The Disappearance of Asha Degree: The Search Warrants

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[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Content warning, this episode includes discussion of the alleged murder of a child.

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_02]: So today we're going to once again revisit the disappearance of Asha Degree.

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_02]: This was a little nine-year-old girl who went missing on February 14th in 2000 in Shelby, North Carolina.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_02]: So she's been missing for 24 years.

[00:00:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And recently there have been a number of developments that have come out of North Carolina that we're going to discuss today.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Namely, a number of search warrants for different properties connected to Asha's case.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So we'll go into those, we'll read from some of them and discuss the implications.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_02]: My name is Anya Kane. I'm a journalist.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is The Murder Sheet.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_01]: We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews, and deep dives into murder cases.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_01]: We're The Murder Sheet.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is the disappearance of Asha Degree, the search warrants.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's talk about some caveats before we get started here.

[00:02:19] [SPEAKER_02]: So the other day we called the Cleveland County Courthouse to see if we could get,

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_02]: obtain some of these search warrants ourselves.

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Cleveland County is the county where this crime allegedly occurred.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, that is where...

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_01]: In North Carolina.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_02]: That's where all this is happening.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And we were informed by courthouse staff that they would only be willing to provide

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_02]: these requested documents via mail and that they would only be willing to take payment via mail.

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_02]: So there would be payment and response received via mail, which of course is incredibly

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_02]: time consuming and not really super accessible.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So that was disappointing.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And it sort of means that for not just us, but for everyone who's not a local outlet or

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_02]: does not have a local affiliate in the Shelby, North Carolina area, there's been a massive

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_02]: scramble to obtain copies of these search warrants.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And frankly, I think the whole thing is ridiculous.

[00:03:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that in 2024, a courthouse should be willing to do some things online.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we're happy to pay for documents, but this mailing thing, I think is just,

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_02]: it's not in the spirit of accessibility and this is a national story.

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_02]: So I would hope that there would be some considerations here

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_02]: that things maybe need to change going forward.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I was surprised that the local media outlets didn't publish warrants on their websites.

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_02]: I was too.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I was expecting for some of the local TV outlets to at least post the PDF because,

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, and this is a huge public interest.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, that didn't happen either.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_02]: So I want to thank everyone who assisted us in getting a hold of copies of some of these

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_02]: documents, you know, just as a reference, you don't have to ever ask us if we have something,

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_02]: just send it to us if you have it.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And we'll never be upset if you send us something we already have, like a duplicate.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Like we don't care about that, but-

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_02]: If you send us something that we don't have and, you know,

[00:04:22] [SPEAKER_02]: you can just always just send first and ask questions later.

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_02]: But that's, you know, I just want to thank a lot of people sent us these.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_02]: I tried to compile the information as best I could.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_02]: There may be pages missing.

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not entirely sure because again, we're operating kind of on the back foot here

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_02]: without kind of getting the documents ourselves.

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_02]: But we have, you know, verified what we do have and they are authentic.

[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's just I don't know if there are certain search warrants still missing that we don't

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_02]: have. I just don't know because again, this is needlessly chaotic because of the way the

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_02]: documents are being distributed and handled.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, thanks to everyone who did help.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_02]: We really appreciate all of you.

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[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And when I was going through what we had,

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_02]: it seems to be search warrants linked to the following places.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_02]: A residence on Cherryville Road in Shelby, a residence on Hawthorne Lane in Shelby,

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_02]: a residence in Charlotte, North Carolina on Walnutwood Drive,

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_02]: and the Northbrook Rest Home on Northbrook School Road in Vail, North Carolina.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So these are different properties all connected to the Dedmon family.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_02]: That is a family that we're going to be discussing extensively today.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_02]: They very much come up within this case and it's unclear what exactly police thinks happened here.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_02]: So we're not going to jump to conclusions or try to label our speculation appropriately

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_02]: and kind of keep it to a low roar because I'm really more interested in what is in the documents.

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_02]: These documents being search warrants all related to the same crime are somewhat repetitive.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_02]: That's why we're not going to read every word of these because a lot of it is sort of establishing

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_02]: probable cause, explaining the underlying crime, explaining the sort of same kinds of things that

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_02]: police are looking for at each one, at each of these residences, at each of these locations rather.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And so, you know, I'm not going to read all of them, but I think I'll read at least portions

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_02]: of a few to kind of give you a sense of some of the general information about the case that's included

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_02]: therein. So again, this is some of the just general information.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Quote, one on February 14th, 2000, nine year old Aisha Jekylla Degree went missing from her home

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_02]: in Shelby, North Carolina. Aisha Degree was seen by drivers walking along North Carolina Highway 18

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_02]: in Shelby, North Carolina. Aisha Degree was seen being pulled into a 1970s Green Lincoln

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Thunderboard or another similar vehicle. Aisha Jekylla Degree has not been seen since that time.

[00:08:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Two, the search for Aisha continued for approximately two weeks after she was

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_02]: reported missing, which included searches that utilize tracking and HRD, human remains detection,

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_02]: canines, horses, ATVs, dive teams, aerial searches, neighborhood canvases, and interviews,

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_02]: which included law enforcement and multiple community members slash volunteers.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_02]: All efforts during the two week search concluded with negative results in finding Aisha.

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Three, on August 2nd, 2001, evidence belonging to Aisha Degree was located in Burke County,

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_02]: North Carolina on the side of Highway 18, approximately 21 miles north of where Aisha

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Degree was last seen. A construction crew working in the area located the evidence

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_02]: double bagged in black garbage bags and turned it over to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office.

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Four, numerous items of evidence were collected from the area, some having been identified as

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_02]: belonging to Aisha Degree and others items not belonging to Aisha Degree.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Five, various items of evidence were sent for analysis. Two of those items returned evidentiary

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_02]: results. Genealogical data narrowed the samples down to two individuals. One sample belonged to

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Russell Bradley Underhill. Another sample belonged to a hereditary family member of suspects Roy Lee

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedman and Connie Elliott Dedman. Six, invest-

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Can I jump in here to ask a quick question?

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Unquote.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Is there any indication in any of the warrants when this DNA testing was done

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_01]: that led them to this family?

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Not that I recall. I think there is some indication that I will get

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_02]: that does kind of indicate where it was collected though.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_01]: It's just interesting to me. I guess we all have a lot of unanswered questions about this

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_01]: that hopefully we will get answers to in the weeks and months to come, but I'm curious how long they

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_01]: knew this family's DNA was on Aisha's belongings.

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_02]: That is not clear to me.

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER_02]: But I will say that obviously in the past 10 or so years there's been a huge explosion

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_02]: in DNA technology and the capabilities. Things that were too small of a sample in years past

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_02]: or not related to anything found on CODIS can now be utilized through genetic genealogy,

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_02]: through different technological innovations that allow for different collection methods.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_01]: The technology just keeps getting better and better. And I guess I do recall earlier this year

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_01]: there were some news reports that the authorities were excited that there was some big break.

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Perhaps this was this big break. We just don't know. I apologize.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_02]: No, please cut me off at any time because I think it's important to kind of ask these

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_02]: questions as we go along. I think what you said is really apt. When did this happen?

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_02]: When did the ball start rolling? And I just want to say this, it's related to that.

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_02]: It's important to keep talking about cases that are unsolved,

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's also important not to make assumptions that a case is cold and not being worked on

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_02]: because we don't know. And frankly, I've come away from the thought that like,

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_02]: oh, we need to know everything at all times because keeping information away from the public

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_02]: about an unsolved case is actually oftentimes the thing that gets a case solved because anything

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_02]: you're putting out to the public you could possibly be giving to the perpetrator, you could be

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_02]: having a bunch of people who have issues be then using that information in their own stories where

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_02]: they're confessing wrongfully or where they're implicating their ex-husband who they don't like.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_02]: This happens. You might think, well, that's bizarre. Why would anyone do that? But it happens

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_02]: a lot in every high profile case. There's a lot of disturbed people out there. So yeah,

[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_02]: when we see this and we're like, wow, I mean, it's a good indicator that sometimes there can

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_02]: be really strong currents underneath the surface that we're not aware of.

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so going into the next portion of this, quote, six, investigators determined Russell

[00:13:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Bradley Underhill lived in at least two facilities operated by Roy Lee Dedman and Connie Elliott

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedman during the time Asha Degree was reported as a missing person. Russell Bradley Underhill

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_02]: was discovered deceased in Lincoln County in 2004. Seven, Roy Lee Dedman and Connie Elliott

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedman share three children in common identified as Lizzie Grace Dedman Foster, Sarah Gwen Dedman

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Capel, and Annalee Victoria Dedman Ramirez. The oldest daughter, Lizzie Grace Dedman Foster,

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_02]: resides in Texas. The middle daughter, Sarah Gwen Dedman Capel resides in Shelby, North Carolina.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And the youngest daughter, Annalee Victoria Dedman Ramirez resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Eight, laboratory analysis of collected DNA samples indicated the likelihood that the

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_02]: hair stem sample from Asha Degree's undershirt is a person genetically identical to the DNA

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_02]: standard collected from Annalee Victoria Dedman Ramirez. Annalee Victoria Dedman Ramirez is a

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_02]: hereditary family member daughter of suspects Roy Lee Dedman and Connie Elliott Dedman.

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Nine, suspects Roy Lee Dedman and spouse Connie Elliott Dedman currently reside

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_02]: at separate residences from one another. Records indicate that Roy Lee Dedman and

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Connie Elliott Dedman owned and resided at the property located at Cherryville Road

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_02]: where Asha Degree was discovered when Asha Degree was discovered as missing.

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And then here are another few tidbits from the, another one of the warrants.

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Quote, 10 Roy Dedman and Connie Dedman are the two common links between profiles of Russell Bradley

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Underhill and Annalee Victoria Dedman Ramirez collected and identified from Asha Degree's

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_02]: undershirt and the trash bag which contained Asha Degree's book bag. Eleven, interviews with known

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_02]: associates of Roy Dedman and Connie Dedman indicate that Roy Lee Dedman family have no

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_02]: connections or ties to Asha Degree. Twelve, on May 23rd, 2023 investigators conducted an

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_02]: interview of an employee at Cleveland County Social Services. The employee informed investigators

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_02]: they were employed at DSS in 2000 and were able to confirm Underhill's residency in Cleveland

[00:15:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Health Care during a number of visits to the facility in January of 2000. The employee recalled

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Roy Dedman being involved in Underhill's care in February of 2000 and informed investigators

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_02]: they were told Roy Lee Dedman would send his 16 to 17 year old daughter Lizzie Grace Dedman Foster

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_02]: to transport patients in an unreliable vehicle to and from Broughton Hospital in Morganton,

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_01]: North Carolina. So let's stop for a second. So there's a lot of information here.

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Before it gets too overwhelming and confusing, can we start trying to sort some of this out?

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely. So there's hair evidence from this woman, Anna Lee Dedman Ramirez. And

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_02]: this is something that's notable and I think I want to say this. Hair evidence is something,

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_02]: as we all know, when you're living with people you might pick up some of their hair or, you know,

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_02]: your dog's hair, you know, that proximity can lead to hair transfers. I think that's important

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_02]: to keep in mind because we know in the Long Island serial killer case there was hair at the scene

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_02]: belonging to the wife of suspect Rex Huerman, but police did not necessarily believe that

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_02]: the wife was directly involved or even necessarily having knowledge of the killings. So I think

[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_01]: that's important to keep in mind. And I think this, the point you're making about how easy hair

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_01]: transfer is to occur is why we have in point 11 where they say there is no known connection between

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Aja Degree and this family. They're saying that because there's no other explanation. You know,

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_01]: for instance, if Aja was like a friend or a relative or something, you could say, well,

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_01]: she may have been over there, that she may have been a social call. Maybe that explains the hair,

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_02]: but they're saying there's no known connection. But what I'm saying is that if there's a known

[00:17:19] [SPEAKER_02]: connection between the Dedman family and Underhill, then that could also explain hair transfer. Yes.

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's a situation where we have to be open-minded. Is this an indication that Anna Lee

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedman was definitely there that night involved in whatever happened to Aja, or is it possible

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_02]: that there is some kind of transfer going on? What does the evidence suggest? And that's something

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_02]: that I think we can kind of maybe there's some indications on what police might think in this,

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_02]: and then we can get to that later. But at this point, I think as people who are just sort of

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_02]: following along, I'm inclined to just not jump to conclusions, but also kind of just wonder either

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_02]: way, I guess. And also can I just say I've spent time around Morganton, North Carolina.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's really surreal to see it coming up. What were you doing in Morganton? What was it like?

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_02]: It was an archeological field school that I went to near Morganton. And it's a beautiful country.

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_02]: It's in Burke County, North Carolina. Beautiful area, kind of where I was was pretty rural.

[00:18:31] [SPEAKER_02]: We were kind of out on a farm digging for a kind of a Spanish fort. And it's really odd to see it

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_02]: come up in this obviously horrific and tragic case. But that caught my eye, I guess, just because of

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_02]: that personal experience. So we're going to get more into the background of the Deadmans,

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and we're going to get into the Cleveland County healthcare facilities that they ran.

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_02]: This was a couple that was associated with a number of very troubled rest homes.

[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_02]: These are rest homes that were not well run, well managed.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Matthew Feeney What is a rest home? Is that like an old age

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_01]: facility?

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Jessica Devlin Basically, yes. I mean,

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_02]: that's my understanding. The newspaper coverage that I was drawn from mostly from the Charlotte

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Observer, this sometimes would be used interchangeably, but rest home, nursing home.

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Matthew Feeney Yeah, I think I was in Indiana,

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_01]: at least we call them nursing homes, I guess.

[00:19:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Jessica Devlin I've heard both terms. But there may be

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_02]: specific legal definitions between the two about what qualifies as one or do you need a license or

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_02]: what, you know, they needed a license to operate what they were operating and they were eventually,

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_02]: that licensed was downgraded and eventually the home was shut down.

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So we're going to talk about all that, get into the background of the Deadmans, who are these people?

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, how might they have come into contact with Underhill? You know, what's going on here?

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But that is, that will kind of come at the end after we go through all the search warrants,

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I think. So I'm going to go back to the search warrant.

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Quote, 13 investigators obtained Underhill's medical records. Documentation dated June 4th,

[00:20:28] [SPEAKER_02]: 1990 noted Connie Elliott Deadman as admin for Cleveland Health Care and documented directions

[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_02]: on medication administration for Underhill. Medical records verified Underhill resided

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_02]: at Cleveland Health Care on January 24th, 2000 and June 19th, 2000. Further medical records

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_02]: indicated Underhill's school resource person listed as Roy Lee Deadman dated June 19th,

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_02]: 2000. A document from Gaston Lincoln Area Mental Health Screen form documented Underhill's residence

[00:20:58] [SPEAKER_02]: as Cleveland Health Care dated June 19th, 2000. A Gaston Cleveland Lincoln Medical Health Care

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Services consent form documented Roy Lee Deadman as Underhill's emergency contact date unknown.

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_02]: An additional medical record indicated Roy Lee Deadman as Underhill's emergency contact

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_02]: dated June 18th, year unknown.

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_01]: So there definitely seems to be a contact or a relationship between Underhill and Deadman.

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely. This is a very close contact and it seems like they are very much

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_02]: involved in his care. So that's something to note. I will say my understanding is that

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_02]: a Russell Bradley Underhill, so they mentioned he died in 2004. He died on December 27th, 2004,

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_02]: according to something that ran in the local paper. And he was age 54 when he died. So he would

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_02]: have been in his early 50s when Aisha went missing, which also begs the question, who was this person?

[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_02]: If it's a rest home, if it's a nursing home, 50 is pretty young to be in that setting. Is that

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_01]: fair to say? Yeah, I wonder if there's underlying health issues of some sort.

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_02]: There could be a number of reasons why someone could end up in a care home

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_02]: in their middle age, namely mental health issues, disabilities, things like that. But it's unknown

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_02]: what the situation is here. That's not really spelled out. And if you happen to know any of

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER_02]: the people involved in this situation, please feel free to send us a tip, murdersheet at gmail.com.

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_02]: We protect our sources. We're not just going to run with what you have. Honestly, we want to

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_02]: know for ourselves so we can better our reporting on this. But yeah. So let's go back. Let me kind

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_02]: look over what's next. The rest of the warrant kind of gets into how the Cleveland Health Care

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Center closed in 2002 and Roy Lee and Connie Dedman were the ones who were running that.

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And after that was closed in 2002, the Dedmans opened an assisted living facility

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_02]: called Northbrook Rest Home. And that was in Vail, North Carolina.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And before Underhill died in 2004, that's where he lived at that Northbrook Rest Home.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And that was something that the Dedmans had been operating since

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_02]: 1985. And we'll go more into the history of that because it's also very troubled.

[00:23:49] [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, I would say like for something that stands out to me about this whole situation is

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_02]: like the, I don't know, it's always been so eerie to me that Aisha's book bag and

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_02]: with her clothing inside were sealed in those plastic garbage bags and sort of double bagged

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_02]: and like left behind. It's just something so eerie and ominous about that. But investigators say

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_02]: in the warrants, quote, investigators believe Aisha Degree is a victim of homicide with her

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_02]: body concealed, end quote. So they're saying that they believe this child was murdered back in,

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_02]: presumably back in 2000. Now let's go back more into the Dedmans. We've talked about the parents,

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Roy Lee and Connie Dedman, and we've mentioned some of the daughters. But Lizzie Grace Dedman

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Foster would have been 16 in 2000. Sarah Gwen Dedman Capel would have been 15. And then the

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_02]: youngest, Annalie Victoria Dedman Ramirez would have been only 13 years old. This is a quote from

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_02]: the warrants, quote, due to the ages of Roy Dedman and Connie Dedman's three daughters in

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_02]: the year of 2000, investigators believe adult assistance from Roy Dedman and Connie Dedman

[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_02]: would have been also would have been necessary to in the execution and or concealment of the crime,

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_02]: end quote. So that's something that gives me pause because it indicates that the investigators.

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the way that's written is a little bit kind of circular, but it's saying like,

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_02]: because the daughters were so young, we think the parents had to be involved.

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not saying we think the parents were involved or we only think Underhill was involved. It seems

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_02]: they believe that the daughters themselves were directly involved in the crime. Is that how you

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_01]: read that? Or am I reading too much into that? That's how I tend to read it. I'll certainly

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_01]: admit that it is ambiguous, and so it is reasonable to read it in other ways. So it's not

[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_01]: really totally clear to me what they think. It sounds to me like they're indicating, you know,

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_02]: if you're saying the daughters were so young, adults had to help them. Well, that's pointing

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_02]: at the daughters. If they don't intend to do that, then they're doing something pretty,

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, that then that's pretty egregious. But I mean, it sounds like they are pointing that way.

[00:26:23] [SPEAKER_02]: But I will say again, hair, hair is one of those things that can be a little bit more inconclusive

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02]: for me. Something like blood at a crime scene, you know, a perpetrator's blood. There's not really

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_02]: a good explanation for that getting somewhere. But things like hair, you know, certainly touch DNA.

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_02]: That can be a little bit, you know, that can maybe be transferred if my hair, if a hair of

[00:26:49] [SPEAKER_02]: mine kind of gets on your jacket and then you go do something and then my hair is left behind at

[00:26:53] [SPEAKER_02]: the scene. That doesn't mean that I'm directly involved in the crime. It means I'm directly

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_02]: in contact with you. Exactly. So that's why I say to keep an open mind. But the tone here to me is

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER_02]: striking from law enforcement. And yes, so that is sort of where things are. Let's get into the car.

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_02]: This is from one of the search warrants. Quote, On September 10th, 2024, Sarah Gwen Capel was

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_02]: interviewed at her residence about this case. Sarah Gwen Capel said she drove an AMC Rambler

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_02]: when she was 16, given to her by Roy Lee Dedman in 1999. Sarah Gwen Capel was approximately 16

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_02]: years old when Aisha Degree went missing. As previously stated, an eyewitness stated they

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_02]: saw Aisha Degree being pulled into a 1970s model green in color Lincoln Thunderbird or similar

[00:27:46] [SPEAKER_02]: vehicle. The 1964 AMC Rambler has very similar features to a 1970s model Lincoln Thunderbird.

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_02]: What is believed to be the AMC Rambler is dark green in color with front end damage,

[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_02]: parked at Cherryville Road. A 1964 AMC Rambler was registered to Roy Lee Dedman with an address of

[00:28:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Cherryville Road. OK. End quote. So this is getting more into the car. Since 2016,

[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_02]: the FBI has been looking for a car matching that description. So that's been out there for a while.

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And now it seems like they found one that they believe satisfies the sort of witness identification

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_02]: here that the AMC Rambler would bear enough of a resemblance. And Sarah Capel is saying,

[00:28:33] [SPEAKER_02]: yes, I had that around the same time. And to go back to the Underhill thing,

[00:28:39] [SPEAKER_02]: if this man is a client, a patient of the Dedmans, why would he have access to one of the daughter's

[00:28:47] [SPEAKER_02]: cars? Yeah, that's a compelling question. Also, why is a teenage girl driving?

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER_02]: That let's go back to this and we might have some more insight on this later. But why is a teenage

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_02]: girl driving patients between a hospital in the Morganton area back to the facilities that they

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_02]: run in Shelby? Like why? Like that's like putting your teenage daughters to work in something that

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_01]: feels like it should be more specialized work. I think a lot of that depends, at least for me.

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know anything about healthcare laws and regulations in the state of North Carolina.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm just talking totally off the cuff here. But I think a lot of that would depend to me

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_01]: as to whether or not the person being transported had some underlying health issues that could

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_01]: perhaps precipitate some sort of health crisis while the person was being transported. If it

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_01]: was just a person who was being discharged from one facility and needed transport to one another,

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_01]: it doesn't necessarily seem to me to be inherently wrong to have that transport service from one

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_01]: facility to another be done by an Uber driver or a teenager or anything of that nature. Am I just

[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_02]: being too credulous? Well, no, I don't know. I mean, I think what you're saying, I get that.

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_02]: I know my mom, when she was a young woman, worked at a nursing home in some capacity. And this was

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_02]: in New York City, so no one was driving. So it was a different situation. But I don't know exactly

[00:30:29] [SPEAKER_02]: enough about the space to know exactly if that's improper. It just struck me as kind of

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_02]: interesting. And I guess also it's like if you need your teenage daughter to do that,

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_02]: perhaps is there a staffing issue here? The other thing is, though, that to go back to what I said

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_02]: about the hair transfer, one thing that is problematic for me about that is that that

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_02]: makes it seem a little bit less innocuous is just the fact that, again, we have a witness seeing

[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Aisha pulled into this specific car. If that car belongs to the Dedman family, was Underhill just

[00:31:09] [SPEAKER_02]: given access to it and given free, like, yeah, go ahead and ride around in that? What kind of

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_02]: relationship would that look like? That doesn't make any sense. Yeah, I'm very curious about that

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER_01]: relationship. Was it just caregiver and patient or was it closer? Yeah. And what could account for

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_02]: that? So what kind of things were investigators looking for? Well, I'm not going to read it

[00:31:35] [SPEAKER_02]: verbatim, but they wanted anything with blood, hair, fibers, blood stains, fingerprints,

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_02]: footwear impressions, DNA evidence, clothing, natural or man-made fibers, human remains,

[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_02]: firearms, ammunition, fired or unfired casing, knives or any other weapons that could constitute

[00:31:53] [SPEAKER_02]: an unspecified homicide, bloodstained clothing, handwritten documents or a diary, vehicles and

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_02]: any property to show ownership or domain of all the property, any property to show identification

[00:32:04] [SPEAKER_02]: or all evidence that can relate to this unspecified homicide. They wanted cameras,

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_02]: memory cards, VHS tapes, newspaper clippings, anything pertaining to the incident, files,

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER_02]: specifically personnel files related to Russley Bradley Underhill and possible associates and

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_02]: co-tenants of his, document noting his residency around February 14th, 2000,

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_02]: anything around something called Carolina Health Care and or Northbrook Rest Home or

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_02]: known or unknown locations owned or operated by Roy and Connie Dedman, employment records from

[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Carolina Health Care and Northbrook Rest Home, any or all vehicles, reports of vehicles,

[00:32:56] [SPEAKER_02]: belonging to Roy and Connie Dedman, Lizzie, Grace Dedman Foster, Sarah Gwen Dedman-Capel,

[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Annalie Victoria Dedman-Ramirez, Russell Underhill or Doris Callahan or Cahalan, I'm sorry, Cahalan.

[00:33:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Doris Cahalan is an employee of the Dedmans or was an employee and then, you know, anything else

[00:33:18] [SPEAKER_02]: related to the disappearance. So that is, you know, again, Doris Cahalan, I'm sorry, sometimes

[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_02]: she's Cahalan and then sometimes it's Callahan but she was a Northbrook Rest Home employee who

[00:33:34] [SPEAKER_02]: was interviewed by police and she also knew and associated with Bradley, Russell Bradley Underhill.

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Now, this is also interesting. So in this year, this kind of goes to your question but you notice

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_02]: that in 2023 they interviewed one of the Dedman sisters and then another in 2024. February 21st,

[00:33:55] [SPEAKER_02]: 2024, investigators were actually surveying the Northbrook Rest Home area and they identified

[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_02]: and saw two green vehicles in the woods on the property. So this has been kind of building for

[00:34:08] [SPEAKER_02]: a while seemingly. And let's go into where some of the searches took place. So the Walnutwood

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Drive residence is a three-bed, two-bath house. It's over 1,700 square feet in Charlotte, North

[00:34:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Carolina. That belongs to Annalie Dedman-Ramirez. So that is where she resides and that was searched

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Hawthorne Lane in Shelby, North Carolina is another 1,700 square foot single-family residence.

[00:34:47] [SPEAKER_02]: The warrant lists Connie Elliott Dedman as the owner and then for the Cherryville Road residence,

[00:34:53] [SPEAKER_02]: that is where Roy Lee Dedman is living. And at all of these, they're looking for similar things,

[00:35:01] [SPEAKER_02]: children's clothing, photographs related to any of this, records pertaining to Russell Bradley

[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Underhill. So what did they get from these places? From Hawthorne, investigators collected

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_02]: a red Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, a flash drive containing photos, a Dell computer, a Lenovo

[00:35:22] [SPEAKER_02]: laptop, an external hard drive, a digital camera, floppy disk, assorted CDs and assorted SD cards.

[00:35:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So from Connie Dedman's house, they got all of that kind of possible technological evidence.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_02]: From Cherryville, they took two silver disposable cameras, film, micro VHS tapes, LG flip phone,

[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_02]: journal written by Lizzie Dedman, journals written by Annalie Dedman, DSS complaint documents,

[00:35:52] [SPEAKER_02]: transport logs, green and color AMC Rambler, documents containing Russell Underhill's name,

[00:35:58] [SPEAKER_02]: black trash bag, Carhartt jeans, children's clothing, silver cell phone, and a .22 caliber rifle.

[00:36:05] [SPEAKER_02]: At the Northbrook rest home, the following was seized. Documents pertaining to Russell Underhill's

[00:36:14] [SPEAKER_02]: care, a photograph, two earrings and a gray Jaguar. And then from Connie Elliott Dedman,

[00:36:22] [SPEAKER_02]: buckle swabs were taken. So her DNA was taken according to this warrant. So on September 13th,

[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Friday the 13th, David Teddy, the attorney for Roy Dedman held a press conference.

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_02]: He urged everyone not to jump to conclusion. He sort of alluded to Underhill, indicated that

[00:36:42] [SPEAKER_02]: maybe he was to blame for all of this and the Dedmans were in the clear. And he said the

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedmans denied being involved in the crime, denied knowing degree, denied having anything to do with

[00:36:55] [SPEAKER_02]: this. And that's kind of where, what they're urging. He said that there was really only a

[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_02]: tenuous connection. I would argue that the Annalie Dedman's DNA being found at the scene is far more

[00:37:10] [SPEAKER_02]: than a tenuous connection. Even though I've acknowledged that the hair can be inconclusive,

[00:37:17] [SPEAKER_02]: they have to look at them based on that. Yeah. And it is not surprising that the

[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_01]: attorney for the family or one of the family members would try to shift the blame to the

[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_02]: deceased man. Yeah. And again, how do we explain the car? What patient is taking a car

[00:37:34] [SPEAKER_02]: from the people who run the care home he's living in? That doesn't make any sense. So I mean,

[00:37:38] [SPEAKER_02]: the Dedmans, I mean, I would hope that if it turns out they have absolutely nothing to do

[00:37:42] [SPEAKER_02]: with what happened to Aysha and this is also incidental and that Underhill is the, you know,

[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_02]: would certainly do interviews and cooperate fully with the investigation because that

[00:37:57] [SPEAKER_02]: needs to be cleared up. And the Degree family deserves answers. It's been 24 years.

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But if it turns out that there are multiple people involved in this and that there is,

[00:38:06] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, culpability to go around, then that really, you know, that needs to be meted out as

[00:38:11] [SPEAKER_02]: well. So because, oh, and let's just talk a little bit about proximity. So the Cherryville Road

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER_02]: residence is about six minutes away from Highway 18. Highway 18 is where Aysha Degree was famously

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_02]: last seen walking along the side of the road. And I mentioned Broughton Hospital near Morganton.

[00:38:33] [SPEAKER_02]: That's also along Highway 18. That's very close to where Aysha's backpack was found a year later

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_02]: after her disappearance. So it's all kind of like if you kind of picture a map and you picture,

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_02]: like, you know, someone putting pins and strings, it's all kind of coming together a little bit in

[00:38:53] [SPEAKER_02]: terms of the geography of this whole situation. So when it comes to the Dedmon sisters,

[00:39:02] [SPEAKER_02]: there's not a ton on newspapers.com. It seems like the oldest daughter, Lizzie, frequently did

[00:39:08] [SPEAKER_02]: well in school and was oftentimes a spelling champion for the Cleveland County Independent

[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_02]: in schools, according to the Charlotte Observer, made the Dean's List. I found Anna Lee's bridal

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER_02]: registry, which was a recent wedding, and they were listed as attending some weddings in the

[00:39:26] [SPEAKER_02]: 80s and 90s as flower girls and whatnot. So really nothing stood out to me about them within

[00:39:34] [SPEAKER_02]: the newspapers. But Roy Lee and Connie are different stories. So Roy Lee was the son of A.V. Dedmon,

[00:39:41] [SPEAKER_02]: who owned the Dedmon Trucking Company and was an agent of Wheaton Bandlines. There were three sons

[00:39:47] [SPEAKER_02]: other than Roy and three daughters. So here's where things get a bit disturbing. And all of

[00:39:55] [SPEAKER_02]: this is from the Charlotte Observer via newspapers.com. So in 1968, 25-year-old, or rather,

[00:40:07] [SPEAKER_02]: 24-year-old at the time, Roy Lee Dedmon started something called the 12 Oaks Academy.

[00:40:12] [SPEAKER_02]: This was an unapproved by the state, unaccredited school that he ran out of the Elizabeth Baptist

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Church on North Carolina Road 180. It had 24 students in 1969, 12 grades, three teachers,

[00:40:30] [SPEAKER_02]: and abbreviated hours to the point where a reporter in one instance showed up to see if they could

[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_02]: anyone at the school and the students had already left by noon. So this was a sketchy school,

[00:40:41] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that's fair to say. This was not some sort of well-organized private school that was

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_02]: perhaps doing what it needed to do. I mean, it seemed like this was really

[00:40:51] [SPEAKER_02]: a strange operation, at least in the beginning. Dedmon claimed that based on his bachelor's degree

[00:40:58] [SPEAKER_02]: from Limestone County in Gaffney, South Carolina, as well as limited graduate work that he did in

[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Florida and four years teaching in public schools, that he was qualified to teach psychology,

[00:41:11] [SPEAKER_02]: English, biology, physical science, and presumably more. But I think all of that can just kind of

[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_02]: be seen as, well, maybe this was just kind of a hastily organized venture. Where it gets really

[00:41:23] [SPEAKER_02]: disturbing is the fact that in June 1916, speaking to a Shelby reporter, Dedmon made some incredibly

[00:41:30] [SPEAKER_02]: racist statements. What did he say? So you have to understand that we're not going to be able to

[00:41:36] [SPEAKER_02]: get into the history of the desegregation of schools in the United States. But in the southern

[00:41:45] [SPEAKER_02]: states and actually in northern cities at times as well, the issue of desegregating schools was

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_02]: very hot button. And basically what Dedmon is seemingly saying here is that he wanted his

[00:42:02] [SPEAKER_02]: school to have a rigid segregationist stance. So in case you're thinking, well, Anya, you're just

[00:42:08] [SPEAKER_02]: being overly woke. I'm not. This is just straight up racism. He's saying he does not want black

[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_02]: children in his school. That's not that's not subtle. That's not you know, that's not a dog

[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_02]: whistle. That's literally just being racist. This is what his quote was to the reporter.

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Quote, and yeah, I mean, this is just it's disturbing. So I guess just content warning

[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_02]: some racism here. Quote, I absolutely would not allow a Negro in this school. Integration is

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_02]: ruining the social customs and traditions of the South. I think integration is definitely wrong.

[00:42:44] [SPEAKER_02]: We're created by God into two different races. How would you like it? And I don't mean this to

[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_02]: be sacrilegious, but how would you feel if you made something different and someone came in

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_01]: and mixed it up? End quote. What are your thoughts on that? Obviously, that's horribly offensive.

[00:43:06] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it's completely indefensible. He did say it over 50 years ago. So I don't know if this reflects

[00:43:14] [SPEAKER_02]: his current belief. Well, I think he should probably clarify that at this point, given the

[00:43:18] [SPEAKER_02]: fact that his family is being looked at in the disappearance of a nine year old black child.

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_01]: That's fair. He should. I mean, it's to have some clarification. I am. I'm very much of the

[00:43:28] [SPEAKER_02]: belief that people can change. People can grow. People can have terrible, horrible opinions and

[00:43:34] [SPEAKER_02]: then develop as a person and come out of those. And I think when people are willing to move past

[00:43:39] [SPEAKER_02]: their beliefs, especially toxic beliefs, then they should be embraced. I don't think that you

[00:43:46] [SPEAKER_02]: should be holding stuff over somebody's head forever. That being said, in this instance,

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER_01]: his family is being looked at in the disappearance. And also, in fairness, if I said something

[00:43:57] [SPEAKER_01]: egregiously offensive in a newspaper article and then over the course of time came to regret it,

[00:44:05] [SPEAKER_01]: I would make that clear in subsequent public comments. You wouldn't make me, I wouldn't have

[00:44:10] [SPEAKER_01]: to wait 50 years to do that. When you looked at the record, was there any sign that he ever recanted

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_01]: or changed his views? Did you find anything in newspaper articles that would suggest that?

[00:44:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I did not. Nothing specific. And it's possible that he did. And it's possible that

[00:44:25] [SPEAKER_02]: he even said that publicly and I just did not find it. So I'm not going to act like

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_02]: there's no way. But if he has since stepped away from those views, because again, I just want to

[00:44:35] [SPEAKER_02]: emphasize in this situation, it's directly relevant. Okay? This is a in 1968, 1969,

[00:44:42] [SPEAKER_02]: this is a white school headmaster, basically vilifying black children. And his family

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_02]: is now being linked by law enforcement to the disappearance of a black child in 2000.

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That does not look good. This is not, and yeah, they should address that. I mean,

[00:45:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I think through a public statement...

[00:45:07] [SPEAKER_01]: You're basically talking about hating black children. And then decades later, his family...

[00:45:13] [SPEAKER_02]: It raises questions.

[00:45:14] [SPEAKER_01]: It raises obvious questions. And obviously, his statement that you quoted was abhorrent.

[00:45:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's completely... I mean, it's disgusting to me. And I think

[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I really... It raises questions. And again, I'm saying it raises questions for me, but it's

[00:45:32] [SPEAKER_02]: possible that people can change. And I would hope that there will be change in this situation over

[00:45:37] [SPEAKER_02]: the course of years. And to be clear, when I was looking into this, I wasn't even sure that was the

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_02]: same Roy Dedman at first. So I mean, I like... But it is. It absolutely is. And I would also

[00:45:51] [SPEAKER_02]: like to thank our wonderful friend Jessica Cash. She's the one who first alerted me to this

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_02]: newspaper clipping. And again, at first, I was like, whoa, geez. And I was like, wow, that was

[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_02]: so long ago. Could it be like his dad or like someone else? And nope, it's definitely the same

[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_02]: guy. So yeah, that's disturbing. But we'll kind of see where that goes. There were kind of other

[00:46:18] [SPEAKER_02]: weird stuff going on. They got... In 72 in the Gastonia Gazette, 12 Oaks Academy, led by Roy

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Dedman was listed as having gotten two buffaloes back from Oklahoma named Buford and Lola. By 75,

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_02]: according to the Charlotte Observer, Buford was dead. Lola was expecting. It just seems like kind

[00:46:37] [SPEAKER_02]: of a weird, kind of off the grid kind of place, honestly, this school. I mean, obviously, the

[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_02]: buffalo thing is a little bit more innocuous, but it's just weird. And actually given the

[00:46:48] [SPEAKER_02]: accusations about him and the mistreatment of a horse years later, I guess it also raises questions.

[00:46:55] [SPEAKER_02]: In 1984, according to the Charlotte Observer, Connie Dedman was listed as the interim manager

[00:47:00] [SPEAKER_02]: of the Cleveland Mall in Shelby, North Carolina. She was quoted in an article about holiday traffic.

[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_02]: In 1991, in the same newspaper, the couple was listed as landowners of 18 acres on North Carolina

[00:47:14] [SPEAKER_02]: 182 and 274 in Vail, North Carolina. And a Northbrook flea market opened up on the spot.

[00:47:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is listed as the Northbrook number one school, the former school. And that, I believe,

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_02]: is now where the Northbrook rest home was. In the Charlotte Observer in 1995, there was a place

[00:47:37] [SPEAKER_02]: called the Whispering Pines Rest Home. It had a scandal when a woman named Ellie Wall, who is an

[00:47:47] [SPEAKER_02]: older lady, wandered out, froze to death. They brought her body back inside, cleaned it up,

[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_02]: seemingly tried to cover it up. And that was run by Blanche and Leonard Yelton.

[00:48:00] [SPEAKER_02]: And then Roy Lee Dedman, who knew the couple, came in and leased the facility from them. So he

[00:48:04] [SPEAKER_02]: basically said, you know, this is a scandal. I want to start over. In 1995, he was listed at age 50.

[00:48:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And he changed the name of the place to the Cleveland Health Care Center.

[00:48:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is an article where it kind of identified him as having gotten his degree in social work for

[00:48:22] [SPEAKER_02]: college, having done his internship with the Cleveland County Department of Social Services,

[00:48:27] [SPEAKER_02]: opening 12 Oaks in 1968. And he entered the rest home business in 1988 with a six-bed

[00:48:37] [SPEAKER_02]: residence, closed it two years in, and then opened up the 12-bed Northbrook rest home in Lincoln

[00:48:42] [SPEAKER_02]: County. So in that article, it also said he ran a private school in Northbrook in 1995. So he was

[00:48:50] [SPEAKER_02]: doing a lot at that point. But the trouble started running in. The trouble started rolling in for

[00:48:57] [SPEAKER_02]: the Dedmans. According to the Charlotte Observer, as of March of 1998, the Vale rest home was kind

[00:49:05] [SPEAKER_02]: of the target of a citizen advisory committee, the Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee.

[00:49:11] [SPEAKER_02]: They were very concerned about the roof leaking, the quality of the food. They said the residents

[00:49:16] [SPEAKER_02]: were dirty and uncared for, that things were going wrong in terms of administration of drugs,

[00:49:22] [SPEAKER_02]: that some of the, you know, at least one of the residents gave themselves their own drugs

[00:49:26] [SPEAKER_02]: and they weren't following doctor's orders. The carpet was dirty. Parts of the roof were falling

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER_02]: in from heavy rain. Now, Dedman in the press and at meetings pushed back on that. He admitted that

[00:49:38] [SPEAKER_02]: the flat roof of the former school building had some leaks, but it was being fixed. And he said

[00:49:43] [SPEAKER_02]: that essentially they were holding him to too high a standard and that they should be, you know,

[00:49:49] [SPEAKER_02]: talking about standards in general, not picking on him. And this is kind of the start of the trouble.

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_02]: There were fire safety deficiencies discovered in April of that year, two non-functional smoke

[00:50:04] [SPEAKER_02]: detectors, a faulty fire door, old mattresses and unused appliances stacked in areas that created a

[00:50:10] [SPEAKER_02]: fire hazard, improper use of extension cords. In May of that year, Northbrook was shut down

[00:50:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and a stock photo ran in the Charlotte Observer of Dedman. It kind of shows a squinting man with

[00:50:24] [SPEAKER_02]: sort of a rounded nose. He's white. He, in the article, expressed that he was very upset.

[00:50:30] [SPEAKER_02]: The article describes a sobbing resident of the home hugging Dedman before getting into a county

[00:50:35] [SPEAKER_02]: van to be transported elsewhere. And he was angry that the residents didn't get enough time to sort of

[00:50:42] [SPEAKER_02]: acquiesce and like be OK with the change and being taken away.

[00:50:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And he says, he said in the newspaper, quote, you know, they talked about taking away the license.

[00:50:52] [SPEAKER_02]: He said, quote, I have no idea why they would consider such a thing. There's nothing like

[00:50:55] [SPEAKER_02]: beating a dead horse, end quote. And later that year, Northbrook Rest Home was condemned.

[00:51:03] [SPEAKER_02]: It was noted that the place could still reopen if he made some extensive fixes to reinforce the

[00:51:09] [SPEAKER_02]: building's roof and replace it. And in the meantime, everyone would be moved to other

[00:51:14] [SPEAKER_02]: homes and it would remain closed. So the following year, 1999, March, March 4th, at that point, Connie

[00:51:22] [SPEAKER_02]: and Roy Lee had been working on the rest home. They had been doing construction, patching the roof.

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So on that morning, a woman drives by around 420, sorry, 720 in the morning, doesn't see anything

[00:51:36] [SPEAKER_02]: weird, then drives by again about 25 minutes later, just before 8 a.m., and the building is on fire.

[00:51:44] [SPEAKER_02]: So she reports it. Firefighters put it out and discover quickly that it's definitely arson.

[00:51:50] [SPEAKER_02]: They're certain it's arson, but they note that the Dedmans are not suspects because

[00:51:55] [SPEAKER_02]: they didn't have insurance on the thing, so they wouldn't get anything from it,

[00:51:59] [SPEAKER_02]: at least according to fire investigators at that time. Roy Lee in the newspaper said,

[00:52:06] [SPEAKER_02]: it's just unbelievable. I'm thankful for the person who saw it and called it in,

[00:52:09] [SPEAKER_02]: expressed shock about the whole thing. But I think that kind of looks odd in retrospect.

[00:52:16] [SPEAKER_02]: So then at the end of 2004, Russell B. Underhill dies in Lincolnton, North Carolina.

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And one of the more recent things is from 2012, and there was a horse named Baby who was seized

[00:52:34] [SPEAKER_02]: from Roy Lee Dedman, according to the Shelby Star, after it was found emaciated and dying

[00:52:40] [SPEAKER_02]: in a barn on Cherryville Road. And he was charged with animal abuse. The judge ended up suppressing

[00:52:49] [SPEAKER_02]: some evidence and the case was thrown out. So, yeah, he's the Dedmans are connected to these

[00:52:58] [SPEAKER_02]: multiple properties and to these multiple sort of vaguely unsavory business practices and events.

[00:53:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And that seems to be something that investigators now linked to the Asia degree case are digging

[00:53:13] [SPEAKER_02]: into extensively. And I just say all this to kind of give some background and some, you know,

[00:53:19] [SPEAKER_02]: like some background information about this family, who they are, what have been some of

[00:53:24] [SPEAKER_02]: the controversial things they've been involved in in the past. And how can that inform us about why

[00:53:32] [SPEAKER_02]: they might be of interest to law enforcement here? Doesn't mean that the Dedmans are necessarily

[00:53:39] [SPEAKER_02]: directly involved with Asia's disappearance. Doesn't mean that, you know, this will pan out.

[00:53:46] [SPEAKER_02]: It's possible that at the end of the day, they'll just think that Underhill did it.

[00:53:50] [SPEAKER_02]: But you certainly see investigators leaving no stone unturned when it comes to

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_02]: looking at this. Is that what your perception is?

[00:53:59] [SPEAKER_01]: That is my perception. Did you find much, if anything, on Underhill? Did he have any

[00:54:04] [SPEAKER_02]: kind of criminal record? Russell Underhill was not as extensively

[00:54:08] [SPEAKER_02]: listed on newspapers.com. Now, I'll admit, I was trying to get this episode together.

[00:54:12] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, it's very possible I missed things. But his presence on newspapers.com is not as

[00:54:21] [SPEAKER_02]: extensive, much as the girls, the Dedman girls are not as well represented on here.

[00:54:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, when you look up Russell Underhill Shelby and you specify it to North Carolina,

[00:54:35] [SPEAKER_02]: only 10 results come up. So it's not like he necessarily,

[00:54:45] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, was all over the place in terms of news coverage over the years. He's listed as being 54

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER_02]: when he died. December 27th, 2004, says his memorial service was at the Emanuel Lutheran

[00:54:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Church and the EF Drum Funeral Home would be used for him.

[00:55:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Did it mention a cause of death or unemployment or surviving family?

[00:55:10] [SPEAKER_02]: In this little blip in the Charlotte Observer, no. Now, what's interesting is,

[00:55:18] [SPEAKER_02]: yeah, I mean, that is kind of interesting in and of itself. It's like nothing there.

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_02]: I will say that in the Charlotte Observer, it lists a Mr. Russell P. Underhill, 69,

[00:55:32] [SPEAKER_02]: a retired tire manufacturer dying in 1982. And Russell Underhill Jr. is listed as a son.

[00:55:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, I'm not even sure it's possible that that's not even the same guy.

[00:55:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Russell Underhill is not necessarily the most common name in the world, but I don't know.

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Nor is it uncommon.

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_02]: No, I wouldn't say it's unheard of. So it's possible that that's a different family entirely

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_02]: for all we know. But really not a lot came up.

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Interesting.

[00:55:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, we'll be monitoring this situation again. Appreciate everyone who sent us these warrants.

[00:56:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Sorry we weren't able to get them as quickly as we wanted to. I would say that, you know,

[00:56:11] [SPEAKER_02]: if you find more or there's stuff we missed, just send it to us and we'll try to cover it in the

[00:56:20] [SPEAKER_02]: future. So appreciate everyone who helped us out with that. And yeah, thanks so much.

[00:56:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[00:57:21] [SPEAKER_02]: If you're looking to talk with other listeners about a case we've covered,

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_02]: you can join the Murder Sheet Discussion Group on Facebook.

[00:57:29] [SPEAKER_02]: We mostly focus our time on research and reporting, so we're not on social media much.

[00:57:35] [SPEAKER_02]: We do try to check our email account, but we ask for patience as we often receive a lot of messages.

[00:57:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks again for listening.

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