The Murder of Dana Bradley
This case is a little different. It was a case suggested to me by Demetra! Thank you so much Demetra for sending in a case suggestion, I will look forward to emails and comments (the nice ones) that you all send me!
Background
Dana Nicole Bradley was born on July 24, 1967. At the time of her death, she was 14 years old, and living in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Dana lived with her mom and stepfather. She was described as a bright student, who got good grades, and had a passion for art.
Dana Bradley
The Disappearance
On December 14, 1981, Dana left school around 2:50pm. She went to go meet her friends at a convenience store. Dana and her friends then went to a friend named Penny’s house.
Dana could only stay for a few hours. It was her mom’s birthday, and she was excited to go and celebrate with her. Dana called her family, and said she would was going to walk to the bus stop, and would be home around 5:30pm. This was the last time anyone would see or speak to Dana.
Dana walked away from her friend’s house, and waited at the bus stop on Topsail Road. While she was there, two brothers who were on their break at work saw her. They would later tell the police that they saw Dana stick out her thumb in order to hitch a ride. They saw a light colored car, either a 1973 to 1976 Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant. They said the driver was male, and the car had a broken drivers side door. They also said it was very rusty, but didn’t think to get a license plate number.
Dana’s parents weren’t too worried when Dana didn’t show up on time, but went out looking for her. When she didn’t return home, her family filed a missing persons report.
Dana’s case spread throughout the area. Her picture was put in the newspaper, as well as the clothes she was last seen wearing—cowboy boots and blue pants. A composite sketch of the man that was last seen with Dana was also created.
The composite sketch
The Discovery
On December 18, Dale Smith was out with his family. They wanted to get a Christmas tree, but decided not to go to the lot to get one. They went to a remote wooded area called Maddox Cove. The area was also where people went to dump items, and it was littered with garbage.
Dale immediately noticed that there were footprints in the snow. He then saw what looked like a mannequin. However, it wasn’t a mannequin, it was the body of Dana Bradley. Dale took his family back to the car, and notified the police.
Dana’s body was posed in what was described as a “burial fashion.” Her school books were tucked under her arm, and her face appeared to have been cleaned. The police believed that the killer had some kind of remorse, and a plea to the public was put out.
The Autopsy
Dana’s cause of death was revealed to be blunt force trauma to the head. Her skull was fractured, and the medical examiner confirmed that Dana was most likely killed on the day she disappeared.
It has never been revealed if Dana was sexually assaulted or not, but there was a small amount of unknown male DNA found at the scene.
Possible Suspects
The RCMP spoke to around 280 different suspects, and over 1,000 cars were looked at. It was apparently a very popular type of vehicle in the 80s. They also tried hypnoses in hopes that it would lead to a confession.
In 1982, a man was sentenced to 9 months in prison for making harassing phone calls to the Bradley family. What a loser.
In 1986, a note was sent to the chief inspector in this case. The note said that the man who killed Dana was named David Somerton, an ex-convict. When David was confronted, he admitted to killing Dana. He later said that he was coerced into confessing because he was held for 18 hours. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison for public mischief.
It was until 2014, when another possible suspect was brought up. A man who called himself Robert came forward, and said he had witnessed Dana’s death. Robert said he had repressed the memory of that day, but said he wanted to come forward.
He said the killer was a family friend, later identified as Thomas Cary. Thomas was also a convicted pedophile. Robert said he and his 4 year old brother were with Thomas on that December day in 1981. He said they picked Dana up, and that Dana noticed the boys, and made conversation with them. Dana gave Thomas her address, but he kept driving, until he got to a wooded area, and pulled over. Robert said Thomas ended up killing Dana, after she rejected his advances and fought back.
Robert said Thomas hit Dana over the head with a tire iron, and put her into the trunk of the car. He then drove her body to Maddox Cove, and Robert was the one who put Dana’s school books in her arms. He said he hoped that she would wake up, and be able to go to school the next day.
Robert said Thomas then took the car to a property that his family used to own on Whitless Bay. A search for the car was done in 2016, and although they did find a few vehicles in the area, too much time had passed and no useable evidence was found. The cars were too deteriorated.
Robert said he tried to come forward in 2011, but the RCMP didn’t believe him. The RCMP still didn’t seem to fully believe Robert, and said he had a lot of information, but that his stories differed from the actual evidence.
The DNA was tested against Thomas Cary, and it was not a match.
What Happened to Dana Bradley?
There are many theories in this case. Some believe Thomas Cary did kill Dana, and that Robert has been telling the truth the whole time.
Some believe the original suspect David Somerton did it, but I believe there’s more evidence against Thomas than David. I think David wanted some kind of deal in prison, and confessed.
The last theory is that Dana was killed by a stranger, who didn’t live in the area. It was not uncommon for people to hitchhike in the 80s. It has always been unsafe, but people still did it then. Maybe Dana really didn’t want to take the bus, so she hitchhiked and was killed by a stranger. If so, they have been able to get away with it this whole time.
Other
A Facebook page was created, however, Dana’s family has said that it has done nothing to help solve this case. It started that way, but most of the information on the page is false.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I really hope that Dana’s case can be solved. It’s now 2021, DNA testing is much more reliable now. I am hoping that that DNA will be the thing that solves Dana’s murder. I don’t believe any of the people that have been named in her case are involved. If Thomas had been her killer, his DNA would probably have matched the DNA found at the crime scene. I do wonder though, why Robert came forward and said that it was Thomas. If he was lying, why did he lie? Was it revenge because he said Thomas had sexually assaulted him? I don’t know if we’ll ever know.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dana_Bradley
https://thetruecrimefiles.com/dana-bradley-murder/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeUdFZciQlM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW9khpk447M
