Coalition for the
Murdered & Missing
Home | All Cases | The Murder of Alijah Bradley
Murder — Guilty Plea, Sentenced

The Murder of Alijah Bradley

● Guilty Plea — Sentenced 2026 NAU Engineering Graduate — Age 24 Gilbert, Arizona August 12, 2024
Victim
Alijah Bradley
Age
24
Date of Death
August 12, 2024
Location
Gilbert / Gila Bend, Maricopa County, AZ
Convicted
Samuel Bush — Childhood Friend
Plea
Guilty — Second-Degree Murder
Sentence
25 Years + 15 Years
Case Status
Solved — Sentenced 2026
Alijah Bradley
Full NameAlijah Bradley
Date of BirthAugust 11, 2000
Age24
FromGilbert, Arizona
EducationNorthern Arizona University, Engineering, 2022
OccupationProject Engineer
Date of DeathAugust 12, 2024
About the Victim

Alijah Bradley

Alijah Bradley was 24 years old, a Gilbert native who had graduated with an engineering degree from Northern Arizona University in 2022 and was working as a project engineer in the Phoenix Valley. His family and friends described him as a bright and beloved person with a free spirit and a wild soul. He loved the outdoors and the Arizona sunshine. He was, by all accounts, someone who had mapped out a future and was living it.

Every morning, Alijah called his mother. It was a daily ritual, a small ordinary thing that meant everything to the people who loved him. On August 12, 2024, the day after his 24th birthday, he spent time with Samuel Bush, a childhood friend. He did not call his mother the next morning. He did not show up for work. His family reported him missing on August 15, three days after he disappeared.

His mother said: "Alijah loved the outdoors, the sunshine, and had the best personality the world will never experience his kindness again. He was my everything." His aunt said: "It's devastating. He was just beginning his adulthood." Those are the truest things said about this case.

Alijah Bradley
01
Background

What We Know

On August 12, 2024, the day after his 24th birthday, Alijah Bradley went to Samuel Bush's apartment in Gilbert. According to grand jury documents, Bush shot Alijah in the back that day. After the murder, Bush went to a home improvement store and purchased a reciprocating saw, which he used to remove Alijah's head and limbs. He then drove approximately 90 miles southwest to the desert east of Gila Bend and dumped Alijah's remains in separate plastic bags in a remote area.

When Alijah failed to call his mother the next morning and did not show up for work, his family grew concerned. His mother used the Life360 app to ping his phone — it was powered off, but its last known location was Bush's apartment. When the family contacted Bush, he told them he had no idea where Alijah was. Alijah's family then contacted Toyota, who provided the GPS coordinates of his car. Police followed those coordinates to the desert near Gila Bend. On August 19, investigators and volunteers found Alijah's abandoned SUV and, nearby, his remains.

Bush was initially arrested the following day on drug charges — investigators had discovered he was growing and distributing marijuana and mushrooms from his apartment. A search warrant for his apartment uncovered an electric saw with Bradley's blood on it and a receipt for a saw and saw blades. A gun was found under the driver's seat of his vehicle. Bush's phone records placed him at the dump site. Weeks after the drug arrest, he was re-booked for second-degree murder.

02
Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

August 11, 2024
Alijah Celebrates His 24th Birthday
Alijah Bradley turned 24, celebrating with his mother and family. The following day he went to visit Samuel Bush, his childhood friend.
August 12, 2024
Alijah Killed at Bush's Apartment
According to grand jury documents, Bush shot Alijah in the back at his apartment in Gilbert. After the murder, Bush drove to a home improvement store, purchased a reciprocating saw and blades, and used them to dismember Alijah's body. He then drove Alijah's remains approximately 90 miles to a remote desert area east of Gila Bend and left them in separate plastic bags.
August 13–14, 2024
Family Grows Concerned — Bush Denies Knowledge
Alijah did not call his mother the morning of August 13 as was his daily habit. He also failed to show up for work. His family pinged his phone via Life360 — last location: Bush's apartment. When the family contacted Bush, he told them he had no idea where Alijah was.
August 15, 2024
Missing Person Report Filed — Car Located via Toyota GPS
Alijah's family filed a missing person report with Gilbert Police. They contacted Toyota, who provided GPS coordinates for Alijah's car, placing it in a remote desert area near Gila Bend. Police were given the coordinates and launched a desert search.
August 19, 2024
Alijah's Remains Found East of Gila Bend
Investigators and volunteers found Alijah's abandoned SUV and, nearby, his dismembered remains in separate plastic bags in the desert. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide. The manner of death confirmed he had been shot in the back.
August 20, 2024
Bush Arrested — Initially on Drug Charges
Samuel Bush was arrested and initially booked on drug charges after investigators discovered he was growing and distributing marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms from his apartment. A search warrant revealed an electric saw with Alijah's blood on it, a receipt for saw blades, and a gun under the driver's seat of his vehicle. Bush's phone data placed him at the desert location where Alijah's body was found.
September 4, 2024
Re-Booked for Murder — Second-Degree Murder Charges Filed
Bush was formally charged with second-degree murder and concealment of human remains and re-booked on a $1.5 million bond. He was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in September 2024.
Early 2025 — January 2026
Charges Upgraded, Dismissed and Re-Indicted
A Maricopa County grand jury upgraded charges to first-degree murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body, and tampering with physical evidence. The state dismissed these charges in April 2025, then re-indicted Bush on a revised charge set in January 2026. Bush was also sentenced to 5 years for two separate drug convictions in early 2026.
2026
Guilty Plea — Sentenced to 40 Years
Samuel Bush pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Maricopa County Judge Barbara Spencer sentenced him to 25 years for the murder conviction and 15 years for the aggravated assault conviction. No motive has been publicly established for the killing of his childhood best friend.
03
Investigation

The Investigation

The investigation was led by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The case was broken open largely through the actions of Alijah's own family. His mother's use of the Life360 app established Bush's apartment as the last known location of Alijah's phone. The family's decision to contact Toyota for GPS coordinates led police directly to Alijah's abandoned car and remains in the desert. Without those two pieces of information from the family, the timeline of the investigation may have looked very different.

Physical evidence collected during the investigation was extensive. An electric saw with Alijah's blood was found in Bush's apartment along with a receipt for saw blades purchased the day of the murder. Bush's phone data placed him at the dump site. A gun was recovered from under the driver's seat of his vehicle. Grand jury documents released in August 2025 provided the full sequence: the shooting, the hardware store purchase, the dismemberment, and the disposal.

The motive has never been established. Alijah was Samuel's best friend and, according to Alijah's family, his only friend. The question of why has no public answer. Bush pleaded guilty and was sentenced without that answer ever being offered.

04
Conviction

Guilty Plea and Sentencing

Samuel Bush
Samuel Stephen Bush
Age 23 at Time of Crime — Alijah's Childhood Friend
Arrested: August 20, 2024 — initially on drug charges, re-booked for murder September 4, 2024
Plea: Guilty — second-degree murder and aggravated assault
Sentenced by: Maricopa County Judge Barbara Spencer
Sentence: 25 years (murder) + 15 years (aggravated assault) — plus 5 years for separate drug convictions
Key Evidence: Electric saw with Alijah's blood, saw receipt, phone data placing Bush at dump site, gun recovered from vehicle, Life360 and Toyota GPS data
Motive: Unknown — no public explanation established
05
In His Memory

He Is Not Forgotten

Alijah Bradley was 24 years old. He had an engineering degree and a career in front of him. He loved the outdoors and the Arizona sunshine. He called his mother every single morning. On the morning of August 13, 2024, he didn't call. That was how his family knew something was wrong, because Alijah was the kind of son who called every day.

The man he spent his birthday celebrating with was the person who killed him the next day. No motive has ever been established. Samuel Bush has not explained why. The person Alijah trusted completely, his best friend, was the last person who saw him. His family will carry that without an answer.

Alijah's mother committed her life to obtaining justice for her son. She tracked his phone, she found his last known location, she got the GPS coordinates from Toyota, she gave police everything they needed to find him. She did all of that and still had to bury her child. Alijah Bradley was a bright and beloved soul with a free spirit and a wild soul. He is not forgotten.

Sources
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office — Official Arrest Statement, September 2024  |  Arizona's Family (KTVK/KPHO) — Investigation and Grand Jury Documents, August 2025  |  ABC15 Phoenix — Arrest and Family Statement, September 2024  |  Fox 10 Phoenix — Arrest Coverage, September 2024  |  Law & Crime — Sentencing Coverage, 2026  |  Fox News — Arrest Report, September 2024  |  PEOPLE — Family Statement, September 2024
More Cases

Related Cases