Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham has filed a request to introduce new evidence – including allegations that the suspect searched pornographic sites involving girls – in the death of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell in July 2020.

More than 100 witnesses are on the list to testify in the trial of 50-year-old Henry Dinkins, accused of kidnapping and killing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell. His family and Dinkins maintain his innocence. A jury trial is set to begin Aug. 8 in Linn County.

Dinkins faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping involving Breasia’s disappearance and death.

The evidence

In her request filed in court documents, Cunningham says that on July 9, 2020, Breasia and her younger brother spent the night at an apartment with Henry Dinkins along with his girlfriend at the time.

Aishia Lankford is the mother of the two children. Dinkins is the father of Breasia’s younger brother, who was 8 at the time of the incident. Dinkins is not the biological father of Breasia.

Court records say Lankford saw Dinkins a couple of days prior to the incident at a convenience store and talked with him about needing to spend time with his son. Dinkins was to call Lankford to make plans.

On July 9, 2020, Lankford was at work while her mother watched all three of Lankford’s children. Dinkins arrived to pick up his son, according to court records.

Breasia said she wanted to go with them. Lankford’s mother called Lankford, and said Breasia had gone with Dinkins and that Lankford needed to drop off clothing at the apartment for the two children after she got off work.

While the children were at Dinkins’ apartment, Breasia’s brother played a video game in the living room while Breasia played a video game in the bedroom. Breasia’s brother would later tell law enforcement officers that he saw Dinkins spend time with Breasia in the bedroom, court documents show.

After they played video games, the children showered and went to bed. Breasia and her brother were given the only bedroom in the apartment to sleep in, while Dinkins and his girlfriend slept in the living room. Dinkins’ son told officers that he noticed Breasia was missing when he woke up, court records say.

Court records show Dinkins’ girlfriend reported to officers that she woke up at 3 a.m. to use the bathroom. To access the bathroom, she had to enter the bedroom, and saw Dinkins was not in the apartment.

Upon entering the bedroom, she discovered Breasia was not in bed and could not be found in the apartment, court documents say.

She became concerned and “did not understand why Dinkins and Breasia would be gone from the apartment at 3:00 a.m.,” court documents say. She waited for Dinkins to return, which he did about 3:30 a.m., and confronted him.

“Dinkins was very brusque with her and communicated that he would talk with her later,” according to court documents. His girlfriend then saw Dinkins go into the bedroom, turn on the light, get into his closet and search for an item that he “secreted in his clothes.”

His girlfriend looked out the bedroom window and saw Breasia standing on the passenger side of Dinkins’ car, court records show.

Court records say Dinkins left the apartment with no explanation as to where he was going.

Dinkins, his girlfriend told officers, came back after sunrise in the early morning hours of July 10, and Breasia was not with him. He would not answer his girlfriend’s questions, she says in court documents.

He called Lankford and said Breasia was missing. An officer interviewed Lankford and Dinkins, court documents say.

“During an interview conducted of (Dinkins’) son by law enforcement officers, the child provided information of locations he and his father traveled to, to include Dinkins having gone to a Walmart to purchase Clorox,” court records say. The child reported that his father had the battery removed from his cell phone. While Dinkins was inside Walmart, the child reported putting the battery in the phone to play a video game. When Dinkins exited Walmart, the child removed the battery so he would not get in trouble. “As a result of the cell phone being powered on, law enforcement was able to get a brief ping off of a cell phone tower in Clinton,” according to court records.

A search warrant was applied for Dinkins’ phone for a forensic download. GPS coordinates placed Dinkins at a Walmart in Clinton, Iowa, on the early morning of July 10, court records allege.

Court records allege that “In checking his search history through the internet, in the 10 days preceding Breasia Terrell being abducted, it was determined that Dinkins had been searching pornographic sites, the titles of which involved the sexual abuse of young Black female children.”

Law enforcement confirmed In March 2021 that remains found by fisherman just north of DeWitt were those of Breasia Terrell.

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