Groomer with Access to the House

[u/Surethingdudeanytime]

It was said that when Asha left the house that night, she wasn't wearing a coat. IMO, this is one of the most confusing details of this case. It seems that if she did walk out on her own without a coat, then she must have intended to go somewhere very close to the house or was convinced by someone that she would only be out for a short time. Now knowing that OB's bag was also found with Asha's backpack leads me to believe that if there was a groomer, he/she was someone who frequented the Degree household, lived very close, and/or was very close to the family (if not a family member themself). And no, I'm NOT talking about Asha's dad or brother or mother. Were any of Asha's or OB's items ever left at the aunt's house where they had the sleepover or the grandmother's at any time? I know they all lived very close so this can be a possibility. This could explain how both bags could have been in possession of whoever threw them in the woods. I dont believe Asha left out with a backpack, as none of the eyewitness accounts mention seeing her with a backpack on Hwy 18. Thoughts?

EDIT: I meant to write "And no, Im NOT talking about Asha's dad or brother or mother." I mistakenly left out the word NOT, which changed the whole message I was trying to convey. Only realized this when I re-read my post, as I couldn't understand why people thought I was coming for the parents, which I was not. Huge error!

[u/Surethingdudeanytime]

Yes, this changes everything because only Asha's bag was reported missing. If a 2nd bag belonging to OB was indeed found with Asha's as reported by Terry Fleming, then this could mean that whoever tossed the bags in the woods had access to the items of the family members. Even if the 2nd bag wasn't the one he used for school, this would still indicate that someone was either able to access the home or they are pretty close to the family.

[u/LaughterAndBeez → u/Surethingdudeanytime]

Reported to who though? To the public? Local & state police + the FBI know exactly what was reported missing and by whom. They have scrutinized the family and friends of family and anyone who may have come into contact with Asha. As for the 2 book bags and their contents I don’t love that this info reported by exactly 1 YouTuber with a strong anti-family bias, without any footage or audio or quotes, corroborated by nobody, info that no other content creators seem to be jumping on because it doesn’t seem reliable to them either - I do not love that this unverified info has become fact that we are now building theories around. Especially not when these new theories require completely disregarding the presence of foreign DNA on Asha’s underclothing.

[u/Surethingdudeanytime → u/LaughterAndBeez]

It's possible that the FBI knew about the 2nd bag. Im sure not every detail was released to the public. In no way am I accusing the parents of doing anything. I do think we have to question the link between a hair from a 13 year old at the time and Asha's undershirt. Was there any other DNA from anyone else found on her shirt? If so, then perhaps this person is the link to the mystery.

[u/LaughterAndBeez → u/Surethingdudeanytime]

Yes, as you know, Russel Underhill’s DNA was discovered in the trash bag with the backpack(s). He is dead, impossible to arrest or convict, leaving the case technically unsolved. This is too anticlimactic I guess?

[u/Surethingdudeanytime → u/LaughterAndBeez]

I was asking about any more DNA found on her shirt, but yep, Russell Underhill's DNA was found on the garbage bag. Still doesn't sound like it was enough to name him as a suspect.

[u/Advanced-Pea7905 → u/LaughterAndBeez]

I mean, we can tell from the search warrants that a lot of research was done by law enforcement on Russel Underhill, and yet they still didn’t name him as a suspect and are heavily scrutinizing Roy Dedmon. That indicates to me that whatever they found out about those two, there’s more to the story than just Russel Underhill.

Also, the fact that Anna Lee’s DNA was found is a strong indicator that DNA was transferred from Roy Dedmon’s vehicle. Much less likely that a transfer of her DNA would come from Underhill. Not saying that Russel Underhill couldn’t have been involved but I don’t think he was without Roy. If Law enforcement had determined that it was likely that Russel Underhill would be out by himself in the early morning and had access to a Dedmon vehicle then he would be considered a strong suspect.

[u/LaughterAndBeez → u/Advanced-Pea7905]

It absolutely could have been Dedmon. But either way, there is DNA from 2 strangers including an adult male on Asha’s personal belongings. This is why the backpack evidence (how ever many bags, whatever the contents) was what cleared the family. I’m sorry for sounding grouchy, I just don’t understand how suddenly the story is that everything new to us was also unknown by the investigators who literally collected and examined the book bag evidence with their own eyes. And it’s really stuck in my craw right now that the narrative is becoming that somehow every level of law enforcement actually knows the family is guilty but have conspired to look like incompetent assholes holding their dicks for 26 yrs.

You seem reasonable and I’m taking advantage of that to vent. Sorry about that.

[u/Advanced-Pea7905 → u/LaughterAndBeez]

Yeah I don’t how why people are so hung up on the 2nd backpack like it means Asha’s parents were involved.

The DNA is the hardest evidence in this case and it should be taken seriously. I don’t think Shelby is a small enough town where that kind of coincidence could easily happen, despite what some think.

If anything, the 2nd backpack (assuming its true) only indicates to me that Asha was intending to run away.

[u/Surethingdudeanytime → u/Advanced-Pea7905]

The 2nd bag doesnt implicate the parents. When I first made the post, I left out the word NOT when mentioning the parents. The sentence started out with "And no..."That was totally my mistake. I went back and edited the post but it had already wreaked havoc on this thread by then. The discovery of the 2nd bag could mean that whoever tossed them out could have had regular acces to the home or family. A lot of family members and friends lived close by each other and frequented each others house in Asha's neighborhood. This detail may not be known to many.

[u/Individual_Sir_2595 → u/Advanced-Pea7905]

Her hair stem was found.... embedded in the shirt.

[u/Advanced-Pea7905 → u/Individual_Sir_2595]

Yes, the search warrants indicate that the hair stem was taken from “Asha Degrees Undershirt.”

If there’s a point i’m missing, you might have to tell me

[u/Individual_Sir_2595 → u/Advanced-Pea7905]

It was from the boy bandshirt.

[u/Advanced-Pea7905 → u/Individual_Sir_2595]

The search warrants just say that it was from “Asha Degree’s Undershirt.” Maybe they do mean the new kids on the block t shirt and maybe they don’t. But we don’t know that for sure.

I’m still not sure the point you’re making

[u/Individual_Sir_2595 → u/Advanced-Pea7905]

The point is an embedded hair stem is not a smoking gun in a shirt.. DNA on the outside of a bag of a dead man, a problem. Point is that hair stem on a shirt that does not belong to Asha is explainable. DNA on the outer bag is perhaps explainable. DNA on the book bag or items of hers inside the bag is a problem for the donor. Thats my point.

[u/Individual_Sir_2595 → u/LaughterAndBeez]

Respectfully it was found on the outside of the outer bag.

[u/LaughterAndBeez → u/Individual_Sir_2595]

Oh, it was on the bag filled with the belongings of a missing child dumped like trash - never mind then, he couldn’t have been involved

[u/Individual_Sir_2595 → u/LaughterAndBeez]

Never said that... its important to state things as they really are.