UPDATE: Asha Degree

Summary

Crime Junkie Podcast Episode Summary: UPDATE: Asha Degree

Introduction

In the February 26, 2025 episode of Crime Junkie titled "UPDATE: Asha Degree," hosts Ashley Flowers and Britt Prawat delve deep into one of North Carolina's most perplexing cold cases—the disappearance of nine-year-old Asha Degree. Joined by special guest Delia D'Amber, host of Counterclock and Park Predators, the episode offers fresh insights and recent developments that shed new light on this enduring mystery.

---

Background of the Asha Degree Case

Asha Degree vanished on the night of February 13, 2000, from her family's home in Shelby, North Carolina. Despite extensive searches and numerous leads over the past 25 years, her disappearance remains unsolved, leaving her family and community searching for answers.

Ashley Flowers [02:19]: "This has been a wild couple of weeks when it comes to updates in cold cases. And one of North Carolina's most infamous cases, the disappearance of Asha Degree was the latest to break."

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Timeline of Asha's Disappearance

On Valentine's Day eve, February 13, 2000, Asha and her brother O'Brien were at home. Due to a car accident that knocked out their power, their usual bedtime routine was disrupted. Around midnight to 2:30 AM, Asha disappeared from her locked bedroom, leaving behind her belongings. Her father, Harold, reported her missing at 6:30 AM after discovering she was gone.

Dispatcher [09:12-10:58]:

[09:12] Dispatcher: 911.
[09:13] Harold Degree: Yes, I'd like to report a child missing.
...
[10:58] Delia D'Amber: Bye.

---

Initial Investigation and Leads

Early investigations focused on the possibility of Asha leaving voluntarily, given the absence of forced entry and the disappearance of her personal items. However, Asha's shy and fearful nature made this theory less credible. A crucial lead emerged when a motorist reported seeing a girl matching Asha's description near Highway 18 between 3:30 and 4:00 AM, dressed in her daytime clothes rather than her nightgown. Another sighting by a truck driver described a green vehicle, either a 1970s Lincoln Mark 4 or a Ford Thunderbird, influencing the FBI's focus on these models.

Delia D'Amber [04:09]: "It's one of those cases where, you know, if you're local and it was locally known... agencies and news outlets outside of the state of North Carolina really didn't cover it much until recently."

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Breakthroughs in 2016: The Green Car Element

In May 2016, the FBI released new information suggesting Asha was seen entering a dark green vehicle, a lead that had not been previously connected to the case. Despite this revelation, no immediate breakthroughs occurred, causing the case to remain stagnant for several years.

Ashley Flowers [18:04]: "So in May of 2016, the FBI released that they believed a girl matching Asha's description got into a dark green vehicle."

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Recent Developments in 2024

A significant resurgence in the investigation occurred in early September 2024, marked by increased law enforcement activity in Cleveland and Lincoln Counties. Authorities executed search warrants on properties owned by Roy and Connie Dedman, rooted in the discovery of Asha’s belongings years earlier and new DNA evidence linking the Dedman family to the case.

Delia D'Amber [20:08]: "Authorities have been following Asha's case. They noticed that the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the NCSBI have like, descended on some properties and they are up to something in Shelby."

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Suspicious Evidence and Family Connections

The search warrants revealed troubling connections between the Dedman family and Asha's disappearance. Specifically, DNA evidence from a book bag found in 2016 matched Russell Bradley Underhill, a tenant related to the Dedmans, linking him directly to Asha’s belongings. Additionally, communications between Roy Dedman and his daughters showed signs of obstruction, with texts indicating stress and potential involvement in covering up Asha’s disappearance.

Delia D'Amber [22:55]: "Roy and Connie have three daughters... All of the properties in Cleveland county were owned by a couple named Roy and Connie Dedman."

Ashley Flowers [31:04]: "There is a text exchange between Annaleigh and Lizzie on September 10, 2024, where Annalee says, 'I am so sorry I just said all that... I'm scared though. Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect.'"

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Key Communications Highlighting Suspicion

Examination of text messages from September 2024 revealed alarming communication patterns among the Dedman family members. Notably, messages from Annalee to Lizzie expressed fear and implied their father’s possible involvement. Subsequent texts suggested that Lizzie felt responsible for Asha’s disappearance, while Sarah advised compliance with investigators.

Notable Quotes:

• Annalee to Lizzie [31:13] "I'm scared though. Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect."
• Lizzie to Ex-Husband [32:32] "I'm just so anxious about, like, what's going on behind the scenes."
• Sarah to Lizzie [33:16] "The theory is, I did it, accident covered it up."

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Witness Testimony: Thad Mellentine's Revelation

A pivotal moment in the recent investigation was testimony from Thad Mellentine, who claimed to have overheard Lizzie Dedman admitting to killing Asha at a house party in the mid-2000s. Despite initial skepticism, Mellentine passed a polygraph test, lending credibility to his statements.

Delia D'Amber [38:55]: "Thad tells the sheriff's office that... at one particular house party, after Asha Degree vanished, he saw Lizzie... sobbing... her sister Sarah immediately... tells her to 'shut the fuck up.'"

Ashley Flowers [39:02]: "I don't think that's a bad idea. If the dude's not lying, the story he told is worth looking into."

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Theories and Speculations

The episode explores multiple theories surrounding Asha’s disappearance. While an accidental death, such as a hit-and-run, remains plausible, the possibility of foul play orchestrated by the Dedman family surfaces heavily due to the evidential DNA links and incriminating communications. The interplay between the family's actions post-disappearance, including obstructive behavior towards investigators, further complicates the narrative.

Delia D'Amber [35:48]: "It definitely feels like maybe something tragic happened back in 2000, but everything that's gone on since then is just very suspicious."

Ashley Flowers [36:31]: "Why did she leave her house? If she left willingly, was she lured?"

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Conclusion and Current Status

As of the recording of this episode, no formal arrests have been made, and Asha Degree remains missing. However, the latest developments and emerging evidence suggest that significant progress may be on the horizon. The Dedman family's potential involvement, coupled with supportive witness testimony, indicates that the case may finally approach resolution after decades of uncertainty.

Asha's Mother, Iquilla Degree [39:56]: "I believe she is still alive. And until somebody can prove me wrong, I'm still going to believe that because I have hope."

Ashley Flowers [39:59]: "This case seems to just keep evolving. Every day, new updates and maybe even possible arrests could come literally any second now."

Call to Action

Listeners are encouraged to come forward with any information regarding Asha Degree’s disappearance. Contact details for the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office and the FBI's Charlotte office are provided for tips and leads.

Ashley Flowers [40:16]: "If you guys have any information about the disappearance of Asha Degree... please call the Cleveland County Sheriff's office at 704-484-4788 or the FBI's Charlotte office at 704-867-26100."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Crime Junkie not only revisits a long-standing cold case but also invigorates the search for truth with new evidence and testimonies. Ashley Flowers and Delia D'Amber's meticulous exploration underscores the relentless pursuit of justice for Asha Degree, offering hope to her family and listeners alike.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ashley Flowers [03:09]: "You need to come tell this story. You need to get all the search warrants and, like, get on a plane and come to Indianapolis immediately."
• Delia D'Amber [03:23]: "But because it is this case, I knew, like, okay, I got to get my hands on these search warrants."
• Dispatcher [09:12-10:19]: The verbatim 911 call reporting Asha Degree missing.
• Annalee to Lizzie [31:13]: "I'm scared though. Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect."
• Lizzie to Ex-Husband [32:32]: "I'm just so anxious about, like, what's going on behind the scenes."
• Thad Mellentine [38:55]: "Lizzie... sobbing... her sister Sarah immediately... tells her to 'shut the fuck up.'"
• Iquilla Degree [39:56]: "I believe she is still alive. And until somebody can prove me wrong, I'm still going to believe that because I have hope."

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Resources and Further Information

For more details, listeners can visit the Crime Junkie website at crimejunkiepodcast.com and follow their Instagram account @crimejunkiepodcast.

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Production Attribution

This episode was produced by Audiochuck Media Company.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Hi Crime Junkies Ashley and Britt here to remind you that we are hitting the road to bring you the Crime Junkie Live tour in less than one month.

[Britt Prawat]

I know. I can't believe how quickly this tour is coming up and we hope to see all of you there. We're making stops all over the country so we can see as many of you as possible. From Los Angeles to Texas, all the way down to Florida and a ton of places in between.

[Ashley Flowers]

That's right and I don't want to give away too much, but we are going to be diving into a wild case you have never heard before, sharing true behind the scenes looks into our reporting and what it took to unfold this story. I promise you your mind will be.

[Britt Prawat]

Blown and tickets are going so fast, so don't wait. Head to crimejunkiepodcast.com to get your tickets today.

[Ashley Flowers]

See you soon.

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[Ashley Flowers]

Hi Crime Junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers, and if you are watching this episode on YouTube, you might notice I have a special guest with me today. This has been a wild couple of weeks when it comes to updates in cold cases. And one of North Carolina's most infamous cases, the disappearance of Asha Degree was the latest to break. And when I hear cold cases in North Carolina, there is one name that comes to mind.

[Delia D'Amber]

Hi, everybody. Delia D'Amber here, host of Counterclock and Park Predators, and proud North Carolina resident for most of my life.

[Ashley Flowers]

Thank God we have a resident expert on call for all things North Carolina, because when this happened, I was feverishly texting you. I was like, you need to come tell this story. You need to get all the search warrants and, like, get on a plane and come to Indianapolis immediately. You were not in Indianapolis a day ago?

[Delia D'Amber]

No, I was at home. And honestly, I think it was, like, within an hour of you sending me, like, that first text a couple of days ago, you're asking me, like, hey, come to Indy in February from Florida. Which, like, for anything Degree case, like.

[Ashley Flowers]

No, I would not do.

[Delia D'Amber]

But because it is this case, I knew, like, okay, I got to get my hands on these search warrants. I'm totally down.

[Ashley Flowers]

And guess what? She did. So we are going to shake things up a bit today. Britt and I actually covered this case on Crime Junkie way back in January of 2019. But instead of the throwback to that episode, Delia and I are gonna walk you through this case with fresh eyes and a whole new perspective. Because what has unfolded recently I think kind of changes everything.

[Delia D'Amber]

It really does. And I've known about this case probably, you know, she was nine years old when she disappeared on Valentine's Day of 2000. And so I've known about it for a long time. And it really is one of those cases where, you know, if you're local and it was locally known. Well, but, like, agencies and news outlets outside of the state of North Carolina really didn't cover it much until recently.

[Ashley Flowers]

And everyone is talking about this like, crime junkies, you are blowing up our DMs. I hear you, and I am ready to jump right in because there's a ton of new information to cover. But I do want to tell people, like, how we got here a little bit. And the reason I was, like, feverishly texting you, because the timing of all this is a little wild.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, it is really wild because I was also just texting you, like, a week ago saying, like, hey, I'm looking at maybe, like, what's the next thing for Counterclock? Like, what's the future season of Counterclock?

[Ashley Flowers]

Or Whatever.

[Delia D'Amber]

And so I had brought up to you, I was like, you know, is there a world in which I can do a missing persons case on counterclockwise?

[Ashley Flowers]

I wish. Like, I needed the actual text.

[Delia D'Amber]

I know.

[Ashley Flowers]

I'm like, this might be the worst idea I've ever had.

[Delia D'Amber]

I know, because I've never done that. I've never done a missing case on counterclock. Like, in order to do that, it would have to be, like, the right fit. And we were kind of, like, talking about it, and really, like, Aisha's case came to top of mind. But also, too, you know, where she disappeared from is not that far from, like, the Winston Salem area and the Charlotte area, which is where I spent a ton of time for.

[Ashley Flowers]

Those are your stomping grounds.

[Delia D'Amber]

I know, for Counterclock Season 7. So I've really been inundated in that area. And so, you know, it made me have more interest with that. But then also, I'd interviewed an FBI agent a couple years back for Dark Arenas. His name is Jim Garnoisio, and he actually was the FBI Card team leader on Asha's case. And Card is child abduction rapid deployment team for the FBI. So I got to know, like, some people at the FBI that had worked the case. Like, I felt like I had some ends, and so that's why I kind of was like, maybe as a journalist, this is, like, my way of trying to tackle it or whatever.

[Ashley Flowers]

Delia tells me she's like, I'm gonna just, like, reach out to some people, see if I can make some contact. But nobody had reached back out to you, and it's. Cause it turns out everyone's been really busy. Yeah.

[Delia D'Amber]

So I actually made my first. I told you, I made my kind of, like, first pass at reaching out to the Cleveland County Sheriff's office, which is in charge of Asia's case. And I knew, like, okay, I need them to kind of be on board.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right.

[Delia D'Amber]

And so then ghosted, like, nothing. And then all of these, like, things happen, and I'm like, okay, yeah, they've been like, this all makes sense, you know, why I didn't give back.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah, they've been. They've been a bit busy, like I said. So TBD on the next season of Counterclock.

[Delia D'Amber]

We'll see.

[Ashley Flowers]

There might be another case for you to solve if this one gets solved. But Delia's loss for Counterclock is crime junkie's game, because it has given her and I time to deep dive into all the new updates. And you get to Hear them right now. So let's not waste a single moment. We have a lot to get into. It all starts on Valentine's day morning in 2000. Asha degree is nine years old and she's living with her mom and dad, Iquilla and Harold and her 10 year old brother O'Brien. The family's apartment is in Shelby, North Carolina, which is about an hour directly west of Charlotte, if I've got that right. Delia.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

Okay. So the Degrees go to church on Sunday, February 13. They have lunch at one of Asha's aunt's houses, which is just down the street from their place. And then they turn in for the day at around like 8:30. Harold goes to work at a second job that he has and Iquilla spent the evening with O'Brien and Aisha. Now normally Iquilla would give her kids a bath that night, but there had been some kind of car accident or like crash near their home that had kind of, I guess knocked out their power. So their normal routine is basically just like out the window for that night. And so because of that, Iquilla had planned to just like do it all the next morning, which would be Monday, February 14, which is of course Valentine's Day. So overnight between the 13th and 14th, sometime between 12:30 and 2:30, Harold gets home from his second job. And before he goes to bed, he checks on his kids. Asha and her brother actually share a room, so he was able to peek in and lay eyes on both of them at the same time. By 5:45 in the morning, Iquilla is up for the day and she goes to start the kids bath like she planned, do the whole morning routine thing so they can get out the door for school by 6:30. But when she enters O'Brien and Asha's room, she only sees O'Brien asleep under his covers. Asha's just gone. So the family searches all over their house. They search in the cars, they have like talking to family members who live nearby. And they're getting frantic as more and more time goes by. And they can't find Asha after doing all of that. So they decide at around 6:30am like okay, now it's time to call the police, right? Like they don't wait all day long. By 6:30 they know something is wrong. So Harold gets on the phone with 911 and actually back when Britt and I did our original episode, I had found a transcript of the 911 call and she and I actually voiced it. So I will give everyone a throwback of me reading Harold's words and Britt as the dispatcher.

[Dispatcher]

911.

[Harold Degree]

Yes, I'd like to report a child missing.

[Dispatcher]

From where?

[Ashley Flowers]

From my house.

[Dispatcher]

What's your address?

[Harold Degree]

3404 Oak Crest Drive.

[Dispatcher]

Is this an apartment?

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Dispatcher]

And which apartment?

[Harold Degree]

Apartment 3406.

[Dispatcher]

Okay. Is she missing from 3404 or 3406?

[Harold Degree]

3404. Amy.

[Dispatcher]

There's not an apartment number.

[Harold Degree]

It's three.

[Delia D'Amber]

Four.

[Harold Degree]

No.

[Dispatcher]

No, it's not like an A or B?

[Harold Degree]

No.

[Dispatcher]

Uh, and what's your name?

[Harold Degree]

Harold Degree.

[Dispatcher]

Your phone number, Harold.

[Harold Degree]

The next door neighbor said she went down the road and said that she was just a kid on the road.

[Dispatcher]

What's the child's name?

[Harold Degree]

Asha degree.

[Dispatcher]

What's her full name?

[Harold Degree]

Asha Jaquella degree.

[Dispatcher]

Can you spell that for me, please?

[Harold Degree]

A, S, H, A J, A Q.

[Ashley Flowers]

U, A I, L, J, A what?

[Harold Degree]

J, A, Q, U. I mean, yeah, yeah. J, A, Q, U, A, I, L.

[Ashley Flowers]

L, A, degree Yeah, yeah.

[Dispatcher]

How old is she?

[Harold Degree]

Nine.

[Dispatcher]

White or black?

[Ashley Flowers]

Black.

[Dispatcher]

When did you last see her, Harold?

[Harold Degree]

Last time I went to bed, she was in bed. We got up this morning, called her to get up to school, and she wasn't there. And her book bag's missing and her pocketbook.

[Dispatcher]

So you don't know if she got dressed or if she still got on her bed clothes or what?

[Ashley Flowers]

We don't know.

[Dispatcher]

Was the door open or anything?

[Ashley Flowers]

No.

[Harold Degree]

Her brother sleeps in there with her and when he. When he was in there, he didn't hear her when she got up.

[Dispatcher]

Okay. All right, Harold, I will get an officer to get in touch with you just as soon as possible. If you do happen to locate her, please call us back and let us know. Okay? Okay, thank you.

[Ashley Flowers]

Bye.

[Delia D'Amber]

Bye.

[Ashley Flowers]

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office responds to that call by 6:40 in the morning, and right away they're using scent dogs and sending out more deputies to look for Asha. By 7am the degree's friends and neighbors are all awake and they learn what's going on. And initially, investigators look for signs of forced entry at the family's house, you know, like anything that might indicate an intruder came in, but there's just none of that. In fact, based on what Harold told the dispatcher, which was that some of Asha's things, like her backpack and pocketbook and like, shoes and stuff were missing. They're also considering whether there's a possibility she could have just walked away on her own.

[Delia D'Amber]

Right. Yeah, I remember that theory cropping up early on like, did she just decide to leave her life? But I don't think that lasted very long because I think it became pretty clear, at least from information her parents told authorities that Asha just like, she wasn't the kind of girl to venture off like that on her own.

[Ashley Flowers]

She's nine. She's like, still little too.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah. And she like, reportedly was very tense, image, shy, super afraid of the dark and stuff, so. And not to mention, she had by all accounts, a really good home life.

[Ashley Flowers]

Exactly. But for some reason, and a reason no one could really explain, her stuff is gone. Oh, and I might have forgotten to mention this, but all of the doors to the degree's house were reported to have been locked when everyone woke up. And interestingly, Asha did have her own spare key in her book bag. So I think maybe that kind of also made people assume that she might have left on her own and then took her stuff, used her key to lock up. Otherwise why was everything like, locked up like that?

[Delia D'Amber]

Right. Yeah, I remember the key thing. And I don't think anyone disputes that she physically left on her own, but I think the big question is why? And I know there was some coverage that said she'd fouled out of a basketball game the Saturday night before she vanished, but, like, that's hardly a reason to just like take off. I mean, I know that you're nine years old, but.

[Ashley Flowers]

No, I know.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

I think that's always been a bit of a stretch, like of an assumption, at least in my mind. And it's never been definitively stated as the reason she left. To your point, she had a good home life as far as we know. So I think that people were just like looking for anything. And that's like the biggest wrong thing in the world of a nine year old. Anyway, fast forward a little bit and the next big thing that comes up to investigators is that a motorist was apparently driving along Highway 18, which is this two lane road near the family's house. And this motorist tells authorities that they saw a young girl who matches Asia's description walking along that roadway sometime between 3:30 in the morning and 4:00 in the morning. Now where she is seen is like a mile from her front door and she's headed into the town of Shelby. But at the time it was like raining and storming, which I think is important. And other than the fact that this motorist saw her, it doesn't seem like they were able to gather anything else. And potentially because of the rain and the storm, the only really big detail is that when Asha is reportedly seen by this person, she is not in her nightgown that she'd been wearing when her mom put her to bed the night before. Now she's actually said to have been wearing this long sleeve white shirt and pants. So she's, like, dressed in her normal, like, day clothes. Now there's another sighting of her by a truck driver who said that he made a U turn to try and see if she needed help, but for some reason, when he got closer to her and asked her if she was okay, she just, like, ran off into the tree line. And that was the last reported sighting of Asha ever that we knew about at the time.

[Delia D'Amber]

But then, like, two days later, though, don't the cops find some of her stuff?

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. So that happens on February 17th. Authorities who were still searching for her, like, high and low all over the area at this point, they're, like, searching a rural property off Highway 18, and they end up talking to this lady there who tells them that on February 15th. So that would've been the day after Aisha vanished. This woman found a random Mickey Mouse hair bow, a green marker, and a pencil inside of a shed. And the items were just kind of, like, tossed right on the ground near the doorway of this shed. And when law enforcement, which at this point, by the way, includes the FBI, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, when they come in and they do their own search of this shed, they find a bunch of candy wrappers that match some of the candy that Asha had gotten for Valentine's Day weekend before she vanished. But this doesn't lead them to Asia, and they don't get another lead for more than a year after that. It's not until early August of 2001 that a contractor digging an access road for a new house about 50 yards away from Highway 18, near this place called Burke county, which is more than 25 miles from the degree's home, this guy finds a black trash bag buried in the land that he's working at.

[Delia D'Amber]

Buried, buried.

[Ashley Flowers]

And then when he takes that out, inside that black trash bag is another black trash bag. And then inside of that bag is a kid's book bag with Aisha's name and phone number written on it. And I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly, you might know, Delia, but I at the time feel like I remember me and Britt talking about how he, like, sees this buried thing again. In trash bag, in trash bag. And he doesn't do anything. He ends up, like, telling his partner or Wife or whoever at home.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, like, so his partner at the time was like, wait a minute, that's a big red flag. Like, you need to call the sheriff's office. Because they knew about Asha's case and they knew, like, what was going on. There was this little girl missing, even.

[Ashley Flowers]

If there wasn't like a little girl missing. Like a kid's book bag buried in a bag. In a bag.

[Delia D'Amber]

Like, yeah, very strange.

[Ashley Flowers]

Why does it take the wife to like make a call? But that's again, we said that day one, the story for another day. So eventually the sheriff's office gets their hands on this evidence. They do call the police and they do search the property themselves, but they actually don't find much of anything else related to the case. But when they look inside the book bag that has Asha's name on it, they find a Dr. Seuss book from her elementary school library and a New Kids on the Block concert T shirt. But the thing is, they don't really say much about those items at the time. They don't say if they were hers. In fact, if I remember correctly, I don't even think they tell people right away what was in it. I think that comes out, like to the public years later.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, it does.

[Ashley Flowers]

But they did send the book bag and its contents off to the FBI's lab for forensic analysis. And by 2003, some kind of results had come back, but the sheriff's office didn't release those publicly. And clearly whatever it was that they got wasn't enough to solve this case because it just languishes after that for another year and another. And then the 10 year anniversary comes and goes. Then the 15th. There's even a large reward that they end up offering, but there are just no new leads.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, and I think the reward actually got up to like $45,000, but like nothing. And it really isn't until 2016 because that's when the whole like, I think the green car thing comes out.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right, the green car, yes. This becomes super important. So In May of 2016, the FBI released that they believed a girl matching Asha's description got into a dark green vehicle. And I see like in later reporting, like pulled in or like more of.

[Delia D'Amber]

A forcible accident placed in by someone.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah, they say that that was seen on the morning she vanished. And actually they specifically say that the car could be either an early 70s Lincoln Mark 4 or a Ford Thunderbird with like rust around the wheel wells. Very distinct, very distinct. So we actually have photos of each car and as you can see they're super similar.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, they're both, I would say, kind of. I would describe them as like a two door boat, like, sedan. And they do look very similar. Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. So it's the FBI's information about the car sighting that really grabs everyone's attention because it comes so long after Asia disappeared again. There was like, nothing in all those years. It's almost like the thing I want to know is like, where did this come from? Did you have it all along? And why wouldn't you have released it sooner? Or if someone knew is coming forward, why wasn't that part of the story?

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, it's clearly something the sheriff's office and the FBI discovered at some point in their investigation.

[Chuck]

Right.

[Delia D'Amber]

Like something led them to blast that out to the community about this car and the sighting and everything.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. And though that happened in 2016, like, we didn't know why or what it meant or if it led to anything. But now, in 2025, that green car is more important than ever.

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[Ashley Flowers]

Okay, so after they released the car information, like I said, radio silent four years, just nothing. And then in early September 2024, everything changes.

[Delia D'Amber]

Literally five months ago. So news agencies in North Carolina, and I'm really tied in with a lot of journalists still in North Carolina, and they have been following Asha's case. They noticed that the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the NCSBI have like, descended on some properties and they are up to something in Shelby. There's a noticeable flurry of activity on these properties in Cleveland county and also in a nearby county called Lincoln County. And one of the biggest things that emerges is that an older model green vehicle is seen being towed from one of those locations. And I actually dug up a clip from WBTV of this car. So I want everyone to take a look. And Ashley, you can see it too.

[Ashley Flowers]

Oh, yeah, this looks super similar. To those other two green cards that the FBI released back in 2016. Which it makes total sense because, like, everything, like, according to the search warrants, everything that the law enforcement agencies were up to in September, like, this has to 100% be connected to Asia's case. So if you would, like, I had you go get the. It was so funny that I got behind the scenes here. I tasked you. I was like, you've got to get these search warrants. And you're like, you have to be like, in the court system or they mail them to you. And I was like, girl, so annoying. You got to have a friend. You're like, oh, yeah, I'll just call.

[Delia D'Amber]

I have friends.

[Ashley Flowers]

Phone a friend.

[Delia D'Amber]

I have friends.

[Ashley Flowers]

So what'd you find?

[Delia D'Amber]

So according to the warrants, authorities visited and searched structures in land on a few properties in close proximity to one another in Cleveland County. Like, so they were on, like, similar parcels or whatever. They also went to a property in Mecklenburg county, which is closer to Charlotte. So we're more in the Charlotte area. All of the properties in Cleveland county were owned by a couple named Roy and Connie Dedman. Roy and Connie have three daughters. Lizzie, Sarah, and Annalee. The daughters are all adults now, but back in February 2000, when Asha disappeared, they were teenagers. So Lizzie's the oldest. She was 16, Sarah was 15, and Annaleigh was 13. And the property in Charlotte that was searched in 2024 was actually associated with the youngest, Annalee. And the warrants state that investigators were looking for, like, physical evidence specifically related to Asha's disappearance. And this included a lot of things, like photos, kids, clothing. They seized the deadman's electronic devices like notebooks, business records, their cell phones, some of the daughters, like, personal journals, a rifle. And they were also allowed to take any and all records for a man named Russell Bradley Underhill, who was a tenant at one of the family's homes in. In 2000. So the reason that any of these folks came on investigators radar in 2024 was because they found, with modern DNA testing, the presence of Russell's DNA and a hair that was an identical genetic match to the deadman's youngest daughter, Annalee. And that was on Asha's shirt and from the trash bag that her book.

[Ashley Flowers]

Bag was found in. So that's probably all the stuff that they found in 2016 that they, like, we sent off to FBI. We found something new test, but couldn't do anything with it. Probably right. And I looked at these two, and it seems like the Dedmans had zero connection to Asha's family. Right. Like, as far as nobody's reported that.

[Delia D'Amber]

They did not know one another, they didn't go to the same church or that kind of thing.

[Ashley Flowers]

So the important thing being, like, there would be no reason for their daughter's DNA or hair or their tenant's DNA to be anywhere near or on her stuff unless they had some kind of interaction with her.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, exactly. And at least according to the search warrants we have, that's like the case, right? Like, so what's super interesting is that in February 2000, Roy and Connie's friend, this, like, Russell Underhill guy, he was having health issues and being cared for by a place called Cleveland Healthcare. And as a part of his care, which, like, Roy was in charge of, because, like, he and his wife actually, like, owned another facility called Northbrook Rest Home, Roy would sometimes send his eldest daughter Lizzie, to transport patients, like, from that facility to, like, an area hospital called Broughton Hospital.

[Ashley Flowers]

Which is so weird to me because we don't, again, we don't have any context for how they know him. And they do seem, like, very intricately tied into his health care.

[Delia D'Amber]

And like, Royce. Royce has, like, emergency contact. Like, they're, like, clearly very close. They're. They're helping this man with his health. Now, in 2000, the Deadmans house was about six minutes away from where Asha was last seen walking on Highway 18 by those witnesses. And that road is what investigators say is, like, the most logical route for Lizzie, Roy's oldest daughter, to have taken if she was making, like, one of those hospital runs for her dad. And the search warrants also clarified that the vehicle she used for those trips was, quote, unreliable.

[Ashley Flowers]

So what's like, the implication there it being unreliable?

[Delia D'Amber]

So I think it's just saying, like, it's an older car, right? Like, it's not a brand new car in 2000.

[Ashley Flowers]

It's a new green car, right? Yeah.

[Delia D'Amber]

So the search warrants go on to explain that Roy Dedman has 29 different vehicles, like, registered in his name, and three of those are green. Now, when authorities interviewed Sarah, the middle daughter, in September 2024, she told them that back when she was a teenager, she drove a dark green AMC Rambler that her dad had given to her in 1999. And the search warrants actually include a photo of that exact car, which everyone can see. It's a black and white photo. So it's hard to kind of tell. There's like, no color, which kind of sucks. But it's actually pretty similar looking to the two car images that the FBI released in 2016, you know, the Lincoln and the Thunderbird or whatever that they believe Asia was seen being put into or pulled into. And if you look kind of closely, it even has, like, some front end damage that's pretty noticeable.

[Ashley Flowers]

I saw that. And I think it's, like, important to go into this car in a little bit more detail, like, just for a second. So this is a 1964AMC Rambler. So pretty old, like, which is what we keep coming back to. And according to the search warrants, it was registered to Roy at an address that was searched by investigators. Now, when it is seized by law enforcement, it is parked next to a house that Roy is renting to a tenant at the time. And this was the part that I thought was so weird. I don't know if that's connected to the car, but more just, like, broader strangeness of whatever was going on in this property that they got the car from. So the home used to be occupied by his daughter Sarah. Sarah's the middle daughter, but she had since moved. And the guy who lives there tells investigators that in the five years or so that he has been renting from Roy, he says there are these three rooms in the house that are all padlocked, and he's been told not to go in them, which. Like, what?

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, I would be like, now I want to go in them more than anything now that I'm renting from you. Did you also, like, see that part about the hole?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yes. Tell them about the hole.

[Delia D'Amber]

So around the same time that authority is, like, also, like, speaking, like, with this tenant or whatever, they speak with a woman named Laura Dedman, who I think is related to Roy. I mean, obviously the last name. But she tells them that several years before this, she saw Roy digging a hole at that property that was not just, like, a small hole for, like, a fence post or something. This hole was chest deep.

[Ashley Flowers]

And that. This is after what year? After 2000?

[Delia D'Amber]

No, this is after, like, 2016. Like, this is, like, fairly recently up until 2024. So, like, just a couple years before 2024.

[Ashley Flowers]

Oh, whoa. Okay, so you guys are caught up in the car that happens in September 2024. So there was a flurry of information at the end of 2024 where Asia's case was. You guys were dming us about it. We were, like, kind of holding to do an update because we thought something bigger was going to happen. It took a minute. We weren't wrong. So that search wraps up, and authorities obviously have the Rambler in their possession. They also have fresh samples of Roy, Connie, and Annalee's DNA. It's also at this point that investigators come right out and say that they no longer think Asha is just a missing person. They now actually believe that she was a victim of a homicide and that her body has been concealed this whole, whole time. But nowhere on any of the Deadman's properties did investigators find a body or human remains. Nothing skeletal. Like, all these searches took place over the course of two days, and nothing definitively connected to Asia. Like, there were, as far as I know, no more clothing or personal belongings. Nothing surfaced.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, And I think, like, right after this, an attorney representing Roy and his family, he, like, makes some public statements about how, like, that's a really important point. You know, he's like, hey, this family has been named as suspects, but they. They deny any and all involvement in what happened to Asha.

[Ashley Flowers]

Degree. Right. According to coverage by wbtv, the family's attorney, this guy named David Teddy, he holds this press conference, and he asked the community not to spread rumors, not to jump to any conclusions about Roy or Connie or their daughters. He states that the Dedman family denies any involvement in the case, and also kind of alludes to Russell Underhill perhaps being the link between the Deadmans, their properties, and whatever happened to Asia. Which is, like, awfully convenient, because according to the search warrants and additional news coverage, Russell died long ago, all the way back in 2004. So it's not like he's around anymore to say anything or defend himself.

[Delia D'Amber]

Right. Like, it's kind of one of those things, like, are we really going to blame, like, the dead guy who died just a couple of years after she disappeared who, like, can no longer be questioned or investigated?

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah, the same guy, by the way, who the Dedmans were clearly, like, very involved with in seemingly, like, his healthcare. He was in a healthcare facility, and they're transporting him.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

And, I mean, I know why this attorney said what he did to reporters, but it still feels like, I don't know, just, like, a little too convenient for me still.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

Anyway, where things get even more interesting. So this is why we're doing this now on February 13th of this year. So, you know, weeks ago, barely a week ago, that's when the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office executes three more search warrants for the Dedmon family, specifically to investigate them for felony obstruction of justice. And it is these documents that I was like, you know, the 2024 search warrants were great, but, like, these were the ones we had to get our hands on if we were going to do this update episode because what these warrants reveal are emails, text messages, cloud data and phone calls between Roy, his daughters and one of their ex husbands. And some of these communications are head turning to say the very least.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, I think that's like just one way of describing it. So like looking through the warrants because I like went through all of them page by page and they are specifically for the contents of three Apple iPhones. One that belongs to Lizzie, another that belongs to Roy and another that belongs to Sarah.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right. And just to remind so for our listeners, Lizzie is Roy's oldest daughter. Sarah is the middle. Annalee would have been the youngest. So according to the search warrants, when authorities executed those searches in September at the family members homes and properties, Lizzie spent a lot of time on her phone while all of that was going on. Her sisters Sarah and Annalee called her, then Roy called her and then Lizzie called Roy. And so the search warrants contain pages and pages of texts. But Delia, you pulled some of the messages that seem to really stand out to investigators. Like I think we need to kind of go through these because this is like I think the crux of everything.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, I did. And so like there's a couple exchanges, but there is a text exchange between Annaleigh and Lizzie on September 10, 2024 where Annalee says, I am so sorry I just said all that. I am just in complete shock. And then later that same day, Sarah texted Lizzie, they think it's our shirt. It's not her shirt. Her mom said it wasn't hers. I don't remember that shirt. I'm scared though. Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect.

[Ashley Flowers]

And I assume they mean that band T shirt that they found in her backpack. They don't say that.

[Delia D'Amber]

I have to assume they're referring to because that's all we kind of know at this point. So the next day, September 11, 2024, Lizzie's ex husband texted her that he was sorry, like her family was going through this situation. And then a few hours after that.

[Ashley Flowers]

Annalee texted Lizzie, youngest texting all this.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, Lizzie, you don't need to be talking to anyone. I'm at the lawyer's office now. They advise we should all not talk to them without representation. Now Lizzie then texted her ex husband. This is going to get nothing but worse. I'm talking to my doctor at 5 to get something for my nerves. I'm just so worried. So, so worried. I mean it's a nightmare. That's going to keep getting worse. I can see nothing good happening anytime soon, and I'm an optimist.

[Ashley Flowers]

They're so weird. It's wild.

[Delia D'Amber]

Like, when you read texts, like, you know, I think we should all keep the caveat of, like, yes, they are texts. They're just words on a page. But at the same time, like, it is.

[Ashley Flowers]

Like, it's clear what they're talking about.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, it's clear what they're talking about. Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

And it's the next few messages that I think are the most interesting, and they come the day after the ones that you were just reading. They come from Sarah, the middle child, to Lizzie, who's the oldest. Sarah says, I just talked to David Teddy, who is the family lawyer. I just talked to David Teddy. The theory is, I did it, accident covered it up. And Lizzie later texts her ex husband again and says, I feel so horrible. So, so horrible. I don't know what to do. I caused this.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah. Like, on their face, these messages, they don't sound or look great.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. And keep in mind, like, between a lot of these texts, there are phone calls back and forth between Sarah, Lizzie, Lizzie's ex husband, Annalee Roy. Like, they're all playing phone tag. And after all of this, it seems like everyone clams up and they aren't talking to investigators. Investigators anymore. So after September 28th, there's another string of messages between Sarah and Lizzie. And it starts with Lizzie saying, I'm just so anxious about, like, what's going on behind the scenes. Like, what are they doing now? What's going to happen to me since I wouldn't talk to them. To which Sarah replies, I know, girl. I am a disaster. I think if they come at you again, you just go and be compliant. That's what I'm planning on doing. And then Lizzie writes back, I think so, too, honestly. I mean, I want to do what dad says, but damn. To which Sarah replies with, and maybe we should have let you do what you originally wanted to do, but we don't know what that is. Now, on February 10th, authorities ask Lizzie to take a polygraph, which she does. But according to what investigators put in their search warrants, the results of that test show signs of. Of deception. That same day, investigators also visit Sarah and ask her for another interview, but this time she declines. So at this point, it's really Roy, Sarah, and Lizzie that law enforcement feels pretty sure have obstructed or at least at a minimum, interfered with the investigation into Asha's disappearance and likely death. Like, reading between the Lines a little based off of some of the FBI and other law enforcement officials like previous statements. To me, it's feeling more and more like maybe what happened to Asha was some sort of accident, maybe it was a hit and run. But it seems like then they're thinking it was allegedly covered up by Roy or Connie, possibly also the daughters. Question mark.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, like, that's what I was going to say too. It definitely feels like to me that maybe something tragic happened back in 2000, but then like everything that's gone on since then is just very suspicious.

[Ashley Flowers]

I know. And the thing I don't know, I wish I knew more about that sighting that someone has of like her going into the green car. Was she going fighting? Was she conscious? Did it seem like she was unconscious? Do they know? And I also wonder. This theory of an accident doesn't explain why she was on that road to begin with, which I cannot get over.

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah, I think it's like that question of again, why did she leave her house? If she left willingly, like, was she lured? Like, I don't know. There's so many questions about her exiting her home, like her safe place.

[Ashley Flowers]

Right.

[Delia D'Amber]

And going on this road. The only thing that comes to mind for me is that we know Highway 18 was going towards Shelby. It was in the direction of her school. She took the bus on that road. She had a road. She had book bag.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah.

[Delia D'Amber]

Like, she had her book bag. The book that's in her bag, the Dr. Seuss book, is actually a library book from her school. So, you know, that's in the bag. It's like, is she going just like on her own little like adventure to have her own time and then is going to be back before they have to go to school? Like, there's just so many question marks around that. For sure.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yeah. I haven't seen anything put forward that she was like meeting up with someone or again, we've got no connection between her and this family. So if they're involved in some way, an accident seems to be what, like police are posing, or at least in the text messages, what they think police are posing based on what their lawyer is saying.

[Delia D'Amber]

And I think that's why too, they are trying so hard to connect the. The routes between these family's homes, the healthcare facilities. Like that's a really critical thing for law enforcement is figuring out, like, could they have been on that road when. Why all those sorts of things?

[Ashley Flowers]

Did an accident happen?

[Delia D'Amber]

Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

And the other big bombshell from these search warrants, it wasn't just the text Messages. There is someone who has a story that kind of corroborates, like, this idea that it could be an accident and that these sisters were involved. So this testimony is from a local guy named Thad Mellentine, who authorities interviewed on September 18th of 2024. And it's only in the most recent search warrant, though, that we were made aware of this interview. So we didn't have them in the September ones. We just got them in February. But according to the documents, Thad tells the sheriff's office that in the mid-2000s, he was in his 20s at the time and hung out with the Dedman sisters at bars and, like, house parties, like, on a pretty regular basis. And at one particular house party, after Asia Degree vanished, he saw Lizzie, the oldest, sobbing, like, bawling her eyes out while seemingly pretty drunk. And she's crying, and he hears her make several statements admitting to killing Asha. But when Sarah, her sister, overhears her sister say this, she immediately, like, grabs Lizzie's head and tells her to, quote, shut the fuck up. Now, that reaction from Sarah kind of caught Thad off guard because he always knew Sarah to be very calm, a very nice person. So this story is wild. I don't know why we're learning the story. Like, where was Thad in 2000? And to make sure he wasn't lying, investigators had him take a polygraph, and he passed with flying colors.

[Delia D'Amber]

No, I know, though, Ashley. I feel like crime junkie. Never on polygraph tests. But, like, to me, though, it seems somewhat notable that they were like, let's double down on this. Let's make sure he, you know, passes this test to make sure he's not just, like, making this up and, like, trying to draw attention to himself.

[Ashley Flowers]

Totally. I don't think that a polygraph is the end all be all, but, like, if the dude's not lying, the story he told is worth looking into. And with everything else we're finding, like, it's making a lot of sense.

[Delia D'Amber]

Agreed. Yeah.

[Ashley Flowers]

So as of this recording, no formal arrests have been made in the case, and no human remains have been found. But, like, I feel like I've said this many times before. This case seems to just keep evolving. Every day, new updates and maybe even possible arrests could come literally any second now, even by the time this episode gets out. And that is a good thing, because Asha's family has waited 25 agonizing years to learn what really happened to her.

[Delia D'Amber]

Earlier this month, they told WBTV and reporter Ken Lemon that, like, they're always going to hold on to hope that, like, their baby girl will come home to them one day. And Asha's mom, aikillah, told the news agency, quote, I believe she is still alive. And until somebody can prove me wrong, I'm still going to believe that because I have hope.

[Ashley Flowers]

End quote. So if you guys have any information about the disappearance of Asha degree or the individuals that we've discussed in this episode, please call the Cleveland County Sheriff's office at 704-484-4788. Or you can call the FBI's Charlotte office at 704-867-26100. You can find all of our source material for this episode on our website, crimejunkiepodcast.com don't forget to follow us on Instagram crimejunkiepodcast. And I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck?

[Chuck]

Do you approve.