A 23-year-old man, Samuel Stephen Bush, is accused of brutally killing and dismembering his best friend, Alijah Bradley, 24, and leaving his remains outside of an Arizona desert town.
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As reported by AZFamily, Bradley, who had recently turned 24, was reported missing on August 15, 2024. At the time, Bradley had missed work, and his mother hadn’t heard from him for days.
By using the Life360 app, the mother tracked Bradley’s phone to Bush’s apartment, case documents said. Both Bush and Bradley were lifelong friends. However, when asked about Bradley, Bush allegedly said he didn’t know anything about his supposed best friend’s whereabouts.
Fearing the worst, the family resorted to contacting Toyota in an attempt to get the GPS coordinates of his vehicle. Toyota complied, and they provided the information, revealing the hot desert outside Gila Bend, an Arizona desert town, to be a place of interest.
Bradley’s vehicle was found at the provided location. Tragically, his body was also found, headless. According to police, he had been shot in the back. Eventually, Samuel Stephen Bush was arrested in connection with Bradley’s death.
Brutal Dismemberment
New disturbing details found in grand jury documents obtained by AZFamily show the extent of Bush’s depravity.
Allegedly, after fatally shooting Bradley in the back, Bush bought a reciprocating saw from a home improvement store. He is accused of using that saw to decapitate Bradley’s body and cut off his limbs, which were later dumped in the desert.
Initially, the 23-year-old man was arrested on drug-related charges. Weeks later, he was rebooked and eventually indicted on charges of first-degree murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and tampering with physical evidence. He remains in jail on a $3.25 million cash-only bond. His trial has been scheduled for November.
A motive has yet to be revealed.
The nature of Bradley’s death has left his family devastated.
“He was just beginning his adulthood,” Melissa McNeal, Bradley’s aunt, said, as per ABC15. “I don’t feel a relief or anything because – it doesn’t bring him back – It doesn’t fix anything.”
A now-deactivated GoFundMe spoke lovingly about Bradley, talking of his “free spirit and wild soul,” adding that “his loss is deeply felt by all who knew him.”