Join us as we revisit cases we've previously covered and provide the latest updates:
- Leola Etta Bryant, who has been identified as one of Samuel Little’s victims
- Danny Rollings, AKA the Gainesville Ripper’s potential early victim, David Yeager
- Updates and potential suspects for the murder of Mercedes Vega
- Investigation updates into the disappearance of Asha Degree, including search warrants and evidence that was seized
- A confessed killer who has been released on parole
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- Justice for Mercedes Vega: Uncovering Truth in Tragedy Robin Dreeke • 703 views32:30 911 calls released in murder case of woman's body found in burning car Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5) • 664 views6:07 Beyond the Baseline: Lessons from Mercedes Vega's Story Robin Dreeke • 628 views4:53 Phoenix police reveal lies in notebook of dead woman's alleged stalker Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5) • 33K views4:37 Mercedes Vega: Family of murder victim asks for help FOX 10 Phoenix • 1.5K views3:22 1 year since Mercedes Vega was murdered 12 News • 1.1K views3:26 2:35 / 2:35 911 call sheds light on Mercedes Vega murder case
- New details emerge in search for missing Broadway dancer Zelig Williams
- New Team Joins Search for Missing Broadway Dancer Zelig Williams
- New Team Joins Search for Missing Broadway Dancer Zelig Williams
- Public Access Case Lookup
- New 911 calls and report released in Mercedes Vega murder case - YouTube
- Mother of Mercedes Vega talks new facts about case, Tempe police
- Mercedes Vega's family in court Monday for armed robbery...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Hi. Welcome to True Creeps,where the stories are true and the
creeps are real.
We'll cover stories fromgrotesque gore to.
The possibly plausibleparanormal to horrifying history
to tense and terrible truecrime and.
Everything else that goes bumpin the night. We're your hosts, Amanda.
And I'm Lindsey, and we wantyou to join us while we creep.
We cover mature topics.Listener discretion is advised.
(00:30):
Hey, everyone. Welcome to our20th True Crime Digest. So if you
have not heard one of thesebefore, they are episodes filled
with case updates. Sometimeswe will talk about a fresh case that
is recently. Something hashappened with it. Today, though,
we are just going to betalking about cases we've already
covered because we've got somany updates.
(00:51):
We do.
We're going to be coveringupdates for cases including Samuel
Little, Danny Rawlings, RobinMurphy, as well as the disappearance
of Asia Degree and the murderof Mercedes Vega. So let's start
with Samuel Little. We alwaysdo a little bit of a refresher first
just to remind you what we'retalking about. Samuel Little has
been dubbed the most prolificserial killer in the United States.
(01:11):
He confessed to 93 murders and60 of his confessions. And unfortunately,
not all of his confessionshave been confirmed. There's plenty
of serial killers who've madetons of confessions, like Henry Lee
Lucas. But per the lawenforcement officer who interviewed
him for those 93 confessions,quote, nothing he has ever said has
(01:33):
been proven to be wrong orfalse. Little committed murders in
29 different cities in 19different states over the span of
50 years. Those victims, they,their deaths were ruled as an overdose,
accidental or undeterminedcauses. And this is because the bodies
were sometimes found quite awhile later after they were significantly
(01:54):
decomposed. It was alsobecause many of them had what was
described as, quote, high risklifestyles. So this could range from
anything from a person being asex worker to a person who went to
bars late at night. Andbecause their lifestyles were deemed,
quote, unquote, high risk,they didn't really look into their
deaths much further.
I hate it. Because that'sstill happening today.
(02:14):
Yeah. Disgusting.
So there was a new victim thatwas identified recently. Back in
1977, workers were clearingbrush from a property in Goose Creek,
South Carolina, and they foundpartial skeletal remains of a woman.
This was just north ofCharleston and the area was just
off Highway 52. The remainswere unidentified, so Berkeley county
(02:36):
coroner collected them andsent them to the Musc Health University
Medical center to be examined.Law enforcement renewed their efforts
to ID her. In 2020, theyuploaded her data to NamUs. They
also had a sketch drawn ofwhat they believed she may have looked
like. And then they added herinformation to CODIS as well. The
(02:56):
remains were sent to theUniversity of North Texas for human
identification, forensicanthropology to further analyze in
2020. And they were able todetermine that the victim was between
5:2 and 5:8. She was 20 to 75years old at the time of her death,
and she was likely black.
That all is too much of arange. That's ridiculous.
(03:18):
Yeah.
She was of average height andwas an adult woman.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Like five two to five eight.
We could say that, right?That's way better than 20 to 75.
Like, you know, five two tofive eight.
That's a full.
That.
That's everyone.
I mean, not everyone, but it'sa lot of people. And I'm like, okay,
yeah, that just feels toobroad. Way too broad.
(03:39):
It. It does.
It does. Yeah.
That's like the average heightwould fall between there and then
the age. Like, I feel likethey're just pulling numbers. They're
like, well, she wants adult.So here we go.
What's interesting, too, iswhen sometimes when you read how
people talk about this, theywill shorten that age gap. I saw
where some said like, 35 to65, but this. This age range was
(04:02):
from, like, a press releasefrom the sheriff's department, which
is why I was like, yeah. Oh,interesting. Okay.
Right, right. So the remainswere then sent back to Berkeley county
that same year. Remember, thatwas 2020. Law enforcement began to
investigate further who thevictim could be. In 2022, law enforcement
sent forensic evidence toOrtham in Texas so that they can
(04:24):
build a DNA profile for theJane Doe. As law enforcement continued
to search for leads, theyheard that Samuel Little had confessed
to murdering a woman he met atMidway Bar and dumping her remains
off of Highway 52. In Octoberof 2024, law enforcement announced
that they had identified theremains of a Jane Doe that was found
(04:44):
in 1977 as Leola Etta Bryant.Leola was 51 years old when she went
missing in March of 1974. Shewas last seen at Midway Bar on Reynolds
Avenue in Berkeley, SouthCarolina. So it matched this story.
Leola is the 65th confirmedvictim of Samuel Little.
(05:06):
When we first started coveringSamuel Little, it was around 60.
So I'm glad that over time,we're getting closer to having a
full range of who his victimswere. As just the briefest little
recap of him. I want tobelieve that he had a photographic
memory because the way that hedescribed, like I mean, 93.
He relives it.
I couldn't tell you how I met93 people in my life, let alone,
(05:29):
like, interactions or horrificthings. And he seemed to revelation
in it. But he also drew all ofthe women he did. So that was one
of the ways that they. They'redoing a positive identification is
by looking at the sketchesthat he drew, because the ranger
that worked with him hadbrought him, like, an art kit so
he could do this.
Yes, yes.
And just tuck that in yourmemory just for a minute or so.
(05:52):
Mm. Mm. And I mean, at leastLeola's family has some sort of closure
now. It makes me sad that thishappened so long ago and there's
still more that have beenunidentified and, like, those families
are growing older and olderand passing away, you know, like
the people that actually knew them.
Yes.
That makes me sad that theyjust, like, don't get their closure
(06:12):
for everyone. But I am happythat at least she was identified.
Yeah.
But speaking of hisbelongings, when Samuel Little died
in 2020, he left all of hisbelongings to his biographer, Jillian
Lauren. And just as aninteresting note, she's married to
the bassist of Weezer.
Yeah. Just. It feels like aweird, small world.
Yeah. Among his belongingsthat were left to her were his drawings
(06:34):
of the victims and the art kitthat he used to create them. Clothing
and shoes, hygiene items, anda tv. But also his remains.
Sigh.
Yeah. Now Jillian hasindefinitely loaned all of Little's
belongings and his remains toZach Bagans.
Another sigh.
I just. I can't take himseriously. I can't.
(06:57):
I mean, we do think he's thefucking worst.
We do. We do. I actually wenton an investigation recently, and
I was very pleased that othersfelt the same way without me having
to say it first.
Yes. That's always kind oflike if you're like a ghost investigation
person and you have positivethings to say about him. I don't
think I'm gonna love how this goes.
Exactly. Exactly. No, theywere all about respect, and I very
(07:19):
much loved that.
Fantastic.
Now, when I go oninvestigations, I'm like, we're not
bagans. Right. Like, we'regonna do this. Right.
Yeah.
Anyways, Jillian also has ashow on Starz called Confronting
a Serial Killer, which goesinto her relationship with Little,
which is very interesting.
Yes. I would be curious as to why.
(07:40):
Yeah.
She decided to give all ofthis to him.
He probably approached her,would be my guess. Like, we've seen
that before with other families.
Yes. I wouldn't want that inmy home. Would you want anything
of him. I would not. I'd belike, here. Be disrespectful to his
memory. I don't know if Iwould have given him the drawings
of the women because I thinkthat no victims should not be exploited
(08:02):
in your little Vegas room. Myassumption is that he is going to
display the art as well as hisremains. From my understanding, he's
going to put Little's remainsnear something that he has from Charlie
Manson, which may or may notbe authentic.
I question a lot in his serialkiller room.
Like get fucked. Just get fucked.
(08:23):
Yeah. At least we know thatthese are authentic. Right? Because
a lot of them in his museum.We question. Yeah, but still don't
love it.
Do not love it. So our nextupdate has to do with Robin Murphy
of the Fall River Cultkillings. We have a full episode
on the case as well becauseit's relatively complex in terms
of allegations and timelines.It's called the Murders of Barbara
(08:44):
Posa, Karen Marsden, DoreenLevesque, parentheses, Fall River
Cult Killings, ColonBridgewater Triangle, and satanic
panic 3. I know it's a lot,but a.
Fall Out Boys song.
It covers so many things. SoCarl Drew was convicted for murdering
Karen Marsden. Robin Murphypled guilty to second degree murder
(09:04):
as part of a plea agreement.And as part of that plea agreement,
she agreed to testify againstDrew. Now, we talked about in our
last True Crime Titus updatethat she had come out and said what
I said was a lie and that wewere waiting on the results of the
parole board. She haspetitioned for parole several times
and she did not get it. And weloved that.
(09:25):
Yeah, loved. However, past tense.
Loved. However, earlier thisyear in 2024, Murphy was granted
parole. And per the paroleboard, she acknowledged that due
to her pattern of dishonesty,many people have been harmed. She
is willing to try and rectifythe harm she has caused. Ms. Murphy
has significant support in thecommunity and has presented a reentry
(09:48):
plan that will meet her needs.The board concludes by unanimous
decision that Ms. Murphy hasdemonstrated a level of rehabilitation
that would make her releasecompat with the welfare of society.
Ugh.
Yikes.
I do not like that at all.
Nope.
And speaking of things that wedo not like, we're going to move
on to Danny Rollings, AKA theGainesville Ripper. We talked about
(10:10):
Rollings in our episode calledthe True Stories, which aired in
2021. Doesn't seem that longago that we talked about it.
Right.
Rollings was executed in 2006by lethal injection after he was
convicted for the murders ofChristina Powell, Sonia Larson, Christa
Hoyt, Manuel Tobiota, andTracy Pulse Rowling stabbed all of
(10:31):
his victims and he sexuallyassaulted the women that he murdered.
Rollings may be linked toanother case. In 1971, David Yeager
disappeared from Shreveport,Louisiana. David's family wonders
if Rollings had something todo with it, because Rollings lived
just a few blocks away fromwhere David was last seen. Rowlings
(10:53):
did admit that he had murderedpeople in Shreveport in 1989. David's
family speculates that he mayhave started his crimes much earlier
than the authoritiesoriginally believed. Which, like,
could totally make sense. Likehe has admitted that there's some
in Shreveport.
Absolutely.
I would be looking for theconnection too. Of course.
It's so devastating because astime goes on getting a true answer,
(11:16):
you can have theories, butit's really hard to prove it, especially
when the murderer is dead.
Mm. Yeah. I hope they findsomething though. That's sad.
So another case that wecovered in a full episode was the
disappearance of Asia Degree.And we haven't covered more on her
since that original episode.So this is our first True Crime Digest
update about her. And while wedon't love everything we've learned,
(11:39):
we're glad there's movement inthe case. So as a Brief recap, on
February 14th of 2009, yearold Asia Degree went missing from
her home in Shelby, NorthCarolina. She was seen by drivers
walking along North CarolinaHighway 18 in Shelby. She was also
seen being pulled into a 1970sgreen Lincoln Thunderbird or another
(12:00):
similar vehicle of that time.And then she was never seen again.
Now fast forward a little overa year. On August 2nd of 2001, evidence
belonging to Asia was locatedin Burke county on the side of Highway
18. Bizarrely, this is 20miles north of where she had last
been seen. A construction crewworking in the area located evidence
(12:23):
and turned it over to theCleveland County Sheriff's Office.
Numerous items of evidencewere collected from the area, some
having been identified asbelonging to Asia, where other items
were not hers. Then in midSeptember of this year, search warrants
involved in the investigationinto her disappearance were shared
with the public. And that caserecap that we just gave is actually
(12:45):
from those search warrants. Sowe're going to talk a little bit
about what we have learnedfrom those search warrants and what's
going on right now. Sadly, lawenforcement believes that Asia was
murdered, although her remainshave not been located yet.
Ugh, her poor family.
I know.
I'm sure they have preparedbut like, still hearing it, you know?
Yeah, yeah. DNA evidence wasfound on Asia's undershirt and book
(13:08):
bag that were found in 2001.The DNA on the book bag was matched
to Russell Bradley Underhill.The DNA on the undershirt was from
a relative of Connie and RoyDedman. We'll talk more about them
in a moment. And just as aninteresting connection, Connie and
Roy Redmond operated medicalfacilities. And Underhill lived in
at least two of thosedifferent facilities over the course
(13:31):
of his life. Now, the DNAprofile that matches a relative of
the Deadmans was from therewas identified as being a match to
their daughter Annalee. Shewould have been just 13 when Asia
disappeared.
Oh, remember how we talkedabout someone luring her?
Yes, we did talk about someoneluring her. Based on this, law enforcement
(13:52):
believes she would have neededher parents help to execute conceal
the crime. And also theDeadmans are the link between Underhill
and Annelie. Law enforcementserved warrants on Roy, Connie and
Annalee Dedmon for DNAsamples. So they took a cheek swab
of each of them so they couldtest it against other DNA that they
have yet to identify. Now, aspart of the search warrants, several
(14:15):
properties were searched andthey were pretty like the scope of
the search warrant was prettybroad, but it included items like
clothing, handwrittendocuments like diaries, electronics,
vehicles, documents pertainingto Underhill or the facilities that
the Redmonds operated, andpossible murder weapons. And this
is among a long list of items.So let's talk about what they found.
(14:39):
When we talk about thisdigital evidence, I want, I want
you to just keep in mind we'regoing to go through a lot of evidence
that was found. I want you tokeep in mind that they're looking
for anything. So they're goingto pull anything that evolves within
the scope so they can combthrough it. But there are parts of
this that are significantlyworse than others. And you'll know
when we fucking get there. Soat 621 Cherryville Road, they found
(15:00):
an Acer laptop, an IR digitalcamera, a green composition book,
an SD card in an envelopelabeled September to November 2020,
an HP laptop, white cellphones, a smartwatch in a box, paperwork
from the Department of Healthand Human Services, a disposable
Fuji camera, a Canon digitalcamera, human teeth in a Ziploc bag.
(15:23):
Fuck. A Dell computer tower,an HP computer tower, many flip phones,
three small cameras, VHS tapesthat were in a camcorder bag, black
Apple iPhones and other cellphones, an HP laptop, a blue notebook
with assorted vehicleregistrations, a sort more VHS tapes,
a laptop A Dell laptop,cassette tapes, a black notebook,
(15:46):
financial records from TwelveOaks dating back to 2000. And then
outside, they found smallpieces of red fabric and a small
shoe sole. These were bothoutside the residence and digital
photos.
Interesting, because that wasa while back, too. So it's interesting
that they would take.
Something 24 years ago.
Yeah.
Yes.
Also, I want to note betweenwhere Asha's address was and where
(16:09):
this particular address is isabout a seven minute drive. So I
know she was walking along thehighway and that's where she disappeared.
It wasn't very far. You know,relatively speaking, it's seven minutes
in a car and it's about anhour and a half walk.
So moving on to the nextaddress at 601 Cherryville Road,
they found two more disposablecameras, micro VHS tapes, films,
(16:34):
LG flip phones, journalswritten by Lizzie Dedman and Annalee
Deadman, both daughters ofConnie and Roy, DSS complaint documents,
transport logs, and then agreen AMC Rambler. And when you look
up what that car looks like,it matches the description of the
one that she was pulled into.
Yes.
(16:54):
And then documents containingUnderhill's name, a black trash bag,
Carhartt jeans, children'sclothing, another cell phone, and
a.22 caliber rifle.
Ugh, that's scary.
I know.
And now this residence issuper close to the first one, too.
It's a one minute drive or athree minute walk.
(17:14):
Yes. Then at 5106 HawthorneLane, they seized a Samsung tablet,
a flash drive with photos, aDell computer, a Lenovo laptop and
power cord, an external harddrive, digital camera, floppy disks,
assorted CDs and SD cards.
And the Hawthorne address isabout 17 minutes via car from Asha's
(17:35):
address.
The next address they searchedwas 7246 Walnut Wood Drive. And there
they just took a BlackBerrycell phone.
That one's pretty far. Thatone's about an hour away from her
home.
And then the last location wasNorthbrook Rest Home. There they
took documents pertaining toRussell Underhill's care. Photographs,
two earrings and a gray Jaguar.
(17:57):
That's a lot. I'm just happythat they're, you know, working on
it. Mm.
I am, too. I am, too.
Yeah. I'm just happy that 24years later, you know, almost 25,
honestly, that someone's stillcaring about it. Which is kind of
rare to see.
Yes, yes. Especially, like,without, like, significant press
of parents begging.
I'm sure they are, but.
(18:18):
Yeah, no, I'm sure that theyare. My point is that normally, like,
it.
Has to be in the news. Often,you know, pervasive.
And, yes, law enforcementbelieves that Asia was, quote, a
victim of homicide with herbody concealed. Roy Dedman's attorney
confirmed that Dedmon'sproperty was one of those that was
searched. From myunderstanding, Roy and Connie no
longer live together. So hisattorney had a press conference on
(18:40):
September 13th. His name'sDavid Teddy, by the way. And at that
press conference, Teddy said,I think there will be information
in that search warrant thatsadly, will link a person to the
circumstances of Asia'sdisappearance that is no longer living.
Not saying that the personthat was named in the search warrant
had anything to do with theirdisappearance, but it's very possible
(19:03):
that the person who's nolonger here has the answers to what
happened to Asia. Yeah. Teddialso noted that Debman denied any
involvement in Asia'sdisappearance. And so while they
were conducting thesesearches, they weren't just looking
inside for items. They werealso searching the property itself
using ground penetrating,like, scanning devices. And then
(19:26):
they also used dogs. It's notclear whether they were using cadaver
dogs or, like, search andrescue dogs, which are different
things, because, again, Imean, like, depending on what they're
expecting to find, are theyexpecting to find, like, a bunker
or are they expecting to finda grave?
Right.
And as a note, Underhill, whowe just mentioned a moment ago, he
died in 2004.
That's worrisome. Like, if hehas. I mean, I'm sure we're gonna
(19:49):
be able to find something veryworrisome. But if he knows, like,
the specific details of whathappened or can, you know, answer.
And the person that maybecould answer more questions isn't
here, which really sucks forher family.
My theory is that they knewthey were going to find some type
of electronic evidence of whathappened to her, which is why they
(20:11):
are going through so much. AndI'm happy that her family might get
closure, but I'm horrifiedthat there might be digital evidence
of what happened to her.
That's true.
So from what we've seen,Asia's family is still holding out
hope that she's alive, and wereally hope that she is. We hope
that she's able to come home.One of the things that FBI did was
they made an age progressionphoto of her, and I'll say, like,
(20:33):
this is one of the most welldone age progression photos I feel
like I've ever seen. Normally,you're kind of like, yeah, this looks
like an AI person, but thislooks like.
Looks like her.
Just a kind person. Right.Like, you can look at both photos
and you're like, oh, yeah,that is what she'll probably look
like grown up. And I just, ithurts my heart so much because, like,
imagine that's the way you seeyour baby grow up is an age progression.
(20:54):
Photos like, ugh, that fuckinggets me.
Yeah, the eyes get me.
The eyes are just so spot onevery time. And her smile.
Yeah. Well, I hope that herfamily does get some information
and we'll be obviouslyfollowing it still as more details
come. So another case that wehave a full episode on is the murder
(21:15):
of Mercedes Vega. And that's alocal case. To me, that's one I still
talk about. I bring up toeveryone, like, do you know about
this? You should know aboutthis. Because not enough people know
that this happened in Arizona.So as a quick recap, Mercedes Vega
was abducted from her Tempe,Arizona apartment around 9pm on the
evening of Sunday, April 16,2023. That same evening, only a few
(21:39):
hours later, she was founddeceased in an unknown car that was
set on fire in Tonopah,Arizona. We have a full episode with
the timeline that came out inMarch of this year. And it's been
over a year now and her familyis still fighting to get justice.
We have also updated on someof our true crime digests too, because
we did find out some smalldetails here and there. Unfortunately,
(22:01):
authorities still have notreleased much information to her
family or to the public. Sothe updates that we want to include
is the 911 call was released.And so the 911 call was when someone
saw the burning car in theearly morning hours of April 17.
We have discussed it before,but just because it is released,
(22:22):
we're hearing it a lot moreplayed in like the news and when
anyone talks about Mercedes.So again, it was a truck driver who
reported seeing a car on fireand he mentioned it was off the i10
down in the bushes. Hementioned that he did see someone
on the outside of the vehicleas well as something inside the vehicle.
So what that tells us is, youknow, he saw whoever is responsible
(22:45):
or at least is working withthe party responsible. And we still
have the question of how didhe get away? He didn't disappear
into the desert. There must beanother car somewhere. Yeah, and
we brought this up too. Thecar that she was found in was not
hers. It was a Malibu. And theprevious owner has been contacted
by one of the new stationshere. And she stated that she turned
(23:06):
it into a Peoria cardealership in June of 2022. Now,
when Lindsay and I researchedthe Car a while back, we found that
it was auctioned. So we didshare everything that we knew with
her family.
Yeah.
So hopefully law enforcement'slooking into that now. Law enforcement,
since we talked about her,also looked into the DNA that was
(23:28):
found in the garage. We talkedabout how we suspected she was hit
over the head. Andunfortunately, the blood and DNA
was a match to Mercedes. Soher mom and everyone that mentioned
what they thought happened wascorrect. She must have been hit before
she was taken.
Yeah.
Now, something that we havenot brought up is that Mercedes was
involved in an armed robbery awhile back. And one of Mercedes friends
(23:53):
who also worked at the clubthat she worked at, Jelena Gamboa,
said that In November of 2019,one of the dancers at the club was
robbed after she got home fromworking at the club. So wasn't robbed
at the club, but.
When she got home.
Then a little over a yearlater, In October of 2020, a man
with a mask and gloves robbedMercedes at gunpoint when she was
(24:16):
on her way home from the clubwhere she was working. The assailant
took her phone and her purse,which, among other things, had money
that she had earned thatevening. He then shoved her to the
ground so hard that she hadscratches down her spine. That's
scary. I'm just so sad thatmultiple horrible things happened
to this poor woman.
I agree. It's heartbreaking.
It is. You know, Jelena said,remember, she's one of Mercedes friends.
(24:38):
Mercedes was very, very smart.She was very strong, but she was
also very mentally strong. Itdefinitely scared her. It would scare
anybody, any person that wouldgo through something like that, but
she kind of just took it. Itseemed like, as, you know, maybe
this isn't the bestenvironment. And I remember she stopped
going in as often. Kind ofstayed back for a little bit and
(25:00):
reassessed her safetyprecautions. Mercedes parents said
that she was very shaken atthe time. And in the following weeks
after the attack. One monthafter Mercedes robbery, another dancer
said that someone tried to robher at gunpoint in the parking garage
of her apartment building. Terrifying.
Yes.
However, the assailant ran offwhen they realized someone else was
(25:21):
nearby in the garage. Mercedesnoticed that there was activity on
her cash app account after herphone was stolen. Someone was trying
to transfer money to their ownaccount. Fucking dumbass criminals,
right?
But please be dumb.
Yeah. I mean, yeah. They wereable to find the suspect's account
and then their vehicleinformation. This led them to their
suspect, Cujo Young. Mercedeswas able to pick her attacker out
(25:43):
of a police lineup, and he wasidentified. So that's how they figured
out it was for sure. CujoYoung. Mm. Law enforcement reviewed
footage from the club andfound that Young had been in the
club after the robberies.
Fucked up.
Which is so bizarre because,like, what if one of the girls went
back to work that night, youknow, like, just to be with people,
and then this asshole's thereanyways? Due to Mercedes identification
(26:06):
of him, law enforcement wasable to charge him for both of the
2020 robberies. Per Jelena,the people who worked at the club
were worried that there wassomeone else who worked at the club
who was tipping off Youngbecause they had an idea of who would
have more money. Because ofthis, people are less open about
how much money they made eachnight, which is, like, fair. Who
(26:26):
the fuck would do that, too?Like, ugh.
Yeah.
Young was arrested in Decemberof 2020, but was let out on bail
in December of 2021. Somearticles say he may have been wearing
an ankle monitor. Others saythat he definitely was 12. News in
Arizona reached out to courtofficials to give an answer on whether
he had an ankle monitor, butthey said that they couldn't comment.
(26:48):
So he might have. He might nothave. Young's attorney withdrew from
the case in May of 2023. Youngwas arrested in November of 2023
in relation to a massive drugsale, specifically 40,000 pills.
That's a lot of pills. Andthat's a big amount of pills for
one person to just have.
Yes, sure.
(27:09):
Sounds like somebody might beinvolved with other people doing
other nefarious things.
Exactly. And what's strange ishis attorney withdrew from the case
a month after, you know, inMay of 2023, a month after Mercedes.
And then he wasn't arrestedtill months after Mercedes was murdered.
Mercedes had prepared a victimimpact statement that she was going
(27:30):
to read in Young's trial. OnApril 13th of 2023, Young's attorney
named a man named George as aperson who was expected to testify
at Young's trial because,quote, he was the individual who
threatened Mr. Young to committhe armed robberies. Mercedes was
murdered just four days later.I feel like that's not a coincidence.
(27:50):
It doesn't feel like acoincidence, does it? Especially
when you start to think thatthis is not just one person. Probably
not just two people. Yeah,probably something relatively organized
if we're talking 40,000fucking pills.
For sure. For sure. And Youngwas not in custody, but he was wearing
an ankle monitor the nightthat Mercedes was murdered. Per Erica.
(28:12):
I received a call fromMaricopa County Attorney's office
about a month ago, asking tospeak to my dead child who had been
dead for over a year, and totell her that the man who held her
at gunpoint is going to trial.I don't understand how they can fuck
up with this poor family overand over and over again.
I know.
It's infuriating. This Erica,I. I feel for her every time I talk
(28:33):
to her. Ugh. I. I hate it. Ihate it so much. In mid October,
Young had a hearing thatMercedes parents Erica and Tom attended.
Erica said, quote, in honor ofmy daughter, I will be there every
single day in courtrepresenting her because she deserves
it. Apparently there arenegotiations for a plea deal, but
as of right now, his trial isscheduled for January.
(28:54):
And it makes me so fucking madthat that plea deal might be involved
with him giving informationabout somebody else so he might not
face the charges that areappropriate for what he did to her.
Yes. Yeah.
And that makes me so fuckingmad, especially given that, I mean,
(29:15):
to me.
There'S just too manycoincidences there.
Witness, witness, no lastname. She dies, attorney withdrawals.
Like, to me, that's like, I'mnot a fucking part of this. I'm not
doing it.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, as morecomes up with anything Mercedes related,
we'll. We'll bring up. Butagain, Erica and Tom, we've corresponded
(29:37):
with them a few times sinceour last one, and yeah, follow them
on social media. Erica's onTikTok too, talking about it, and
she does little updates hereand there.
Absolutely.
If you want to follow Erica onTikTok, her handle is Erica Pillsbury.
So her name. And occasionallyshe'll give little updates as she
hears them. And then a lot ofthe time she's just talking about
Mercedes. And it's beautiful,like how much she loved her daughter
(29:59):
and just to follow along andtry to find justice for her.
Yeah. Watching her isheartbreaking, but I think it is
important to see what happenswhen we treat women like they aren't
people.
Yeah.
Woof. So just a couple moreepisodes this year. This is our last
True crime digest. Probablywon't have another one for at least
a month or so into 2025. Ifthere's any cases you'd like us to
(30:22):
cover, feel free to send themto us. But before we go, I need to
tell you something that ishaunting me.
What is haunting you?
It is that the Low Hotel inPoint Pleasant, West Virginia is
for sale. It is listed as $2.3million. We're going to list. We're
going to include the listingin the show notes.
So we're calling on you tohelp us raise 2.3 million.
(30:45):
Oh, my gosh. Like, not me,like, because we. Amanda and I found
this out last week and, like,my brain was, like, spinning because,
like, I'm a business babe. Youknow what I mean? I've got ideas.
Ideas for fucking days. Andthat hotel, I said. Like I said to
them when we were there, Ifelt so incredibly drawn and pulled
(31:06):
to it that I was just, like, Ifelt this connection. I don't know.
I can't even describe it. Itwas the first time I'd ever been
in a place that I felt like itwas that haunted, and I just felt
tied to it.
I remember when you were thereand you were like, I wish I could
have this hotel like you. Ithink you text me that.
Yes, I did. I was like, Iwould love to have this hotel and
run this hotel. Like, I lovedit so much. It's so beautiful, so
(31:32):
stunning. Is a full city blockhas so much opportunity for coolness,
you know? Like, the owner, herhusband passed, and she had run it
with him. So it's just. It's alot for, you know, it's a lot for
her to do. So I feel like it'svery reasonable that she would want
to sell it. But it's such acool fucking space.
Yeah.
And a hotel for $2.3 millionfeels, honestly, very cheap.
(31:55):
Especially. Especially when itbrings a festival to your doors.
It literally brings a festivalto your doors. So what I'm saying
is, if you would like toinvest in True Creek Resorts.
Yes. We are looking forfinancial investors.
We are coming to you today.Sharks for your backing on.
(32:17):
We've left our idea of, like,Cow Armor or whatever the fuck we
were saying before.
Yeah, We. We've moved from CowArmor to Cryptid Resort. Yes. Yes.
Do you like it?
We need a lot of patreons for this.
That is a lot of patre. Thatis a lot of patreons. Woof.
(32:40):
We could have a tier, though,if we did, where they'd get a free
weekend during Mothmanfestival every year.
I mean, what a treat thatwould be.
That would be a tier.
Yeah, Mothman tier. We'reworking on it.
We're working on it.
You are like a.
A friend of Mothman. Oh, no. Iwas thinking of, like, would you
be a friend of PBS and, youknow, give money?
(33:02):
Oh, yeah. Friend of Mothman.Yeah. No, I mean, that's fair.
Yeah. Friend of Mothman. Yeah.
I Reeling just my brain, like,if I sit still too long, it's like,
you know what you could do?And then it just starts dreaming
and I'm like, I don't needthis in my life. I mean, I do, but
I also don't. But I also do. Idon't have $2.3 million lying around.
(33:24):
Which is why I'm calling onyou. Sharks for.
Yeah, actually, honestly, weneed it because last last week we
were supposed to record twoepisodes, but we looked at the listing
for the hotel far too long anddreamed of what we would be doing
with all the spaces.
So, yeah, well. And also itwas Liz from you'll recognize Liz
(33:46):
from our Podiversary 3, thenGrinning man, which included the
Lo Hotel story and then theirdaughter Elliot's story from our
potiversary this year. So Lizleft a comment being like, the hotels
were sale. And I was like, I'msorry, what? Like I. Good luck trying
to keep me focused, Amanda.I'm suddenly in dream mode. I was
(34:07):
like, we need to look at everypicture in this listing.
And we did.
And we did.
So sharks, let us know.
As I'm saying this, I'msending this to our discord to be
like, the Mothman Hotel is for sale.
Please say Sharks.
Sharks. Dear Sharks, pleasenote that the Low Hotel in Point
(34:29):
Pleasant, I can spellPleasant, AKA Mothman Town, is for
sale.
You'll hear about it next week.
Do you want to get on theground floor of an exciting opportunity?
Cryptid aficionados? You canwith True Creeps Resorts.
And then one of us will walkout in a Mothman outfit.
Have you seen the person who'sin the like the Mothman statue costume?
(34:54):
Yes, I died. Oh, it's.
It's got the butt. It's sofucking good. The sale is pending.
No, I'm still going to holdout hope.
Yeah, I actually met someonefrom Point Pleasant recently too,
that I chatted with. We did avideo on our TikTok about tarot trader
and one of the owners was fromthere, so it was kind of fun to chit
(35:15):
chat. So we're podcasters,travel agents, dreams, hotel owners.
Hoteliers. Is that what that.Is that what it is?
Hoteliers. Sure.
Hoteliers.
We'll do what wehotelologists, hotel scientists.
Ooh, I like it. And with that,have a great weekend.
Thanks for creeping with us.
(35:39):
Thanks for listening and asalways, a special thank you to our
patrons who support us via Patreon.
Please see the link in ourshow notes to learn more about how
you yes, you can begin tohaunt the dump, guard vortexes, or
even become a scorching Sasquatch.
Ooh. Also in our show notes,you can find the link to our website,
more information on oursources, our social media handles,
(36:00):
and our merch store.
We'd love for you to keepcreeping with us. So if you like
this episode, pleasesubscribe, rate, review and share
the show with your fellowcreeps and or ghosts.
I beg of you. I'm sorry, what?
Hi. Welcome to True Creeps,where the stories are true and the
creeps are real.
We'll cover stories fromgrotesque gore to.
The possibly plausibleparanormal to horrifying history
to tense and terrible truecrime and.
Everything else that goes bumpin the night. We're your hosts, Amanda.
And I'm Lindsey, and we wantyou to join us while we creep.
We cover mature topics.Listener discretion is advised.
(00:30):
Hey, everyone. Welcome to our20th True Crime Digest. So if you
have not heard one of thesebefore, they are episodes filled
with case updates. Sometimeswe will talk about a fresh case that
is recently. Something hashappened with it. Today, though,
we are just going to betalking about cases we've already
covered because we've got somany updates.
(00:51):
We do.
We're going to be coveringupdates for cases including Samuel
Little, Danny Rawlings, RobinMurphy, as well as the disappearance
of Asia Degree and the murderof Mercedes Vega. So let's start
with Samuel Little. We alwaysdo a little bit of a refresher first
just to remind you what we'retalking about. Samuel Little has
been dubbed the most prolificserial killer in the United States.
(01:11):
He confessed to 93 murders and60 of his confessions. And unfortunately,
not all of his confessionshave been confirmed. There's plenty
of serial killers who've madetons of confessions, like Henry Lee
Lucas. But per the lawenforcement officer who interviewed
him for those 93 confessions,quote, nothing he has ever said has
(01:33):
been proven to be wrong orfalse. Little committed murders in
29 different cities in 19different states over the span of
50 years. Those victims, they,their deaths were ruled as an overdose,
accidental or undeterminedcauses. And this is because the bodies
were sometimes found quite awhile later after they were significantly
(01:54):
decomposed. It was alsobecause many of them had what was
described as, quote, high risklifestyles. So this could range from
anything from a person being asex worker to a person who went to
bars late at night. Andbecause their lifestyles were deemed,
quote, unquote, high risk,they didn't really look into their
deaths much further.
I hate it. Because that'sstill happening today.
(02:14):
Yeah. Disgusting.
So there was a new victim thatwas identified recently. Back in
1977, workers were clearingbrush from a property in Goose Creek,
South Carolina, and they foundpartial skeletal remains of a woman.
This was just north ofCharleston and the area was just
off Highway 52. The remainswere unidentified, so Berkeley county
(02:36):
coroner collected them andsent them to the Musc Health University
Medical center to be examined.Law enforcement renewed their efforts
to ID her. In 2020, theyuploaded her data to NamUs. They
also had a sketch drawn ofwhat they believed she may have looked
like. And then they added herinformation to CODIS as well. The
(02:56):
remains were sent to theUniversity of North Texas for human
identification, forensicanthropology to further analyze in
2020. And they were able todetermine that the victim was between
5:2 and 5:8. She was 20 to 75years old at the time of her death,
and she was likely black.
That all is too much of arange. That's ridiculous.
(03:18):
Yeah.
She was of average height andwas an adult woman.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Like five two to five eight.
We could say that, right?That's way better than 20 to 75.
Like, you know, five two tofive eight.
That's a full.
That.
That's everyone.
I mean, not everyone, but it'sa lot of people. And I'm like, okay,
yeah, that just feels toobroad. Way too broad.
(03:39):
It. It does.
It does. Yeah.
That's like the average heightwould fall between there and then
the age. Like, I feel likethey're just pulling numbers. They're
like, well, she wants adult.So here we go.
What's interesting, too, iswhen sometimes when you read how
people talk about this, theywill shorten that age gap. I saw
where some said like, 35 to65, but this. This age range was
(04:02):
from, like, a press releasefrom the sheriff's department, which
is why I was like, yeah. Oh,interesting. Okay.
Right, right. So the remainswere then sent back to Berkeley county
that same year. Remember, thatwas 2020. Law enforcement began to
investigate further who thevictim could be. In 2022, law enforcement
sent forensic evidence toOrtham in Texas so that they can
(04:24):
build a DNA profile for theJane Doe. As law enforcement continued
to search for leads, theyheard that Samuel Little had confessed
to murdering a woman he met atMidway Bar and dumping her remains
off of Highway 52. In Octoberof 2024, law enforcement announced
that they had identified theremains of a Jane Doe that was found
(04:44):
in 1977 as Leola Etta Bryant.Leola was 51 years old when she went
missing in March of 1974. Shewas last seen at Midway Bar on Reynolds
Avenue in Berkeley, SouthCarolina. So it matched this story.
Leola is the 65th confirmedvictim of Samuel Little.
(05:06):
When we first started coveringSamuel Little, it was around 60.
So I'm glad that over time,we're getting closer to having a
full range of who his victimswere. As just the briefest little
recap of him. I want tobelieve that he had a photographic
memory because the way that hedescribed, like I mean, 93.
He relives it.
I couldn't tell you how I met93 people in my life, let alone,
(05:29):
like, interactions or horrificthings. And he seemed to revelation
in it. But he also drew all ofthe women he did. So that was one
of the ways that they. They'redoing a positive identification is
by looking at the sketchesthat he drew, because the ranger
that worked with him hadbrought him, like, an art kit so
he could do this.
Yes, yes.
And just tuck that in yourmemory just for a minute or so.
(05:52):
Mm. Mm. And I mean, at leastLeola's family has some sort of closure
now. It makes me sad that thishappened so long ago and there's
still more that have beenunidentified and, like, those families
are growing older and olderand passing away, you know, like
the people that actually knew them.
Yes.
That makes me sad that theyjust, like, don't get their closure
(06:12):
for everyone. But I am happythat at least she was identified.
Yeah.
But speaking of hisbelongings, when Samuel Little died
in 2020, he left all of hisbelongings to his biographer, Jillian
Lauren. And just as aninteresting note, she's married to
the bassist of Weezer.
Yeah. Just. It feels like aweird, small world.
Yeah. Among his belongingsthat were left to her were his drawings
(06:34):
of the victims and the art kitthat he used to create them. Clothing
and shoes, hygiene items, anda tv. But also his remains.
Sigh.
Yeah. Now Jillian hasindefinitely loaned all of Little's
belongings and his remains toZach Bagans.
Another sigh.
I just. I can't take himseriously. I can't.
(06:57):
I mean, we do think he's thefucking worst.
We do. We do. I actually wenton an investigation recently, and
I was very pleased that othersfelt the same way without me having
to say it first.
Yes. That's always kind oflike if you're like a ghost investigation
person and you have positivethings to say about him. I don't
think I'm gonna love how this goes.
Exactly. Exactly. No, theywere all about respect, and I very
(07:19):
much loved that.
Fantastic.
Now, when I go oninvestigations, I'm like, we're not
bagans. Right. Like, we'regonna do this. Right.
Yeah.
Anyways, Jillian also has ashow on Starz called Confronting
a Serial Killer, which goesinto her relationship with Little,
which is very interesting.
Yes. I would be curious as to why.
(07:40):
Yeah.
She decided to give all ofthis to him.
He probably approached her,would be my guess. Like, we've seen
that before with other families.
Yes. I wouldn't want that inmy home. Would you want anything
of him. I would not. I'd belike, here. Be disrespectful to his
memory. I don't know if Iwould have given him the drawings
of the women because I thinkthat no victims should not be exploited
(08:02):
in your little Vegas room. Myassumption is that he is going to
display the art as well as hisremains. From my understanding, he's
going to put Little's remainsnear something that he has from Charlie
Manson, which may or may notbe authentic.
I question a lot in his serialkiller room.
Like get fucked. Just get fucked.
(08:23):
Yeah. At least we know thatthese are authentic. Right? Because
a lot of them in his museum.We question. Yeah, but still don't
love it.
Do not love it. So our nextupdate has to do with Robin Murphy
of the Fall River Cultkillings. We have a full episode
on the case as well becauseit's relatively complex in terms
of allegations and timelines.It's called the Murders of Barbara
(08:44):
Posa, Karen Marsden, DoreenLevesque, parentheses, Fall River
Cult Killings, ColonBridgewater Triangle, and satanic
panic 3. I know it's a lot,but a.
Fall Out Boys song.
It covers so many things. SoCarl Drew was convicted for murdering
Karen Marsden. Robin Murphypled guilty to second degree murder
(09:04):
as part of a plea agreement.And as part of that plea agreement,
she agreed to testify againstDrew. Now, we talked about in our
last True Crime Titus updatethat she had come out and said what
I said was a lie and that wewere waiting on the results of the
parole board. She haspetitioned for parole several times
and she did not get it. And weloved that.
(09:25):
Yeah, loved. However, past tense.
Loved. However, earlier thisyear in 2024, Murphy was granted
parole. And per the paroleboard, she acknowledged that due
to her pattern of dishonesty,many people have been harmed. She
is willing to try and rectifythe harm she has caused. Ms. Murphy
has significant support in thecommunity and has presented a reentry
(09:48):
plan that will meet her needs.The board concludes by unanimous
decision that Ms. Murphy hasdemonstrated a level of rehabilitation
that would make her releasecompat with the welfare of society.
Ugh.
Yikes.
I do not like that at all.
Nope.
And speaking of things that wedo not like, we're going to move
on to Danny Rollings, AKA theGainesville Ripper. We talked about
(10:10):
Rollings in our episode calledthe True Stories, which aired in
2021. Doesn't seem that longago that we talked about it.
Right.
Rollings was executed in 2006by lethal injection after he was
convicted for the murders ofChristina Powell, Sonia Larson, Christa
Hoyt, Manuel Tobiota, andTracy Pulse Rowling stabbed all of
(10:31):
his victims and he sexuallyassaulted the women that he murdered.
Rollings may be linked toanother case. In 1971, David Yeager
disappeared from Shreveport,Louisiana. David's family wonders
if Rollings had something todo with it, because Rollings lived
just a few blocks away fromwhere David was last seen. Rowlings
(10:53):
did admit that he had murderedpeople in Shreveport in 1989. David's
family speculates that he mayhave started his crimes much earlier
than the authoritiesoriginally believed. Which, like,
could totally make sense. Likehe has admitted that there's some
in Shreveport.
Absolutely.
I would be looking for theconnection too. Of course.
It's so devastating because astime goes on getting a true answer,
(11:16):
you can have theories, butit's really hard to prove it, especially
when the murderer is dead.
Mm. Yeah. I hope they findsomething though. That's sad.
So another case that wecovered in a full episode was the
disappearance of Asia Degree.And we haven't covered more on her
since that original episode.So this is our first True Crime Digest
update about her. And while wedon't love everything we've learned,
(11:39):
we're glad there's movement inthe case. So as a Brief recap, on
February 14th of 2009, yearold Asia Degree went missing from
her home in Shelby, NorthCarolina. She was seen by drivers
walking along North CarolinaHighway 18 in Shelby. She was also
seen being pulled into a 1970sgreen Lincoln Thunderbird or another
(12:00):
similar vehicle of that time.And then she was never seen again.
Now fast forward a little overa year. On August 2nd of 2001, evidence
belonging to Asia was locatedin Burke county on the side of Highway
18. Bizarrely, this is 20miles north of where she had last
been seen. A construction crewworking in the area located evidence
(12:23):
and turned it over to theCleveland County Sheriff's Office.
Numerous items of evidencewere collected from the area, some
having been identified asbelonging to Asia, where other items
were not hers. Then in midSeptember of this year, search warrants
involved in the investigationinto her disappearance were shared
with the public. And that caserecap that we just gave is actually
(12:45):
from those search warrants. Sowe're going to talk a little bit
about what we have learnedfrom those search warrants and what's
going on right now. Sadly, lawenforcement believes that Asia was
murdered, although her remainshave not been located yet.
Ugh, her poor family.
I know.
I'm sure they have preparedbut like, still hearing it, you know?
Yeah, yeah. DNA evidence wasfound on Asia's undershirt and book
(13:08):
bag that were found in 2001.The DNA on the book bag was matched
to Russell Bradley Underhill.The DNA on the undershirt was from
a relative of Connie and RoyDedman. We'll talk more about them
in a moment. And just as aninteresting connection, Connie and
Roy Redmond operated medicalfacilities. And Underhill lived in
at least two of thosedifferent facilities over the course
(13:31):
of his life. Now, the DNAprofile that matches a relative of
the Deadmans was from therewas identified as being a match to
their daughter Annalee. Shewould have been just 13 when Asia
disappeared.
Oh, remember how we talkedabout someone luring her?
Yes, we did talk about someoneluring her. Based on this, law enforcement
(13:52):
believes she would have neededher parents help to execute conceal
the crime. And also theDeadmans are the link between Underhill
and Annelie. Law enforcementserved warrants on Roy, Connie and
Annalee Dedmon for DNAsamples. So they took a cheek swab
of each of them so they couldtest it against other DNA that they
have yet to identify. Now, aspart of the search warrants, several
(14:15):
properties were searched andthey were pretty like the scope of
the search warrant was prettybroad, but it included items like
clothing, handwrittendocuments like diaries, electronics,
vehicles, documents pertainingto Underhill or the facilities that
the Redmonds operated, andpossible murder weapons. And this
is among a long list of items.So let's talk about what they found.
(14:39):
When we talk about thisdigital evidence, I want, I want
you to just keep in mind we'regoing to go through a lot of evidence
that was found. I want you tokeep in mind that they're looking
for anything. So they're goingto pull anything that evolves within
the scope so they can combthrough it. But there are parts of
this that are significantlyworse than others. And you'll know
when we fucking get there. Soat 621 Cherryville Road, they found
(15:00):
an Acer laptop, an IR digitalcamera, a green composition book,
an SD card in an envelopelabeled September to November 2020,
an HP laptop, white cellphones, a smartwatch in a box, paperwork
from the Department of Healthand Human Services, a disposable
Fuji camera, a Canon digitalcamera, human teeth in a Ziploc bag.
(15:23):
Fuck. A Dell computer tower,an HP computer tower, many flip phones,
three small cameras, VHS tapesthat were in a camcorder bag, black
Apple iPhones and other cellphones, an HP laptop, a blue notebook
with assorted vehicleregistrations, a sort more VHS tapes,
a laptop A Dell laptop,cassette tapes, a black notebook,
(15:46):
financial records from TwelveOaks dating back to 2000. And then
outside, they found smallpieces of red fabric and a small
shoe sole. These were bothoutside the residence and digital
photos.
Interesting, because that wasa while back, too. So it's interesting
that they would take.
Something 24 years ago.
Yeah.
Yes.
Also, I want to note betweenwhere Asha's address was and where
(16:09):
this particular address is isabout a seven minute drive. So I
know she was walking along thehighway and that's where she disappeared.
It wasn't very far. You know,relatively speaking, it's seven minutes
in a car and it's about anhour and a half walk.
So moving on to the nextaddress at 601 Cherryville Road,
they found two more disposablecameras, micro VHS tapes, films,
(16:34):
LG flip phones, journalswritten by Lizzie Dedman and Annalee
Deadman, both daughters ofConnie and Roy, DSS complaint documents,
transport logs, and then agreen AMC Rambler. And when you look
up what that car looks like,it matches the description of the
one that she was pulled into.
Yes.
(16:54):
And then documents containingUnderhill's name, a black trash bag,
Carhartt jeans, children'sclothing, another cell phone, and
a.22 caliber rifle.
Ugh, that's scary.
I know.
And now this residence issuper close to the first one, too.
It's a one minute drive or athree minute walk.
(17:14):
Yes. Then at 5106 HawthorneLane, they seized a Samsung tablet,
a flash drive with photos, aDell computer, a Lenovo laptop and
power cord, an external harddrive, digital camera, floppy disks,
assorted CDs and SD cards.
And the Hawthorne address isabout 17 minutes via car from Asha's
(17:35):
address.
The next address they searchedwas 7246 Walnut Wood Drive. And there
they just took a BlackBerrycell phone.
That one's pretty far. Thatone's about an hour away from her
home.
And then the last location wasNorthbrook Rest Home. There they
took documents pertaining toRussell Underhill's care. Photographs,
two earrings and a gray Jaguar.
(17:57):
That's a lot. I'm just happythat they're, you know, working on
it. Mm.
I am, too. I am, too.
Yeah. I'm just happy that 24years later, you know, almost 25,
honestly, that someone's stillcaring about it. Which is kind of
rare to see.
Yes, yes. Especially, like,without, like, significant press
of parents begging.
I'm sure they are, but.
(18:18):
Yeah, no, I'm sure that theyare. My point is that normally, like,
it.
Has to be in the news. Often,you know, pervasive.
And, yes, law enforcementbelieves that Asia was, quote, a
victim of homicide with herbody concealed. Roy Dedman's attorney
confirmed that Dedmon'sproperty was one of those that was
searched. From myunderstanding, Roy and Connie no
longer live together. So hisattorney had a press conference on
(18:40):
September 13th. His name'sDavid Teddy, by the way. And at that
press conference, Teddy said,I think there will be information
in that search warrant thatsadly, will link a person to the
circumstances of Asia'sdisappearance that is no longer living.
Not saying that the personthat was named in the search warrant
had anything to do with theirdisappearance, but it's very possible
(19:03):
that the person who's nolonger here has the answers to what
happened to Asia. Yeah. Teddialso noted that Debman denied any
involvement in Asia'sdisappearance. And so while they
were conducting thesesearches, they weren't just looking
inside for items. They werealso searching the property itself
using ground penetrating,like, scanning devices. And then
(19:26):
they also used dogs. It's notclear whether they were using cadaver
dogs or, like, search andrescue dogs, which are different
things, because, again, Imean, like, depending on what they're
expecting to find, are theyexpecting to find, like, a bunker
or are they expecting to finda grave?
Right.
And as a note, Underhill, whowe just mentioned a moment ago, he
died in 2004.
That's worrisome. Like, if hehas. I mean, I'm sure we're gonna
(19:49):
be able to find something veryworrisome. But if he knows, like,
the specific details of whathappened or can, you know, answer.
And the person that maybecould answer more questions isn't
here, which really sucks forher family.
My theory is that they knewthey were going to find some type
of electronic evidence of whathappened to her, which is why they
(20:11):
are going through so much. AndI'm happy that her family might get
closure, but I'm horrifiedthat there might be digital evidence
of what happened to her.
That's true.
So from what we've seen,Asia's family is still holding out
hope that she's alive, and wereally hope that she is. We hope
that she's able to come home.One of the things that FBI did was
they made an age progressionphoto of her, and I'll say, like,
(20:33):
this is one of the most welldone age progression photos I feel
like I've ever seen. Normally,you're kind of like, yeah, this looks
like an AI person, but thislooks like.
Looks like her.
Just a kind person. Right.Like, you can look at both photos
and you're like, oh, yeah,that is what she'll probably look
like grown up. And I just, ithurts my heart so much because, like,
imagine that's the way you seeyour baby grow up is an age progression.
(20:54):
Photos like, ugh, that fuckinggets me.
Yeah, the eyes get me.
The eyes are just so spot onevery time. And her smile.
Yeah. Well, I hope that herfamily does get some information
and we'll be obviouslyfollowing it still as more details
come. So another case that wehave a full episode on is the murder
(21:15):
of Mercedes Vega. And that's alocal case. To me, that's one I still
talk about. I bring up toeveryone, like, do you know about
this? You should know aboutthis. Because not enough people know
that this happened in Arizona.So as a quick recap, Mercedes Vega
was abducted from her Tempe,Arizona apartment around 9pm on the
evening of Sunday, April 16,2023. That same evening, only a few
(21:39):
hours later, she was founddeceased in an unknown car that was
set on fire in Tonopah,Arizona. We have a full episode with
the timeline that came out inMarch of this year. And it's been
over a year now and her familyis still fighting to get justice.
We have also updated on someof our true crime digests too, because
we did find out some smalldetails here and there. Unfortunately,
(22:01):
authorities still have notreleased much information to her
family or to the public. Sothe updates that we want to include
is the 911 call was released.And so the 911 call was when someone
saw the burning car in theearly morning hours of April 17.
We have discussed it before,but just because it is released,
(22:22):
we're hearing it a lot moreplayed in like the news and when
anyone talks about Mercedes.So again, it was a truck driver who
reported seeing a car on fireand he mentioned it was off the i10
down in the bushes. Hementioned that he did see someone
on the outside of the vehicleas well as something inside the vehicle.
So what that tells us is, youknow, he saw whoever is responsible
(22:45):
or at least is working withthe party responsible. And we still
have the question of how didhe get away? He didn't disappear
into the desert. There must beanother car somewhere. Yeah, and
we brought this up too. Thecar that she was found in was not
hers. It was a Malibu. And theprevious owner has been contacted
by one of the new stationshere. And she stated that she turned
(23:06):
it into a Peoria cardealership in June of 2022. Now,
when Lindsay and I researchedthe Car a while back, we found that
it was auctioned. So we didshare everything that we knew with
her family.
Yeah.
So hopefully law enforcement'slooking into that now. Law enforcement,
since we talked about her,also looked into the DNA that was
(23:28):
found in the garage. We talkedabout how we suspected she was hit
over the head. Andunfortunately, the blood and DNA
was a match to Mercedes. Soher mom and everyone that mentioned
what they thought happened wascorrect. She must have been hit before
she was taken.
Yeah.
Now, something that we havenot brought up is that Mercedes was
involved in an armed robbery awhile back. And one of Mercedes friends
(23:53):
who also worked at the clubthat she worked at, Jelena Gamboa,
said that In November of 2019,one of the dancers at the club was
robbed after she got home fromworking at the club. So wasn't robbed
at the club, but.
When she got home.
Then a little over a yearlater, In October of 2020, a man
with a mask and gloves robbedMercedes at gunpoint when she was
(24:16):
on her way home from the clubwhere she was working. The assailant
took her phone and her purse,which, among other things, had money
that she had earned thatevening. He then shoved her to the
ground so hard that she hadscratches down her spine. That's
scary. I'm just so sad thatmultiple horrible things happened
to this poor woman.
I agree. It's heartbreaking.
It is. You know, Jelena said,remember, she's one of Mercedes friends.
(24:38):
Mercedes was very, very smart.She was very strong, but she was
also very mentally strong. Itdefinitely scared her. It would scare
anybody, any person that wouldgo through something like that, but
she kind of just took it. Itseemed like, as, you know, maybe
this isn't the bestenvironment. And I remember she stopped
going in as often. Kind ofstayed back for a little bit and
(25:00):
reassessed her safetyprecautions. Mercedes parents said
that she was very shaken atthe time. And in the following weeks
after the attack. One monthafter Mercedes robbery, another dancer
said that someone tried to robher at gunpoint in the parking garage
of her apartment building. Terrifying.
Yes.
However, the assailant ran offwhen they realized someone else was
(25:21):
nearby in the garage. Mercedesnoticed that there was activity on
her cash app account after herphone was stolen. Someone was trying
to transfer money to their ownaccount. Fucking dumbass criminals,
right?
But please be dumb.
Yeah. I mean, yeah. They wereable to find the suspect's account
and then their vehicleinformation. This led them to their
suspect, Cujo Young. Mercedeswas able to pick her attacker out
(25:43):
of a police lineup, and he wasidentified. So that's how they figured
out it was for sure. CujoYoung. Mm. Law enforcement reviewed
footage from the club andfound that Young had been in the
club after the robberies.
Fucked up.
Which is so bizarre because,like, what if one of the girls went
back to work that night, youknow, like, just to be with people,
and then this asshole's thereanyways? Due to Mercedes identification
(26:06):
of him, law enforcement wasable to charge him for both of the
2020 robberies. Per Jelena,the people who worked at the club
were worried that there wassomeone else who worked at the club
who was tipping off Youngbecause they had an idea of who would
have more money. Because ofthis, people are less open about
how much money they made eachnight, which is, like, fair. Who
(26:26):
the fuck would do that, too?Like, ugh.
Yeah.
Young was arrested in Decemberof 2020, but was let out on bail
in December of 2021. Somearticles say he may have been wearing
an ankle monitor. Others saythat he definitely was 12. News in
Arizona reached out to courtofficials to give an answer on whether
he had an ankle monitor, butthey said that they couldn't comment.
(26:48):
So he might have. He might nothave. Young's attorney withdrew from
the case in May of 2023. Youngwas arrested in November of 2023
in relation to a massive drugsale, specifically 40,000 pills.
That's a lot of pills. Andthat's a big amount of pills for
one person to just have.
Yes, sure.
(27:09):
Sounds like somebody might beinvolved with other people doing
other nefarious things.
Exactly. And what's strange ishis attorney withdrew from the case
a month after, you know, inMay of 2023, a month after Mercedes.
And then he wasn't arrestedtill months after Mercedes was murdered.
Mercedes had prepared a victimimpact statement that she was going
(27:30):
to read in Young's trial. OnApril 13th of 2023, Young's attorney
named a man named George as aperson who was expected to testify
at Young's trial because,quote, he was the individual who
threatened Mr. Young to committhe armed robberies. Mercedes was
murdered just four days later.I feel like that's not a coincidence.
(27:50):
It doesn't feel like acoincidence, does it? Especially
when you start to think thatthis is not just one person. Probably
not just two people. Yeah,probably something relatively organized
if we're talking 40,000fucking pills.
For sure. For sure. And Youngwas not in custody, but he was wearing
an ankle monitor the nightthat Mercedes was murdered. Per Erica.
(28:12):
I received a call fromMaricopa County Attorney's office
about a month ago, asking tospeak to my dead child who had been
dead for over a year, and totell her that the man who held her
at gunpoint is going to trial.I don't understand how they can fuck
up with this poor family overand over and over again.
I know.
It's infuriating. This Erica,I. I feel for her every time I talk
(28:33):
to her. Ugh. I. I hate it. Ihate it so much. In mid October,
Young had a hearing thatMercedes parents Erica and Tom attended.
Erica said, quote, in honor ofmy daughter, I will be there every
single day in courtrepresenting her because she deserves
it. Apparently there arenegotiations for a plea deal, but
as of right now, his trial isscheduled for January.
(28:54):
And it makes me so fucking madthat that plea deal might be involved
with him giving informationabout somebody else so he might not
face the charges that areappropriate for what he did to her.
Yes. Yeah.
And that makes me so fuckingmad, especially given that, I mean,
(29:15):
to me.
There'S just too manycoincidences there.
Witness, witness, no lastname. She dies, attorney withdrawals.
Like, to me, that's like, I'mnot a fucking part of this. I'm not
doing it.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, as morecomes up with anything Mercedes related,
we'll. We'll bring up. Butagain, Erica and Tom, we've corresponded
(29:37):
with them a few times sinceour last one, and yeah, follow them
on social media. Erica's onTikTok too, talking about it, and
she does little updates hereand there.
Absolutely.
If you want to follow Erica onTikTok, her handle is Erica Pillsbury.
So her name. And occasionallyshe'll give little updates as she
hears them. And then a lot ofthe time she's just talking about
Mercedes. And it's beautiful,like how much she loved her daughter
(29:59):
and just to follow along andtry to find justice for her.
Yeah. Watching her isheartbreaking, but I think it is
important to see what happenswhen we treat women like they aren't
people.
Yeah.
Woof. So just a couple moreepisodes this year. This is our last
True crime digest. Probablywon't have another one for at least
a month or so into 2025. Ifthere's any cases you'd like us to
(30:22):
cover, feel free to send themto us. But before we go, I need to
tell you something that ishaunting me.
What is haunting you?
It is that the Low Hotel inPoint Pleasant, West Virginia is
for sale. It is listed as $2.3million. We're going to list. We're
going to include the listingin the show notes.
So we're calling on you tohelp us raise 2.3 million.
(30:45):
Oh, my gosh. Like, not me,like, because we. Amanda and I found
this out last week and, like,my brain was, like, spinning because,
like, I'm a business babe. Youknow what I mean? I've got ideas.
Ideas for fucking days. Andthat hotel, I said. Like I said to
them when we were there, Ifelt so incredibly drawn and pulled
(31:06):
to it that I was just, like, Ifelt this connection. I don't know.
I can't even describe it. Itwas the first time I'd ever been
in a place that I felt like itwas that haunted, and I just felt
tied to it.
I remember when you were thereand you were like, I wish I could
have this hotel like you. Ithink you text me that.
Yes, I did. I was like, Iwould love to have this hotel and
run this hotel. Like, I lovedit so much. It's so beautiful, so
(31:32):
stunning. Is a full city blockhas so much opportunity for coolness,
you know? Like, the owner, herhusband passed, and she had run it
with him. So it's just. It's alot for, you know, it's a lot for
her to do. So I feel like it'svery reasonable that she would want
to sell it. But it's such acool fucking space.
Yeah.
And a hotel for $2.3 millionfeels, honestly, very cheap.
(31:55):
Especially. Especially when itbrings a festival to your doors.
It literally brings a festivalto your doors. So what I'm saying
is, if you would like toinvest in True Creek Resorts.
Yes. We are looking forfinancial investors.
We are coming to you today.Sharks for your backing on.
(32:17):
We've left our idea of, like,Cow Armor or whatever the fuck we
were saying before.
Yeah, We. We've moved from CowArmor to Cryptid Resort. Yes. Yes.
Do you like it?
We need a lot of patreons for this.
That is a lot of patre. Thatis a lot of patreons. Woof.
(32:40):
We could have a tier, though,if we did, where they'd get a free
weekend during Mothmanfestival every year.
I mean, what a treat thatwould be.
That would be a tier.
Yeah, Mothman tier. We'reworking on it.
We're working on it.
You are like a.
A friend of Mothman. Oh, no. Iwas thinking of, like, would you
be a friend of PBS and, youknow, give money?
(33:02):
Oh, yeah. Friend of Mothman.Yeah. No, I mean, that's fair.
Yeah. Friend of Mothman. Yeah.
I Reeling just my brain, like,if I sit still too long, it's like,
you know what you could do?And then it just starts dreaming
and I'm like, I don't needthis in my life. I mean, I do, but
I also don't. But I also do. Idon't have $2.3 million lying around.
(33:24):
Which is why I'm calling onyou. Sharks for.
Yeah, actually, honestly, weneed it because last last week we
were supposed to record twoepisodes, but we looked at the listing
for the hotel far too long anddreamed of what we would be doing
with all the spaces.
So, yeah, well. And also itwas Liz from you'll recognize Liz
(33:46):
from our Podiversary 3, thenGrinning man, which included the
Lo Hotel story and then theirdaughter Elliot's story from our
potiversary this year. So Lizleft a comment being like, the hotels
were sale. And I was like, I'msorry, what? Like I. Good luck trying
to keep me focused, Amanda.I'm suddenly in dream mode. I was
(34:07):
like, we need to look at everypicture in this listing.
And we did.
And we did.
So sharks, let us know.
As I'm saying this, I'msending this to our discord to be
like, the Mothman Hotel is for sale.
Please say Sharks.
Sharks. Dear Sharks, pleasenote that the Low Hotel in Point
(34:29):
Pleasant, I can spellPleasant, AKA Mothman Town, is for
sale.
You'll hear about it next week.
Do you want to get on theground floor of an exciting opportunity?
Cryptid aficionados? You canwith True Creeps Resorts.
And then one of us will walkout in a Mothman outfit.
Have you seen the person who'sin the like the Mothman statue costume?
(34:54):
Yes, I died. Oh, it's.
It's got the butt. It's sofucking good. The sale is pending.
No, I'm still going to holdout hope.
Yeah, I actually met someonefrom Point Pleasant recently too,
that I chatted with. We did avideo on our TikTok about tarot trader
and one of the owners was fromthere, so it was kind of fun to chit
(35:15):
chat. So we're podcasters,travel agents, dreams, hotel owners.
Hoteliers. Is that what that.Is that what it is?
Hoteliers. Sure.
Hoteliers.
We'll do what wehotelologists, hotel scientists.
Ooh, I like it. And with that,have a great weekend.
Thanks for creeping with us.
(35:39):
Thanks for listening and asalways, a special thank you to our
patrons who support us via Patreon.
Please see the link in ourshow notes to learn more about how
you yes, you can begin tohaunt the dump, guard vortexes, or
even become a scorching Sasquatch.
Ooh. Also in our show notes,you can find the link to our website,
more information on oursources, our social media handles,
(36:00):
and our merch store.
We'd love for you to keepcreeping with us. So if you like
this episode, pleasesubscribe, rate, review and share
the show with your fellowcreeps and or ghosts.
I beg of you. I'm sorry, what?
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