DAVENPORT, Iowa — The State of Iowa filed its lists of witnesses and proposed exhibits on Sunday, as they prepare for the trial of the man accused of murdering 10-year-old Breasia Terrell.
90 witnesses and around 140 exhibits will be brought up in the case against Henry Dinkins, who is the girl's half-brother's father.
Proceedings for the case are underway at the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids after a change of venue was granted in March 2022 due to pretrial publicity. Lawyers are arguing motions before jury selection is slated to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 8.
In court records filed Sunday, Aug. 6, the State, through Scott County Attorney Kelly Cunningham, plans to call 90 witnesses. Among those witnesses are Breasia's mother Aishia Lankford, one child and multiple detectives and FBI agents.
Fishermen who discovered Breasia's body in a pond north of DeWitt on March 22, 2022, along with members of the Big River Dive Team, are also on the witness list.
13 of the witnesses are listed as "video witnesses" for areas and businesses around Clinton and Davenport.
The defense had previously filed a list of 64 witnesses on Tuesday, July 25. Some examples of their witnesses also include Breasia's mother, former Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski and multiple employees of the Iowa Department of Human Services.
As for evidence in the case, the State filed a list on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 6. A total of 141 exhibits were listed.
Autopsy photos from the State Medical Examiner's Officer and clothing collected from Breasia's remains are on the list. Exhibit 133 is listed as a "bullet collected from hair of Breasia Terrell's remains." Exhibits 136 and 137 are another bullet and a "deformed bullet" from her remains.
Multiple weapons were also collected as evidence, including a "silver machete with black handle on top of microwave in RV with possible blood fingerprint near handle." Another "large black and blue machete" was found in a related apartment.
Other weapons include a pink camouflage 9mm pistol and a revolver recovered from the pond where Breasia's body was found. Also collected were a hatchet and a baseball bat.
Many exhibits are photographs of Dinkins' vehicles that were initially identified by police during the investigation.
Timeline:
On July 9, 2020, Breasia spent the night with her half-brother, D.L, at Dinkins' Davenport apartment. Dinkins is the father of D.L., who came home the next morning, but Breasia did not.
Breasia was reported missing on July 10. Her remains were found several months later in Clinton County by two fishermen.
On May 5, 2021, then-Scott County Attorney Mike Walton announced Dinkins was being charged with the killing of Breasia, on or around July 10, 2020.
On June 16, 2021, Dinkins pled not guilty to Terrell's murder.
Due to pretrial publicity, Dinkins successfully requested to have his trial moved to a different county on March 25, 2022.
On April 20 of this year, the Iowa Supreme Court made the decision to move the trial to Linn County.
Dinkins also changed lawyers following a breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.