EARLIER UPDATE: A police report-taker testified Thursday she found it “alarming” when she learned how long Breasia Terrell had been missing before the call came into her at 8:29 the morning of July 10, 2020.

Breasia’s body was found by fishermen at a lake in March 2021 after she disappeared. On Thursday, the prosecution worked on establishing Dinkins was with Breasia, his girlfriend and his son the night before Breasia was reported missing.

Sgt. Geoffrey Peiffer with Davenport Police was the first witness to take the stand. He led the initial investigation.

“The incident was clearly not like anything else we had encountered,” he testified.

Testimony continues Friday with judge Henry Latham presiding without a jury. Dinkins’ son and Breasia’s mother are both expected to testify for the prosecution.

UPDATE: A trial started Thursday morning in the case of a man accused in the 2020 death of a 10-year-old girl.

Henry Dinkins, 51, waived his right to a jury trial, Scott County Court records show.

Judge Henry Latham is presiding over the trial.

Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham presented detailed background for the case, detailing the people around Breasia at the time she went missing.

The first witness, Sgt. Geoffrey Peiffer with Davenport Police, took the stand shortly after 11 a.m. He described the Jersey Meadows apartments on 53rd Street across from Portillos.

Early that morning Breasia disappeared, he became involved with the investigation.

“I learned this young girl had gone missing,” he said.

He said it was time to organize “some door-knocking activities.”

Henry Dinkins sat quietly in the courtroom with his attorneys. He looked through a notebook at times and watched Cunningham as she laid out a timeline of the case.

“This incident was clearly not like anything else that we had encountered,” he said.

Law enforcement checked the Dumpsters.

“Sometimes bad things happen to children. They end up in Dumpsters,” he said.

EARLIER UPDATE: A trial is set to begin Thursday morning in the case of a man accused in the 2020 death of a 10-year-old girl.

Henry Dinkins, 51, has waived his right to a jury trial, Scott County Court records show. On Thursday, a bench trial will begin. Judge Henry Latham will preside in Scott County Court.

In a jury trial, jurors make the decisions. In a bench trial, the judge makes the decisions.

A motion is a written request to the court for a ruling or direction in a case.

Previously, jury selection was set to begin Tuesday in Cedar Rapids in Linn County. A change of venue was in place for the jury trial because so many potential Scott County jurors were familiar with the case.

Dinkins faces charges of murder and kidnapping in the death of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, who went missing in July of 2020. Law enforcement confirmed that the remains fishermen found just north of DeWitt on March 22, 2021, were those of the missing girl.

Dinkins and his family maintain he is innocent.