 20yds from a pond in a wooded area and only a few minutes drive from the highway 61 / highway 30 intersection Henry use on his trip to Clinton, Iowa that morning.

On March 29, the remains were tragically confirmed to be Breasia; the large t-shirt she had been sleeping in was near the body. Three bullets were located in a search of the crime site, two near the body and one in the autopsy. There was substantial mention of the axe and machete linked to Henry, but it is not clear if they were proven to play a role in the death or the abandonment of the remains. Nor is it clear if police have located the gun associated with the bullets.

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Eventually in May 2021, Henry Dinkins was charged with first degree murder and first degree kidnapping in the homicide of Breasia (Link).

The trial is still ongoing as of August 29, 2023. For the first time, D.L. testified during the trial that he witnessed Henry shooting Breasia; however, media reports that D.L. did appear somewhat confused during his testimony at times. He had previously stated that he saw Henry and Andrea remove Breasia from the Impala and then only heard two shots, so this creates potentially conflicting testimony. He did reiterate that the last time he saw Breasia was in the apartment and that he did not see her after the two gun shots.

There appear to have been other inconsistencies in D.L.’s testimony, understandable given that he was only eight when the incident occurred and it has been some time since. At the time, he had not mentioned seeing Breasia murdered nor about Henry cleaning the machete. This leaves D.L. as an unreliable narrator so what he says has to be taken with serious consideration.

According to witness testimony, no traces of blood, DNA, hair, or other bodily elements were found in the RV or Henry’s vehicles.

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This tragic end to Breasia’s story in no way halts our celebration of her life and appreciation for the precious gift graced to the community by her too brief presence on earth. Our thoughts and prayers are extended her family. Sleep in peace sweetheart.

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Description (Descripción)

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Distinguishing Marks or Factors (Características Distintivas)

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Medical Concerns (Atención Médica)

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Suspect (Sospechoso)

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Clothing (Ropa)

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Vehicle (Vehículo)

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If You or Anyone You Know Has Information About The Disappearances, Please Contact:

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Resources

• Cress, J. (2020) ‘Breasia Terrell: Community raising awareness for Davenport 10-year-old girl missing since July’, Des Moines Register, 14 November. Link
• Sahouri, A. (2020) ‘Davenport 10-year-old Breasia Terrell disappeared in July and is still missing. Here’s what we know.’, Des Moines Register, 9 October. Link
• Sahouri, A. (2020) ‘Breasia Terrell: More questions than answers in the case of missing 10-year-old Davenport girl’, Des Moines Register, 27 July. Link
• City of Davenport (2020) ‘Missing Child’ Link
• Scott County (2020) ‘Search for Breasia Terrell’, Link
• Sahouri, A. (2021) ‘Amber Alert canceled for missing Breasia Terrell; with no new information, missing child’s case still ongoing’, Des Moines Register, 13 January. Link
• Gray, T. (2021) ‘Court documents reveal new details in case of man charged in death of Breasia Terrell’, KWQC, 7 July. Link.
• Sahouri, A. (2021) ‘Remains found in DeWitt are those of Breasia Terrell, the Davenport girl missing since July’, Des Moines Registrar, 31 March. Link.
• KWQC (2023) “Timeline of the morning Breasia Terrell disappeared”, 22 August, Link.
• Loewy, T. (2023) “Son testifies he saw father shoot 10-year-old Breasia Terrell”, The Gazette, 14 August, Link.

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