Trial begins for man charged in killing of girl, 10, whose disappearance prompted monthslong search

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The trial of an Iowa man charged in the killing of a 10-year-old Davenport girl who was missing for nine months before her remains were found in a pond is set to begin Thursday.

Henry Dinkins, 51, opted to be tried before an Iowa judge instead of a jury in the 2020 murder of Breasia Terrell, the Quad-City Times reported.

Dinkins pleaded not guilty in 2021 to first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Prosecutors say Dinkins took the girl from a Davenport apartment complex in July 2020, fatally shot her and hid her body in rural eastern Iowa. Breasia was the half sister of Dinkins’ son, and investigators have said both children were staying the night with him at the apartment where he was living with a girlfriend.

The girl’s disappearance prompted a monthslong search that ended in March 2021 when two people fishing near DeWitt discovered her remains.

Dinkins, a registered sex offender with a history of violent and reckless behavior, had been granted an early release from prison less than four months before Breasia disappeared.