The murder of Diamond Bradley by Richard A. Henderson is to be detailed in the latest episode of The Shadows Of Death on Investigation Discovery.
At around 1pm on January 27, 2018, Bradley was found dead in a ditch along County Highway 850 North in Putnam County, Illinois, just three days after the 16-year-old was reported missing.
An autopsy confirmed that Bradley, who was a junior at Hall High School, died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
Police arrested Henderson, 26, on February 5, 2018. He was charged with concealing a homicidal death, but those charges were dropped seven months later and upgraded to three counts of first-degree murder after interviews, surveillance footage, and cellphone data linked him to Bradley’s murder.
During a four-hour interrogation, Henderson confessed to the killing. He told investigators that he met Bradley online and the pair agreed to meet each other in person on the morning of January 24, 2018.
He picked her up in his jeep near her home in Spring Valley and drove to a remote area in Putnam County. Henderson said when they got into a fight, he stabbed her multiple times with a knife.
Henderson dumped her lifeless body in a ditch and hid the knife behind his place of employment, a commercial greenhouse outside Granville, in an ash pit, which was later recovered by the police.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelIn November 2018, Henderson took a plea deal in Putnam County Circuit Court to avoid a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which would require him to plead guilty to one count of first-degree murder and the remaining charges would be dropped.
Henderson was sentenced to 53 years in prison, and he would have to serve 100 percent of his sentence before he can be released.
The Shadows Of Death — The Protector, airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.