College graduate allegedly shot, killed by childhood best friend, police say

GILBERT, AZ. (KPHO/Gray News) - A missing college graduate was shot and killed. His remains were found in a desert and the alleged suspect in his death is his best friend, according to authorities.

Police said 24-year-old Alijah Bradley, a recent graduate from Northern Arizona University, was first reported as a missing person on August 15.

“You hear about this on podcasts and stuff, and like, you never think it would happen to somebody that you love,” said a close relative of Bradley, who asked to remain anonymous.

She said he missed work, and surprisingly, his mom hadn’t heard from him either.

Bradley’s mom used the Life360 app on her phone and tracked her son’s phone to a place she was familiar with.

“She signed back in and saw that his last location was at Sam’s apartment,” she said. “And then all of a sudden his phones were just off.”

According to Bradley’s family, 23-year-old Samuel Bush was a childhood friend, but when confronted about Bradley’s phone pinging there last, he said he didn’t know where he was, KPHO reported.

That’s when his mother called Toyota to see if they could get the GPS coordinates of his car.

“They gave them the coordinates that the car was in the middle of nowhere,” she said.

The desolate desert was a new lead for police. That’s where they found not only his car but the remains of Bradley on Aug. 19, days after he was reported missing.

Bradley’s family said the conditions were far more heinous than expected.

“I was told his cause of death was getting shot in the back and that they found him without his head,” she said. “And something so cruel and so graphic, like it’s almost crazy to think that somebody is capable of doing that.”

Bush was arrested a day after the discovery. However, he was only arrested for growing and distributing marijuana and mushrooms from his apartment, KPHO reported.

On Monday, he was charged with second-degree murder and concealing body parts.

As for the motive, Bradley’s family is completely confused.

“We honestly don’t know. He was Sam’s best friend. He was Sam’s only friend,” she said.

While they hope to understand more in the coming weeks, they are choosing to celebrate a life well-lived.

“Just how accomplished he was and how successful he was going to be or could have been,” she said.

Bush is now being held on a $1.5 million cash-only bond.

If you’d like to donate to Alijah’s family and funeral expenses, you can do that here.

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