A 10-year-old Davenport girl disappears in 2020. A community rallies and searches for months while a 51-year-old Davenport man is under suspicion.  

Months later, a horrific discovery: Her remains are found at a pond near DeWitt. 

The case of Breasia Terrell, who was reported missing early July 10, 2020, finally may come to an end Friday, more than three years after she disappeared. Judge Henry Latham is set to give the verdict Friday morning in Scott County Court after the 14-day trial of Henry Dinkins, one of the last people to see Breasia alive.  

Dinkins faces charges of murder and kidnapping. He and his family continue to maintain his innocence.  

Dinkins, who shares a son, D.L., with Aishia Lankford, picked up D. L. and his half-sister, Breasia, on July 9, 2020, for an overnight stay. The four played video games at the apartment Dinkins shared with Andrea Culberson, his then-girlfriend.  

Culberson testified that she woke up in the middle of the night to see Dinkins and Breasia were gone. About 3:30 a.m., Culberson looked out the window and saw Breasia standing by Dinkins’ maroon Impala.  

Surveillance video shows that, very early that morning, Dinkins went to the Clinton Walmart, where he bought two bottles of Clorox.  

Video of an interview with Jerod Brink, who passed away before the trial started, revealed brink had helped a man whose description matches Dinkins very early one morning.

Meanwhile, Lankford spoke with police. “I called 911 and I told her my daughter was missing,” she testified. Later, a video from a Davenport Police Officer’s body camera shows her burst into tears: “It’s 9:30 and I haven’t heard from her,” she sobbed.

The community began to search for Breasia, while Dinkins became a suspect. Months pass. Then on March 22, 2021, police confirm fishermen found Breasia’s remains at a pond near DeWitt.  

Forensic pathologist Kelly Kruse testified about the cause of Breasia’s death and the state of her remains. “On top of those three gunshot wounds and the projectile, the main thing that I noticed was the severe decomposition of her body,” she said.  

Additionally, a dive team testified they found a revolver in the pond.  

Prosecutor Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham accused Dinkins of sexually assaulting, then killing, Breasia Terrell: “There is nothing by way of what played out that night that would offer a reasonable explanation as to why an adult non-father figure would take a female child out of that apartment,” she said.

Dinkins’ attorneys argued the evidence is circumstantial: “The standard is did the state prove it beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Chad Frese. “There’s not one piece of physical evidence that can say Henry Dinkins touched the girl.”  

Our Local 4 News crew will continue to provide updates.