The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has made significant strides in two different murder cases, arresting a suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Alijah Bradley and discovering crucial evidence in the high-profile murder case of 41-year-old Benjamin Anderson. According to information obtained from FOX 10 Phoenix, a 23-year-old man, Samuel Bush, has been booked on a $1.5 million bond in connection with Bradley's murder. Bradley, initially reported missing by Gilbert Police on August 15th, was found dead four days later east of Gila Bend.
Investigators have pieced together a distressing chain of evidence, including Bradley's SUV found abandoned in the desert and his severed body discovered in plastic bags. Detectives, to further link Bush to the crime, obtained a search warrant for Bush's apartment. Inside, they found an electric saw with blood matching Bradley and a receipt for a saw and saw blades in Bush's vehicle, alongside a gun underneath the driver's seat. Bush's phone records revealed that his phone was in the same location where Bradley's body was uncovered. The chilling conclusion drawn by investigators is that Bush allegedly shot Bradley in the back before dismembering him.
Meanwhile, True Crime Arizona uncovered another grim development in the Anderson case with detectives confirming the discovery of his cell phone in a canal three months after his murder. As azfamily.com reports, the phone, found by what is believed to be a fisherman, was located in Glendale - complicating the already perplexing case for the MCSO. Sam Stahoviak, Benjamin Anderson’s best friend, elucidated, "We've got evidence pieces of this puzzle that are all over the county basically, and it just doesn't make sense." Anderson's personal tragedy is underscored by the vast geographic spread of clues left in the wake of his death - his body found on fire in the desert, his charred car in Phoenix, and now his cell phone miles away in a canal.
With the phone now in possession of law enforcement, MCSO is looking to extract potentially decisive forensic data to help resolve the case. Though hampered by added cyber security layers and damage from waterlogging, investigators are committed to to trying extract all viable evidence until the device is inoperable. As Stahoviak told azfamily.com, understanding the communications in the period between the last iCloud backup and Anderson’s disappearance could be key, "Whatever happened between that 10 p.m. the night before to the next morning, whatever text messages, is what they're trying to get off the phone." MCSO is currently finalizing paperwork, pending the conclusion of the forensic investigation, to present the case for charges. Stahoviak expressed a reserved hope for closure, conveying the agonizing duration of the quest for justice, "I'm confident there will be resolution, I just wish it was soon."
