A tip from an inmate and a subsequent confession from the suspected killer has led to the closure of a 32-year-old chilly case, Arkansas State Police stated.
Rick Allen Headley, 48, was charged with first-degree homicide within the 1991 dying of 19-year-old Sabrina Lynn Underwood of Huntsville, state police stated in a information launch Friday. Headley is at the moment being held on the Varner Unit in Lincoln County serving a life sentence with out the potential for parole after pleading responsible to capital homicide for the March 2018 stabbing dying of his estranged spouse, Kirstie Headley, in Mountain House.
Headley is ready to seem in Fulton County Circuit Court docket on Nov. 13 within the Underwood case, state police stated.
Underwood’s stays had been present in April 1991, lower than three months after she was reported lacking, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Underwood’s mom, Loretta, final noticed her on Jan. 20, 1991, when she dropped her off on the intersection of U.S. 412 and U.S. 62 close to Bear Creek Springs in Boone County. She had deliberate to hitchhike about 70 miles east to Izard County, the place her boyfriend was jailed on the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, the newspaper reported.
A police affidavit stated she had made the identical journey every week earlier on Jan. 13 however did not attain her vacation spot this time. When Underwood’s boyfriend referred to as her mom to seek out out why she did not make her scheduled go to, a lacking particular person report was filed with the Madison County sheriff’s workplace on Jan. 24.
On April 8, roughly 140 miles from Huntsville, two turkey hunters stumbled upon a bundle of garments close to the Gum Springs Cemetery in Fulton County. Human stays additionally had been discovered and later recognized as Underwood, the newspaper stated. The dying “was dominated undetermined on the time,” KATV reported.
Within the years since, the Arkansas State Police stated they collaborated with a judicial drug activity drive and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Workplace to analyze the case.
In July 2022, state police Particular Agent Justin Nowlin obtained a tip from an legal professional who stated his consumer had data that would presumably result in figuring out a suspect in Underwood’s homicide. In an interview, the witness offered investigators with a confession letter given to him by Headley that contained particulars of Underwood’s killing.
On Aug. 24, 2022, investigators questioned Headley. In keeping with an affidavit, Headley recognized a photograph of Underwood and admitted to writing the confession letter.
In keeping with the affidavit, Headley informed investigators that Underwood tried to extort him for cash, however “knew he couldn’t let her destroy his life,” KATV reported.
In his interview, Headley stated he hoped no person else had been arrested for Underwood’s homicide, the newspaper stated.
An Arkansas State Police spokesperson stated Underwood’s household, which incorporates her mom who’s now in her 70s, was “very glad” concerning the case being solved.
“Sabrina’s household nonetheless suffers from the ache of her absence, however we hope this week’s arrest will present them with some consolation and long-sought solutions,” Col. Mike Hagar, director of the state police, stated in a information launch. “We’ll by no means surrender on discovering justice for households just like the Underwoods.”