Iowa Man Convicted of Killing Girl

An Iowa man was convicted Friday of abducting and killing a 10-year-old girl who was missing for eight months before her remains were found in a pond, according to multiple news reports.

Henry Earl Dinkins, 51, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, according to the Associated Press, the Quad-City Times, and the Clinton Herald.

The verdict handed down by Judge Henry Latham comes after a two week bench trial that included nearly 50 witnesses. One of those witnesses was Breasia’s younger brother, who was Dinkins' son, and who reportedly shared how he and his sister slept at Dinkins’ girlfriend’s apartment the night before the girl vanished in the summer of 2020, the Quad-City Times reports.

Breasia was reported missing to police on July 10, 2020, PEOPLE previously reported. Authorities issued an AMBER Alert for Breasia that listed Dinkins, a registered sex offender, as her alleged abductor. At the time, Dinkins had not been charged in relation to Breasia's disappearance.

According to records cited by the AP, Dinkins was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse at the age of 17 in 1990.

Local and federal authorities searched for the girl for several months.

The search came to a tragic end on March 22, 2021, in DeWitt, Iowa, when remains later identified as Breasia's were found, police said.

The decomposed remains, including a skull, were discovered by a group of people who went to go fishing in the area, the Clinton Herald reports. An autopsy reportedly revealed the girl had been shot, and Dinkins was subsequently charged with her murder.

According to the AP, prosecutors said Dinkins took Breasia to a site where he sexually assaulted her and then killed her. The defense reportedly argued there was no physical evidence linking Dinkins to Breasia’s sexual assault and murder.

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During the trial, Breasia’s younger brother testified that he had woken up in the middle of the night during the sleepover and noticed his father, Dinkins, and his sister were gone, according to the Clinton Herald. When Dinkins returned just before 6 a.m. on July 10, 2020, the boy said Dinkins picked him up and took him to a local Walmart, where Dinkins bought bleach and then traveled to a location where Breasia’s body was later found. Video surveillance and cellular data reportedly confirmed his movements.

Dinkins is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 11 and faces life in prison, per the news outlets.

Following Friday’s verdict, Breasia’s mother, Aishia Lankford said that she believes justice has been served.

“I don’t know how to feel,” Lankford told KLJB-TV. “I feel like I just won the lottery.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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