Asha Degree

On February 14th 2000, 9-year-old Asha Degree left her home in Shelby, North Carolina in the middle of the night. She was seen by three drivers walking along a nearby road, and some of her belongings were found in a barn – but Asha has never been seen since. No-one knows why she left her home, or where she went.

17 months later her bookbag and clothes, wrapped in two garbage bags, were found less than 50 yards from Highway 18, “between the road and the creek” – but 25 miles away from where Asha was last seen.

For almost 25 years no serious suspects or persons of interest were revealed to the public, and it wasn’t until 2017 that police revealed a witness had seen Asha that night – being pulled into “a 1970s green Lincoln, Thunderbird or similar vehicle”.

In September 2024 search warrants were issued for properties belonging to the Dedmon family after DNA on or in Asha’s backpack was linked to Annalee Dedmon and Russell Underhill. Underhill was a patient at one of the nursing homes owned by the Dedmons, while Annalee is one of Connie and Roy Dedmon’s daughters.

Roy Dedmon established a “whites-only” segregated school in the 1960s, and in 2012 was charged with animal abuse after a horse was found starving in one of his barns.

According to a further search warrant released this week, police have interviewed the other two daughters, Lizzie Dedmon Foster and Sarah Dedmon Caple, and developed leads. A former friend of the girls, Thad Mellentine, told police he heard Lizzie confess “I killed Asha Degree” while drunk, before she was told to “shut the fuck up” by Sarah.

Texts between family members were also detailed. Sarah texted Lizzie “Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect”, and Lizzie later replied “The theory is I did it. Accident. Covered it up.”

Damningly, Lizzie also texted her ex-husband “I caused this”, and during her police interview insisted “If my Dad did it, he did it but I had nothing to do with it.”

No arrests have been made at this point, but a search warrant for the contents of Roy Dedmon’s iPhone was issued. Perhaps 2025 is the year we will see answers, and justice, for Shelby’s sweetheart Asha Degree.