2024 Updates

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2:00have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:16As is our annual tradition, today I'm discussing 2024 case updates. Specifically in the cases of Asha Degree, Ayla Reynolds, Margarita Sandoval, Harmony Montgomery, Jesse Wilson, Abby Williams and Libby German, Maddie Kingsbury, Morgan Nick, Kaysera Stops Pretty Places, and Mercedes Vega. Now, I want to take a second and explain how this is going to go. I'll be discussing cases in order of when I covered them on the podcast. I'll give you the episode number and the air date so it's easy to find if you want to go back and listen to the full episode or episodes. But I will be giving you a short summary of each case before getting to the update, so if you haven't listened to a particular episode or you just aren't familiar with the case, you'll still know what's going on.

3:04But without further introduction, these are our 2024 case updates. Our first case update comes from episode 16, that first aired on April 28, 2021. That is the case of Aisha Degree. Aisha's case is undoubtedly one of the most discussed in true crime, and the internet absolutely exploded when there were updates in her case this year. As a refresher, Aisha was 9 years old when she went missing from her home in Shelby, North Carolina in the middle of the night on February 14, 2000. She was last seen by her family at about 2.30 in the morning, just asleep in her bedroom. but she was later seen by multiple drivers walking along Highway 18 around 4 a.m.

3:49One of these drivers did go back to the area to check on Aisha, but said that by then she disappeared into the nearby woods. She was reported missing by her parents less than three hours later at 6.30 a.m. There were no signs of forced entry at Aisha's home, and it appears that she left on her own for some unknown reason. In 2001, her backpack was found double bagged in garbage bags and buried along Highway 18 along with some of her belongings There were also some items in the backpack that her parents say did not belong to Aisha In 2016, the FBI announced that they received a tip that leads them to believe Aisha may have gotten into an early 1970s Mark Lincoln 4 or Thunderbird along that same highway, Highway 18 Then, on September 11, 2024, reports began to surface of a heavy police presence at a property in Shelby.

4:47There were multiple agencies present, along with dogs. But what really seemed to get everyone excited that there might finally be some answers in her case was a green car being towed from the property that may match the car the FBI reports Aisha may have gotten into on the morning she went missing. In total, they searched five properties across three different counties. Authorities aren't saying much about what was taken from these properties, but they did confirm that no remains were found. Of course, everyone wanted to know what sparked this. Why are these properties being searched nearly 25 years after Aisha went missing?

5:25Well, it seems that warrants were drawn up after DNA samples from Aisha's recovered backpack were linked to a man named Russell Underhill and a woman named Anna Lee Dedman Ramirez. A hair found on Aisha's undershirt was linked to Anna Lee. According to the search warrants, two of the properties searched belonged to Anna Lee Dedman Ramirez's parents, Roy and Connie Dedman. It appears that Anna Lee was just a teenager when she lived on the property in 2000, the year Aisha went missing. As for the other DNA sample and Russell Underhill, it appears that he was a former resident of a nursing home owned by the Dedmans and has since passed away.

6:07But in the warrants, investigators make it clear that Roy and Connie Dedman are the common links in this development. Roy Dedman's attorney says that the family is being cooperative and is not involved in Aisha's disappearance. But according to 2024 court documents, police do believe Aisha was killed, her body was concealed, and that her murder may be linked to the Dedman family. However, Asha's case is still unsolved, and if you have any information, they're asking you to please call the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office at 704-484-4756. Our next update is from episode 33, which originally aired on August 25, 2021, the case of 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds from Waterville, Maine.

6:58According to Ayla's father, Justin DiPietro, on December 16, 2011, he put her to bed at 8 p.m. And when he woke up, she was gone. Her case quickly became the largest search for a missing person in Maine history. Justin and his family have said that they believe Ayla was abducted. However, law enforcement quickly dispelled this theory, and accused Justin and those in the house the night Ayla went missing of knowing more than they were sharing with investigators. Ayla was declared legally dead in 2017, and in 2018, her mother, Trista Reynolds, filed a wrongful death suit against Justin. Justin's mother, Phoebe, and sister Alicia were later added to the lawsuit as well.

7:43And that's really where the case was when I brought it to you three years ago in 2021, but as of September 2024, the lawsuit has been settled. As with many civil lawsuits, the exact terms have not been released, and both parties have entered into confidentiality agreements as a condition of the settlement. But the lawyer for Justin's mom and sister, Laura Mayer, told New Center Maine that they do dispute the claims made in the lawsuit, but have decided it was in their best interest to settle the case. I know it's not the most satisfying update because so little is known, but I hope that this development has brought some semblance of peace or justice or answers to Ayla's mother and loved ones.

8:26And because Ayla's case has never been adjudicated criminally and is seemingly still open and unsolved, I will say that if you have any information about Ayla, please call the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit at 207-624-7143. The next update is in the case of 19-year-old Margarita Sandoval from Norman, Oklahoma. She was featured in episode 54 on January 13, 2022. Margarita went missing in 2018, and in May of 2021, her body was found in a box belonging to her brother Octavio Sanchez in a basement. Margarita's case is definitely one of the most devastating I think I've ever covered. She had intellectual disabilities and needed full-time care.

9:16Beginning in January 2018, her brother Octavio and his wife Desiree were supposed to be providing that care. But Margarita had seemingly gone missing sometime between February 17th and April 18th, 2018. She would have been 18 or 19 depending on the date that that actually occurred. Police still aren't sure. But after receiving a tip in the case in 2021, the police found Margarita's body in a basement in Norman, Oklahoma inside of a container that had been wrapped in plastic. When I first covered Margarita's case, everything pointed to Octavio and Desiree killing her. They'd been cashing Margarita's social security checks up until the week before she was found, collecting nearly$31 ,000 total.

10:02They were giving conflicting stories, and Octavio knew the owner of the home her body was found in. When the owner of the home, Miguel Munoz, was questioned, he said the box belonged to his friend Octavio and he was unaware of the contents However, Munoz would later tell investigators that he knew there was a body inside the box, but he didn't think it was Margarita Octavio told him it was the body of a pedophile and that Octavio said, quote, Desiree started it and I had to finish it, end quote The couple was later arrested in 2023. Then, in January 2024, Desiree Sanchez, Margarita's sister-in-law, was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, with an additional five years for unlawfully removing a body.

10:53Her sentences will run consecutively. Later that same month, Margarita's brother Octavio entered a blind plea of guilty to manslaughter. Basically, a blind plea means that he entered this without any type of agreement and doesn't know what type of sentence he'll be given. Of course, because of the guilty plea, there was no trial. According to reporting by News 9, he did change his plea to no contest to manslaughter shortly before he was sentenced to life in prison in May. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Money is this invisible thread that ties us all together. It's something everyone has to deal with.

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12:59Now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. For bundled subscribers, terms apply. Our next 2024 update comes in the case of 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery from Manchester, New Hampshire. She was featured in episodes 68 and 69 on May 12th and 19th, 2022. When I first told you about Harmony's case, we knew that she went missing sometime in late 2019, but wasn't reported missing until about two years later in 2021. Her case made huge waves in the media, and it was eventually revealed that through a series of mistakes, oversights, and really just mishandling of her case within the Division of Children, Youth, and Families, Harmony was placed with her father, Adam Montgomery, without the proper oversight shortly before she went missing.

13:50Now, if you've been listening for a while, you probably know that I used to work within the foster care system. I have a really special place in my heart for these kids that have these cases mishandled and end up missing or dead. So I go really deep into all of that in the episodes if you want to learn more about exactly how this happened. But within about a month of Harmony's case making national headlines, the reward for information about her grew to$144 ,000. Her case was everywhere, and people were justifiably outraged. A few days later, both Adam and his girlfriend, who had been living with him and Harmony, were arrested on charges that were related to Harmony's care and welfare, but not her disappearance.

14:37Harmony's remains have not been found, but it seemed very clear that either Adam, Kayla, or both were involved in her likely murder, and in January 2023, Adam was arrested for second degree murder. Now, while authorities were building their case against Adam and Kayla, they were both arrested on a variety of other charges for things like fraud, theft, and weapons related crimes. So Adam was already looking at spending decades in prison, but the trial for Harmony's murder didn't begin until this year, which is where our updates in this case start. It was a pretty devastating and graphic trial, but Adam's lawyers heavily argued that while he did help conceal Harmony's body, it was Kayla that last saw her alive, while the prosecution argued that Adam killed Harmony after he became angry that she'd soiled herself while they were living in their vehicle.

15:31Finally, on February 22nd, Adam Montgomery was found guilty on all charges, while Kayla Montgomery was given heavily monitored parole. In May, Adam was sentenced to 56 years in prison and Kayla was released. But that same month, Harmony's birth mother, Crystal Sori, asked the court to legally declare Harmony dead, stating that she intended to file a lawsuit against the state, and the State Department of Health and Human Services, and the Division for Children, Youth, and Families. And in September, that's exactly what she did. Like I discuss in my episodes about Harmony, Crystal also argues that DCYF was negligent and liable for what happened to her.

16:14Crystal also organized a search for Harmony's remains in Mary O'Malley Park in Chelsea, Massachusetts. As of recording this episode, it doesn't appear that they have been located. But I really hope 2025 is the year Harmony can be respectfully laid to rest. Our next update is in the case of 10-year-old Jesse Wilson from Buckeye, Arizona, who was featured in episode 86 on October 4, 2022. Jesse was reported missing from his home in Buckeye by his adoptive mother Crystal Wilson in July 2016. 2016 she called the non-emergency line to say that he left out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night like he'd done many times before but this time he didn't come back authorities weren't able to recover any video to point to where jesse may have gone so they focused on about a 10 mile radius around his home because jesse was so young and july is one of the hottest months in this area easily reaching over 110 degrees the searches for him began immediately.

17:19And the efforts were massive. There were multiple agencies and a ton of search teams out there, but they couldn't find Jessie. Pretty quickly, the focus turned to Jessie's adoptive mother, Crystal Wilson. She'd been investigated for child abuse in the past. And in 2011, the Avondale police responded to a call that her children were malnourished. When they got into the home, they found two boys that were about four years old wearing harnesses that were attached to the beds. Crystal said this was necessary so the children didn't run away. But there was food in the fridge, so no action was taken.

17:58Eventually, about 400 pages from the Department of Child Safety were released related to Jesse's care under Crystal Wilson. Like with Harmony Montgomery's case, I go deep into all of this in Jesse's episode, but essentially, Jesse was abused and horribly neglected. Neighbors reported that Jesse and his siblings looked underfed and would often go door-to-door asking for food. Several of the bedroom doors in the home were also designed to lock the children inside the rooms. Crystal Wilson had at least six children taken from her custody before adopting Jesse and his siblings. And eventually, Jesse's siblings were taken from her care as well.

18:40But for some reason, Jesse stayed with her. All eyes were on Crystal Wilson. Then, in March 2018, his remains were found about six miles from his home when a city employee pulled over to take a short break. It's at this point that authorities changed their statement from saying there were no suspects in Jesse's case to now saying no one has been ruled out. We also learned from the Buckeye Police Department that they wanted to present charges against Crystal Wilson for Jesse's murder shortly after he was reported missing. But at this point in 2018, Crystal Wilson has moved far away from Arizona to Georgia and kept a low profile.

19:21This is basically where my episode about Jesse ended, but just a few months after that episode aired in December 2022, Crystal Wilson was arrested in Gainesville, Georgia on one charge of abandonment or concealment of a deceased body related to Jesse's case. It looked like there would finally be some type of justice for Jesse Wilson. But here is where the unfortunate 2024 update comes in. In March, the case was dropped after the Maricopa County Attorney's Office filed a motion for dismissal, citing insufficient evidence. But it was dismissed without prejudice, so new charges can be filed. Both Jesse's biological family and the Buckeye Police Department have publicly expressed their disappointment with this decision.

20:11So while all signs point to Crystal Wilson, Jesse's case does remain unadjudicated. If you have any information about Jesse Wilson, please call the Buckeye Police Department at 623-386-4421. Our next update is in the case of Abby Williams and Libby German from Delphi, Indiana. I discussed their case in episodes 88 and 89 on October 20th and 27th, 2022, just days before there was an arrest made in the case. I also spoke with Libby's sister Kelsey if you're interested in hearing what she has to say about the case. Abby and Libby's case has been one of the most discussed in all of true crime. But as a very brief refresher, on Monday, February 13, 2017, 14-year-old Libby and 13-year-old Abby were dropped off at the Delphi Historical Trail to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.

21:12But when it was time to pick the girls up, they were nowhere to be found, and were reported missing that night. The next day, their bodies were found. They'd clearly been murdered. Because I've become so close to Kelsey, I will admit up front I am biased and this is an extremely difficult case for me to talk about. But throughout the investigation, it was discovered that Libby had very bravely taken a video on her phone showing her likely killer walking and saying the words, down the hill. This video was shown absolutely everywhere, and the case gained a massive amount of media attention in a very short amount of time.

21:51The list of potential suspects for this case was seemingly endless, and in all honesty, it became a complete circus. There was round-the-clock coverage for this case exploring every possible angle. It felt like the whole world wanted to know who killed Abby and Libby. And like I said, just days after releasing my interview with Kelsey, a man named Richard Allen was arrested for the murders. This arrest made a lot of waves. But our case update comes from December 2024, when after weeks of testimony, Richard Allen was found guilty of killing Abby Williams and Libby German. He was sentenced to 130 years in prison.

22:36Now that the trial's over and the gag orders have been lifted, I, for one, am really looking forward to hearing from Abby and Libby's families, should they choose to discuss what they've endured over the past, now almost eight years since the murders. It's Hulaween on Disney+. Watch frightful family favorites like Hocus Pocus and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. on Disney+. I am the Pumpkin King! Then take the terror to 10 with a thrilling new remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Scream and more with Hulu-een on Disney+. All these and more screaming this Halloween season with Hulu on Disney+.

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23:52Our next update comes from episode 115, which aired on April 20th, 2023. The case of 26-year-old Maddie Kingsbury from Winona, Minnesota As you may recall, on the morning of Friday, March 31, 2023, Maddie and the father of her two children, Adam Fravel, dropped their kids off at daycare around 8 a.m. and returned home. Maddie's sister, Megan, received her last text message from Maddie at 8.15 a.m. Adam said that around 10 a.m., he took Maddie's minivan out for a few hours, and when he got back around 1.30pm, Maddie was gone. But Maddie missed work and never picked up her kids from daycare. This really wasn't like Maddie.

24:37She was a high achiever, a grad student, and a mom who was very dedicated to her kids. Everything about this situation was just extremely out of character for her, so her family reports her missing on Saturday morning. When her home is searched, they find her phone and wallet. Things aren't looking good. It's eventually revealed that Maddie and Adam were not currently in a romantic relationship. And Maddie was actively looking for a new home nearby so Adam could continue seeing the kids. But pretty soon, Adam kind of starts publicly feuding with the Winona Police Department. People want to know why he didn't attend the press conferences.

25:18And he points his finger at police while they outright deny that he was told not to attend. Now, Adam didn't actually have custody of his kids And without Maddie there, they are removed from Adam's custody Pending the investigation that was very much pointing to him being responsible But Adam did initially try to fight this When authorities came to his parents' house where he'd been staying with the kids He and his family refused to let them in And at one point, Adam took his two-year-old son in the house and locked the door while social workers could hear him screaming inside. But of course, authorities did eventually get in.

25:58But Adam refused to gather any of the children's personal items, so they left with only the clothes on their back. They were eventually placed with Maddie's family. Over the next few days and weeks, there were many searches for Maddie that turned up empty, while Adam fought for custody of his two children. But before he could go to court, Maddie's body was found on June 7, 2023. A deputy was on a remote stretch of Highway 43 near the border of Iowa investigating a tip when he saw her in some brush. Adam Fravel was arrested shortly after on probable cause of intentional second-degree murder, and on June 9, he was officially charged with two counts of second-degree murder.

26:42It was revealed that Maddie was found with a knotted towel around her neck, and Adam had made threats to her that if she didn't listen to him, she'd end up like Gabby Petito. In October 2023, his charges were escalated to first-degree murder, with additional counts of second-degree murder. Finally, in November 2024, Adam went to trial and was found guilty in December, just a few weeks before this episode airs. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his crimes.

27:19Our next update is in the case of 6-year-old Morgan Nick from Alma, Arkansas. She was featured in episode 121 on June 9, 2023. On June 9, 1995, Morgan and her mom, Colleen Nick, were invited to attend a Little League baseball game with a few friends. Near the end of the game, Morgan went out to the parking lot to play with some of the other children. She was only out of her mother's sight for a few minutes when she went missing. Possibly the largest lead in her case was the sighting of a man in a red truck near Morgan shortly before she disappeared. Authorities quickly trace what at least appears to be a similar truck to some attempted child abductions in the area, and they identify the driver as 70-year-old Billy Jack Links, a convicted child predator.

28:08They arrest Links and impound his truck, but at this time, there's no definitive link to Morgan's disappearance. Really, Morgan's case basically sits for 26 years, until 2021, when the FBI publicly names Billy Jack Links as the first and only person of interest in her case. Now, by this time, his truck had been sold at auction, but investigators do track it down and try to get any forensic evidence they can. They find blood on the dashboard, blonde hair under the floor cover, and a blue-green cotton fiber in the mat under the seats and in some metal pieces of the truck. At the time, they didn't have enough DNA to make a match, but they did conclude that the fiber found was a match to the shirt Morgan was wearing the night she went missing.

29:00The trouble was, Billy Jack Links died in prison in the year 2000. So again, Morgan's case just sits. It seemed very clear that Billy Jack Links was the perpetrator, but authorities still didn't name him as her killer or even a suspect. Until October 2024. That's when the Alma PD announced that Billy Jack Links is the main suspect in Morgan's case. This happened because they finally were able to link the hair found in the truck as likely belonging to Morgan. Officially, it belonged to someone in her family. But they say the only person that could have been was Morgan. And while it may seem that this is where Morgan's case would end, the Alma Police Department has made it very clear that this investigation is still open and active as they continue to search for Morgan's remains.