An Arizona man has been charged with the murder of his best friend, a 24-year-old man found beheaded in the desert near Gila Bend last month.
Sam Bush, 23, was arrested the day after the body of Alijah Bradley was recovered on August 19, AZFamily reported. Bradley had been shot to death, but at that time, Bush was charged with growing and distributing marijuana and mushrooms from his apartment.
On Wednesday, he was charged with second degree murder in Bradley’s death.
Bradley, a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University who worked as a project engineer, was reported missing by his family to the Gilbert Police Department on August 15 after he missed work and a scheduled call with his mother. He hadn’t been seen since August 12, KNXV reported. Bradley’s mother provided a statement after Bush’s arrest.
“Alijah loved the outdoors, the sunshine, and had the best personality the world will never experience His kindness again,” she said. :Due to this individual’s brutal act, I can’t believe the world is going to miss out on Alijah and his future contributions to the world … He was my everything, and it is inconceivable to me that I have to wake up every day to a world without Alijah … I’m committing my life to obtaining justice for my son.”
Family members said Bradley’s mother used the Life360 app on his phone to track him to Bush’s apartment, but Bush said he didn’t know where his childhood friend was, AZFamily reported. The family then called Toyota and got the coordinates for his vehicle, which they relayed to police.
Police traced the coordinates and found Bradley’s vehicle — and his body.
“I was told his cause of death was getting shot in the back and that they found him without his head,” a close relative who asked to remain anonymous told AZFamily. “And something so cruel and so graphic, like it’s almost crazy to think that somebody is capable of doing that.”
The family is baffled as to a motive.
“We honestly don’t know. He was Sam’s best friend. He was Sam’s only friend,” the relative said.
Some of the case documents have been sealed, meaning little information is available. Bush is being held on a $1.5 million bond.
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[Featured image: Alijah Bradley/GoFundMe. Inset: Sam Bush/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office]
