August 11, 2025 • 14 mins
In this episode of Hunting 4 Answers: In August 2003, 32-year-old Dymashal “Dee Dee” Cullins vanished from Atlanta, Georgia without a trace. What began as a routine day of errands turned into a 21-year mystery—one marked by unanswered calls, chilling evidence, and a family’s fight for the truth. In 2024, the case has been reopened. Could modern forensics finally help to crack this decades old case? Anyone with information about this case should contact the Atlanta Police Department at 404-853-4235. Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dymashal-cullins-missing-woman-case.
This is the story of Dymashal Cullins.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that began over two decades ago. On
August twenty eighth, two thousand and three, a mother of
(00:21):
five vanished without a trace from Atlanta, Georgia, leaving behind
an abandoned car with a blood stained blanket inside in
more questions than answers. What started as a routine day
of running errands became the beginning of a mystery that
would haunt a family for twenty one years. In twenty
(00:43):
twenty four, the Atlanta Police Department reopened this case, giving
new hope to a family that never stopped searching for
the truth. This is the story of Di Michelle d
d Cullens. Dia Michal Dede Lashawn Collins was born on
(01:07):
June twelfth, nineteen seventy one. By two thousand and three,
at thirty two years old, she had built a life
centered around her five children and her career as a
real estate loan officer in Atlanta, Georgia. Friends and family
knew her by her nickname Diety, a name that she
had actually gotten tattooed on the right side of her
(01:28):
neck with a dove and a rose. At the time
of her disappearance, Dedy was going through a lot of
life changes. She had married in nineteen ninety nine but
later separated from her husband. However, in the month that
she vanished, he had moved back in with her as
they considered reconciling their marriage. But things appeared complex around
(01:53):
this time because Dee Dee was also dating another man.
When she disappeared, Dede stood five six with both of
her ears pierced, and her naturally dark hair was colored
light brown. Aside from her Deity neck tattoo, she had
a rose tatted on her right shoulder blade. Dede was
(02:17):
a working mother, juggling the demands of five children, including twins,
while also navigating the complexities of life. According to her family,
she was the kind of mother who went above and beyond.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
For her children.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Her son Kobe, recalls one time finding party decorations, two
trash bags filled with water balloons and a water slide
hidden at home. She was planning exactly what he had
hoped for, a splash birthday party, but Kobe never got
that party, Dede vanished right before she could give him
(02:57):
that celebration that she was secretly prepared. She was a thoughtful,
caring mother and the type of woman who would go
to great lengths to make her kids smile. Her family
describes her as someone who never gave up, who fought
for what she wanted, and who always put her children first.
(03:18):
August twenty eighth, two thousand and three, started like any
other Thursday for dd She left her Atlanta home that
morning to run errands. She wasn't driving her own car
that day, but instead had borrowed a friend's red nineteen
ninety four Jeep Grand Cherokee with Georgia license plate number
(03:40):
one one h E nine. The last confirmed sighting of
Dti came at eleven fifty two AM near the six
hundred block of Meylan Avenue in Atlanta. She was seen
in that red jeep going about what appeared to be
a normal day, but as the hours passed, Dede's day
(04:03):
would take an unknown turn that would change the course
of everything. As evening approached, Dete had been staying in
contact with her family. At seven o'clock PM, she spoke
with her mother, a conversation that seemed routine and gave
no indication that anything was wrong. Then, at eleven thirty
(04:27):
two pm, Dede's ex husband called her. This would be
the last time anyone would hear from d Die Collins.
During that final call, she told him that she had
just dropped a friend off and would be home shortly,
But she never made it home. After that eleven thirty
(04:48):
two pm phone call, her phone was turned off, and
her five children would go to bed that night, not
knowing that they would never see their mother again. As
the hours turned to day's, in days turn to weeks,
there was no sign of Diai Michal. Her family contacted
(05:11):
police and a missing person investigation began. There are so
many questions surrounding her disappearance. Did Deete come in contact
with someone dangerous? Where was the red jeep that she
had been driving, and most importantly, where was Deet? Three
(05:35):
weeks after her disappearance, the answer to at least one
of those questions would emerge, and it would only deepen
the mystery. The red nineteen ninety four Jeep Grand Cherokee
was discovered abandoned at an apartment complex mad the thirty
five hundred block of Clubhouse Drive East, Indicatur, Georgia. The
(06:00):
car had been sitting there for who knows how long,
unnoticed in the busy apartment complex. When investigators had examined
the vehicle, what they found inside painted a disturbing picture.
Dede's purse was still inside, along with a blood stained blanket.
There was red dirt on the driver's side of the car,
(06:23):
dirt that could hold clues about where the.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Vehicle had been.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But perhaps most puzzling of all, Dede's ID cards were
found on the ground next to the abandoned vehicle. The
person who had discovered them mailed them to her home address.
When investigators tracked down this good samaritan, they interviewed him extensively,
(06:48):
found nothing unusual, and ultimately cleared him as a suspect.
Authorities discovering the abandoned car with the bloodstained blanket inside,
really had transformed the dynamics of Dedie's missing person's case
into something much more trouble. The blood evidence suggested that
(07:10):
something violent might have occurred. But where was the mother
of five? Was she injured somewhere? Had she been killed?
The Atlanta Police Department launched a full investigation. Detectives interviewed
family members, friends, and anyone who might have information.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
About her whereabouts.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
They looked into her personal relationships, including the very complicated
dynamic with her ex husband who had recently moved back in,
as well as the other man she happened to be
dating at the time. But despite their efforts, the case
began to grow cold. As months turned to years. Detie's
(07:56):
five children grew up without their mother. Her young son, Tobe,
was just a child when his mother vanished. As he
grew older, he became determined to find answers about what
happened to his mother. The family never gave up hope,
even as the case remained unsolved year after year. They
(08:19):
held on to the belief that somewhere out there, someone
knew what happened to d. D. Collins on that August
night in two thousand and three. By twenty ten, the
Atlanta Police Department had officially closed the case. For Dede's family,
this was devastating. It felt like the system had given
(08:41):
up on finding their loved one. But her son refused
to let his mother's case be forgotten. As an adult,
Pobe began advocating for the case to be reopened. He
created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for search efforts
and to hire a private invasvestigator. In his campaign, he
(09:03):
stated that the funds would also be used to support
other missing women in our Atlanta area. The family began
distributing flyers with Dete's information, hoping that someone somewhere would
remember something that could be the key to solving the case.
(09:23):
Their persistence and advocacy began to pay off. Not long
after they launched their renewed efforts, authorities made a surprising
announcement of their own. In twenty twenty four, twenty one
years after Dede's disappearance, the Atlanta Police Department made an
(09:45):
announcement that would reignite hope for the Collins family. The
case was being reopened. The decision to reopen the investigation
represented a new opportunity to apply modern investigative techniques and
technology to a case that had grown cold for over
(10:06):
two decades. For Kobe and the rest of Dede's family,
this was the moment that they had been waiting for.
After years of advocacy, fighting for answers, and never giving
up hope, law enforcement was once again actively investigating what.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Happened to d D. Collins.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
As the investigation was reopened, interesting connections began to emerge.
Webs lutes started noticing similarities between d D's case and
another missing woman from the same time period. Marcy Crane
Peterson had vanished from Marietta, Georgia, just twenty miles from Atlanta,
(10:51):
in October two thousand and three, only two months after
Dede's disappearance. The similarities were striking. Both women worked in
the real estate industry, both had five children, Both were
married but separated and dating other men. Some investigators and
(11:13):
internet detectives began to wonder could these two women have
been dating.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
The same mystery man.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Could their disappearances be connected somehow? The reopening of DD's
case brings new hope, but also new questions. Twenty one
years have passed since that night, witnesses memories have faded,
evidence may have been lost or compromised, and some people
(11:43):
who might have had information may no longer be alive.
But modern investigative techniques that weren't available in two thousand
and three, advanced DNA analysis, improved database systems, and other
new forms of technology might provide the breakthrough that investigators need.
(12:06):
The bloodstained blanket found in the abandoned car could hold
crucial DNA evidence and might be worth taking another look at. Today,
d D. Collins would be fifty three years old. The
question that still haunts the Collins family and investigators is simple.
(12:27):
What happened to d D after that final phone call
on August twenty eighth, two thousand and three. Did she
encounter someone she knew? Was she the victim of a
random cry or was there something more sinister at play?
(12:48):
For the Cullins family, the goal isn't just to find
out what happened to d D. It's to bring her
home after twenty one years of not knowing. They deserve answers.
Her loved ones deserve to know what happened to her.
(13:09):
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends
of Di Michelle d D.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Collins.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Anyone with information about her disappearance to contact the Atlanta
Police Department. You can find their information, as well as
the gofund me set up by her son Kobe, in
the description box below. As we close out this episode,
don't forget to click the follow button to stay updated
on Dede's case and others like it. Be sure to
(13:37):
subscribe to Hunting for Answers on YouTube and follow us
on Instagram and TikTok for more true crime content and
case updates. If you're watching us on YouTube, drop your
thoughts on this case in the comments below.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Thank you so much for joining us on another episode.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Until next time.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and today we're
highlighting a case that began over two decades ago. On
August twenty eighth, two thousand and three, a mother of
(00:21):
five vanished without a trace from Atlanta, Georgia, leaving behind
an abandoned car with a blood stained blanket inside in
more questions than answers. What started as a routine day
of running errands became the beginning of a mystery that
would haunt a family for twenty one years. In twenty
(00:43):
twenty four, the Atlanta Police Department reopened this case, giving
new hope to a family that never stopped searching for
the truth. This is the story of Di Michelle d
d Cullens. Dia Michal Dede Lashawn Collins was born on
(01:07):
June twelfth, nineteen seventy one. By two thousand and three,
at thirty two years old, she had built a life
centered around her five children and her career as a
real estate loan officer in Atlanta, Georgia. Friends and family
knew her by her nickname Diety, a name that she
had actually gotten tattooed on the right side of her
(01:28):
neck with a dove and a rose. At the time
of her disappearance, Dedy was going through a lot of
life changes. She had married in nineteen ninety nine but
later separated from her husband. However, in the month that
she vanished, he had moved back in with her as
they considered reconciling their marriage. But things appeared complex around
(01:53):
this time because Dee Dee was also dating another man.
When she disappeared, Dede stood five six with both of
her ears pierced, and her naturally dark hair was colored
light brown. Aside from her Deity neck tattoo, she had
a rose tatted on her right shoulder blade. Dede was
(02:17):
a working mother, juggling the demands of five children, including twins,
while also navigating the complexities of life. According to her family,
she was the kind of mother who went above and beyond.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
For her children.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Her son Kobe, recalls one time finding party decorations, two
trash bags filled with water balloons and a water slide
hidden at home. She was planning exactly what he had
hoped for, a splash birthday party, but Kobe never got
that party, Dede vanished right before she could give him
(02:57):
that celebration that she was secretly prepared. She was a thoughtful,
caring mother and the type of woman who would go
to great lengths to make her kids smile. Her family
describes her as someone who never gave up, who fought
for what she wanted, and who always put her children first.
(03:18):
August twenty eighth, two thousand and three, started like any
other Thursday for dd She left her Atlanta home that
morning to run errands. She wasn't driving her own car
that day, but instead had borrowed a friend's red nineteen
ninety four Jeep Grand Cherokee with Georgia license plate number
(03:40):
one one h E nine. The last confirmed sighting of
Dti came at eleven fifty two AM near the six
hundred block of Meylan Avenue in Atlanta. She was seen
in that red jeep going about what appeared to be
a normal day, but as the hours passed, Dede's day
(04:03):
would take an unknown turn that would change the course
of everything. As evening approached, Dete had been staying in
contact with her family. At seven o'clock PM, she spoke
with her mother, a conversation that seemed routine and gave
no indication that anything was wrong. Then, at eleven thirty
(04:27):
two pm, Dede's ex husband called her. This would be
the last time anyone would hear from d Die Collins.
During that final call, she told him that she had
just dropped a friend off and would be home shortly,
But she never made it home. After that eleven thirty
(04:48):
two pm phone call, her phone was turned off, and
her five children would go to bed that night, not
knowing that they would never see their mother again. As
the hours turned to day's, in days turn to weeks,
there was no sign of Diai Michal. Her family contacted
(05:11):
police and a missing person investigation began. There are so
many questions surrounding her disappearance. Did Deete come in contact
with someone dangerous? Where was the red jeep that she
had been driving, and most importantly, where was Deet? Three
(05:35):
weeks after her disappearance, the answer to at least one
of those questions would emerge, and it would only deepen
the mystery. The red nineteen ninety four Jeep Grand Cherokee
was discovered abandoned at an apartment complex mad the thirty
five hundred block of Clubhouse Drive East, Indicatur, Georgia. The
(06:00):
car had been sitting there for who knows how long,
unnoticed in the busy apartment complex. When investigators had examined
the vehicle, what they found inside painted a disturbing picture.
Dede's purse was still inside, along with a blood stained blanket.
There was red dirt on the driver's side of the car,
(06:23):
dirt that could hold clues about where the.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Vehicle had been.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
But perhaps most puzzling of all, Dede's ID cards were
found on the ground next to the abandoned vehicle. The
person who had discovered them mailed them to her home address.
When investigators tracked down this good samaritan, they interviewed him extensively,
(06:48):
found nothing unusual, and ultimately cleared him as a suspect.
Authorities discovering the abandoned car with the bloodstained blanket inside,
really had transformed the dynamics of Dedie's missing person's case
into something much more trouble. The blood evidence suggested that
(07:10):
something violent might have occurred. But where was the mother
of five? Was she injured somewhere? Had she been killed?
The Atlanta Police Department launched a full investigation. Detectives interviewed
family members, friends, and anyone who might have information.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
About her whereabouts.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
They looked into her personal relationships, including the very complicated
dynamic with her ex husband who had recently moved back in,
as well as the other man she happened to be
dating at the time. But despite their efforts, the case
began to grow cold. As months turned to years. Detie's
(07:56):
five children grew up without their mother. Her young son, Tobe,
was just a child when his mother vanished. As he
grew older, he became determined to find answers about what
happened to his mother. The family never gave up hope,
even as the case remained unsolved year after year. They
(08:19):
held on to the belief that somewhere out there, someone
knew what happened to d. D. Collins on that August
night in two thousand and three. By twenty ten, the
Atlanta Police Department had officially closed the case. For Dede's family,
this was devastating. It felt like the system had given
(08:41):
up on finding their loved one. But her son refused
to let his mother's case be forgotten. As an adult,
Pobe began advocating for the case to be reopened. He
created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for search efforts
and to hire a private invasvestigator. In his campaign, he
(09:03):
stated that the funds would also be used to support
other missing women in our Atlanta area. The family began
distributing flyers with Dete's information, hoping that someone somewhere would
remember something that could be the key to solving the case.
(09:23):
Their persistence and advocacy began to pay off. Not long
after they launched their renewed efforts, authorities made a surprising
announcement of their own. In twenty twenty four, twenty one
years after Dede's disappearance, the Atlanta Police Department made an
(09:45):
announcement that would reignite hope for the Collins family. The
case was being reopened. The decision to reopen the investigation
represented a new opportunity to apply modern investigative techniques and
technology to a case that had grown cold for over
(10:06):
two decades. For Kobe and the rest of Dede's family,
this was the moment that they had been waiting for.
After years of advocacy, fighting for answers, and never giving
up hope, law enforcement was once again actively investigating what.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Happened to d D. Collins.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
As the investigation was reopened, interesting connections began to emerge.
Webs lutes started noticing similarities between d D's case and
another missing woman from the same time period. Marcy Crane
Peterson had vanished from Marietta, Georgia, just twenty miles from Atlanta,
(10:51):
in October two thousand and three, only two months after
Dede's disappearance. The similarities were striking. Both women worked in
the real estate industry, both had five children, Both were
married but separated and dating other men. Some investigators and
(11:13):
internet detectives began to wonder could these two women have
been dating.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
The same mystery man.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Could their disappearances be connected somehow? The reopening of DD's
case brings new hope, but also new questions. Twenty one
years have passed since that night, witnesses memories have faded,
evidence may have been lost or compromised, and some people
(11:43):
who might have had information may no longer be alive.
But modern investigative techniques that weren't available in two thousand
and three, advanced DNA analysis, improved database systems, and other
new forms of technology might provide the breakthrough that investigators need.
(12:06):
The bloodstained blanket found in the abandoned car could hold
crucial DNA evidence and might be worth taking another look at. Today,
d D. Collins would be fifty three years old. The
question that still haunts the Collins family and investigators is simple.
(12:27):
What happened to d D after that final phone call
on August twenty eighth, two thousand and three. Did she
encounter someone she knew? Was she the victim of a
random cry or was there something more sinister at play?
(12:48):
For the Cullins family, the goal isn't just to find
out what happened to d D. It's to bring her
home after twenty one years of not knowing. They deserve answers.
Her loved ones deserve to know what happened to her.
(13:09):
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends
of Di Michelle d D.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Collins.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Anyone with information about her disappearance to contact the Atlanta
Police Department. You can find their information, as well as
the gofund me set up by her son Kobe, in
the description box below. As we close out this episode,
don't forget to click the follow button to stay updated
on Dede's case and others like it. Be sure to
(13:37):
subscribe to Hunting for Answers on YouTube and follow us
on Instagram and TikTok for more true crime content and
case updates. If you're watching us on YouTube, drop your
thoughts on this case in the comments below.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Thank you so much for joining us on another episode.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Until next time.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast Network,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Host
Hunter Gilmore
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