𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 (𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎)

DANA BRADLEY

On December 14th, 1981 fourteen-year-old Dana Bradley disappeared from .

Dana decided to hitchhike home from a friend's house along Topsail Road around 5 pm, reportedly so she could get home for her mother's birthday celebration. A pair of brothers saw her entering a vehicle described as a four-door 1973 to 1976 Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant. Witnesses also provided authorities with a description of the driver.

When Dana never made it home, her parents reported her missing.

Less than a week before Christmas, on Friday December 18th at approximately 3 pm, Dale Smith stumbled upon Dana's body while searching for a Christmas tree in a wooded area in , a small community just south of St. John's.

The autopsy revealed that Dana died from a skull fracture as a result of repeated blows to her head with a blunt instrument. Her time of death is thought to be consistent with the day of her disappearance. The have not revealed if Dana was sexually assaulted.

Dana's murder remains unsolved.

David Somerton

Was Dana murdered by David Somerton? In 1986, Somerton, a resident, confessed to Dana's murder. He was subsequently charged but later recanted his confession. The police found absolutely no evidence of his involvement in the crime, and I think that it is unlikely he was involved. As punishment for his false confession, Somerton was convicted of mischief and received a jail sentence of two years for wasting police time and resources.

Tom Carey

Did Tom Carey murder Dana? Some people believe that Dana was murdered by Carey, a convicted pedophile who lived in the area. A neighbour of Carey's, "Robert", claimed that he had recovered memories and had been sexually abused by Carey. Even more, in 2014 he said that he witnessed Carey murder Dana and place her in the trunk of a vehicle. The police, however, investigated and cleared Carey. Authorities say "Robert's" story did not align with the evidence. Ultimately, Carey's DNA reportedly eliminated him as a suspect.

There was, however, still much contention over buried vehicles linked to Carey. Concerned citizens who operate the fought to have the vehicles excavated and tested. When the RCMP refused, the administrators of the Facebook page went ahead and hired their own forensic team in 2016. Unfortunately, any forensic evidence located in the vehicles had deteriorated and offered no evidentiary value. Was Carey involved? If, as the police say, Carey has been cleared through the use of DNA evidence, I find it doubtful he played a role in Dana's murder.

Murdered By Someone Known To Dana

Was Dana murdered by someone she knew? Someone Dana knew could have driven by and offered her a ride. Moreover, Dana's body was laid out with care. She was wearing her school clothes and her books were neatly tucked under her arm. At the time of her murder, authorities mentioned that they thought the care taken with Dana's body was a sign of remorse. This makes me wonder if Dana knew her killer. If she did, though, you would think that the RCMP would have been able to quickly home in on the killer given the vehicle and suspect description provided by witnesses. If, of course, they were accurate descriptions. Eyewitness accounts are , and I believe that it is a possibility that Dana was murdered by someone she knew.

Murdered By A Stranger

Did a stranger happen upon Dana and murder her? Although stranger killings are rare, they do happen. They are typically crimes of opportunity, and a young teenager hitchhiking alone on a darkening street sadly presents the perfect opportunity. If an opportunistic killer did murder Dana, perhaps it was his first murder since he laid out her body with such care. Or, conversely, the displaying of her body could be , an act that fulfills some sort of psychological need of the killer and is typically repeated during other similar crimes. Either way, I think it is possible that a stranger took advantage of the situation and murdered Dana.