Jury selection in the change-of-venue trial of the Davenport man accused of killing Breasia Terrell was stopped Tuesday.
Henry Earl Dinkins opted for a bench trial. A judge, instead of a jury, will hear the case in Scott County and reach a verdict.
The trial was moved from Scott County to the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids after the Iowa Supreme Court granted a change of venue April 22, 2022. Jury selection began Tuesday, but jurors were sent home.
Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham will lead the prosecution, while Dinkins is represented by Chad Frese and Joel Waters.
Ten-year-old Breasia Terrell was reported missing July 10, 2020, after spending the night with her younger brother at the apartment of his father, Dinkins.
Dinkins immediately became a “person of interest” in Breasia’s disappearance.
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On March 22, 2021, two fishermen found human remains in a nearly hidden pond three miles north of DeWitt. The next day, investigators from the Division of Criminal Investigation finished removing the remains from the pond.
Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski confirmed on March 31, 2021, the remains were those of Breasia Terrell.
Dinkins, accused of killing Breasia, has been in one jail or another since July 10, 2020. First arrested for violations of the sex offender registry, Dinkins was held in the Scott County Jail before being moved to the Clinton County Jail. On April 12, 2022, he was moved to Marshall County Jail to be closer to his attorney.
On Oct. 7, 2022, District Court Judge Henry Latham granted a request to delay the trial filed by Dinkins’ attorney, Chad Frese, in order to “allow them adequate time to prepare.” On Dec. 9, 2022, Latham scheduled Dinkins’ jury trial for Aug. 8, 2023.
Read more about the disappearance of Breasia Terrell
Henry Dinkins was denied a request for a new attorney after a 14-minute hearing Thursday - a meeting where Dinkins, public defender Miguel Puentes, and Scott County Attorney Mike Walton were encouraged to weigh in on the request
July 10, 2020: Breasia was last seen late Thursday, July 9, or in the early hours of Friday, July 10, 2020, in the 2700 block of East 53rd Street. She had been visiting Henry Dinkins with her brother. She was reported missing and the Davenport Police Department searched Credit Island. Dinkins was taken into custody.
The man accused of the 2020 kidnapping and murder of Breasia Terrell will appear in court Thursday to ask for a new attorney.
A new trial date has been set for the man accused in the July 10, 2020, kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell of Davenport.
Our collective horror started a year ago on this day.
Warrants filed in the Scott County Court system Tuesday outline a timeline of what may have happened the night Breasia Terrell disappeared.
Henry Dinkins, accused of kidnapping and murdering 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, submitted a written arraignment and plea of not guilty Wednesday.
Henry Dinkins has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said during a Wednesday morning news conference at the Davenport Police Department.
Henry Dinkins had his first court appearance Thursday after being accused of the murder of 10-year-old Breasia Terrell.
People have begun to lay flowers, teddy bears, and more at the site where Breasia Terrell's remains were found near DeWitt.
The identity of the human remains found last week just north of DeWitt was announced Wednesday in front of nine news cameras perched on tripods inside the Davenport Police station's community room.
Davenport Police say human remains found near DeWitt earlier this month are those of Breasia Terrell.
Davenport Police Department plan a 1:45 p.m. news conference today to offer an update to the human remains found in DeWitt last week.
In the absence of identity and motive, let's lend time and place to the human remains found outside DeWitt.
Officials made it clear investigators could not identify the remains, which were reported to the Clinton County Sheriff's Department at 6:30 p.m. Monday by two fishermen who were visiting the pond near an access road off 270th Avenue.
The 10-year-old went missing late July 9 or in the early morning hours of July 10.
A person of interest in the disappearance of Breasia Terrell will go to trial in May for three unrelated sex-offender registry violations.
Countless searches. Many prayer vigils. Thousands of flyers handed out and mounted to everything from gas station windows to telephone poles.
Never forgetting isn't the same as remembering.