Thank you for covering this case! I enjoy your personalities and banter, and I think your podcast is top notch. I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina not far from Shelby so I am very familiar with Asha’s case. I grew up with loving and protective parents in a small North Carolina town like Asha. When I was growing up, computers were not ubiquitous like now and the internet was not yet accessible to most people. School, friends, and family were my entire happy world. I can relate to Asha as a little person with so much to learn and experience and so much life ahead of her. My sons were 10 and 8 at the time of Asha’s disappearance so I can also identify with Asha’s parents and the mind numbing misery they must feel having had their child vanish in the night. The entire awful conundrum affects me as deeply now as it did then. What in the world would have caused Asha to leave the safety of her home in the middle of the night in a frigid downpour to walk down a dark deserted highway alone (and defy every warning her parents undoubtedly instilled about danger)?! It just makes no sense. Had she somehow been “groomed” by a predator? Was it some type of unforeseen mental health crisis? Was she running away - as crazy as that seems? What caused her to leave that night? I wrestle with this every time I hear about the investigation. It bothers me that there was not more national interest in the case all things considered. Maybe eventually there will be. But I am glad local law enforcement have not forgotten or slacked in their efforts and that podcasters and UA-camrs have taken up the mantle. I hope that Asha’s parents and all who care about Asha will one day have the answers to what happened that night and what became of little Asha. 💕
I'm so glad you're covering this case! This is one that has haunted me since I first read about Asha's disappearance 10-11 years ago. I think about her often, and she has especially been on my mind the last few days.
So I’m from Shelby, NC and two years older than Asha. I do want to point out a few things. Highway 18 isn’t your typical highway and there are intersections and homes all along the road. Also where the guy says she ran into woods isn’t actually heavily wooded, it’s just tree lines there. Another thing, the hours the dad worked were at PPG and I believe they have different hours than normal second shift companies. There are two conflicting stories through various sources, one was he worked that night and one he didn’t. We also have Walmart which at the time was 24 hours a day for him to get candy. By the time he went out the power was back on I do believe. It came back on shortly after bath time had passed but they still skipped it. I’ve listened to so many podcasts and stories on this case and I wish this case could be solved so much.
So happy you guys are covering Asha’s case! This and Andrew Gosden’s case (another child that simply walked away but in different circumstances) are the two that I keep going back to. Hopefully the police are onto something with those new releases but unfortunately it really seems like we’ll only get concrete answers once the right person says the right thing
I feel like it’s possible that maybe she thought she was going to meet the girl in the photo? Like a pen pal or something? But it was really just a ruse to get her alone and vulnerable.
I don't think her parents did it or she was sleep walking or she decided to go on a adventure. My theory is she left because she was being groomed. She was most likely talking to someone older than her and they probably schedule a valentine's date. Whoever she was talking to is someone who has been seen by her family before. I do think she made it to the meeting spot safely. She did stop at the shed for a few moments but continued her journey. The items in the bookbag was most likely given to Asha after is ran away. The book was given to her for something to read and the shirt was given to her to sleep in. The FBI should do age progression on photo that was found in the shed also. If they can figure out why she left then case will be solved. Someone close to home knows why, I believe. Praying she is still alive.
I think I heard this case before. crazy, , something lured her out there. could you imagine at 9 years old getting out of your warm bed and walking down the highway, it sounds like she walked for at least an hour. wth.. very strange case, terrible for the parents, like so many of these cases. thanks Brett and Alice, you guys rock!
I agree there would have been no way that I would have been out there in the dark at 9 years old due to being such a scardy cat...This is such a strange case,and it is mind boggling when you think about this little girl out there walking down that dark road all by herself..
@@judyholiday1794 Asha was afraid of the dark. That's just another great mystery surrounding Asha's disappearance. Walking in the dark in the cold rain for nearly an hour. I can't imagine what would motivate a 9-year-old girl to do such a thing. I do believe her goal was to meet up with someone. But, was it another child she was going to meet with at the school? Or was it an adult? I think it being Valentine's Day was significant. Maybe she was to meet with a boy from school and he was afraid to tell anyone their plan after he learned of Asha's disappearance, for fear he would get in trouble. At this point, though, he'd be an adult and you'd think it would weigh on his conscience knowing he held some information. OTH, he may think any information he has to offer is inconsequential since Asha probably didn't make it to the school, but got into a car with the wrong person. If Asha's plan was to meet with an adult, it was likely someone associated with the school--like a teacher, coach, or other staff member. If that's the case, he may have gone to look for her in his car since she would've been running late after taking shelter from the elements for a while.
It’s so bizarre. I keep thinking she thought she was going to meet and maybe help a friend she’d never met in person. Like a pen pal (hence the mystery photo). Maybe they even agreed to meet at the shed and Asha was going to share her candy. I keep thinking, the only way a kid would do that is if they felt like they had to got some reason, and while it absolutely could be for a boy, it could also be for a “friend” in need (who of course actually wasn’t a real person; just a photo used to trick her so she’d come out)
Hello, I’m been listening to your podcast and am bingeing all episodes. I just finished part 1 of Asha and I am struck by a few things. Was there any history of her sleep walking? My sister did at that age and she would leave the house and go do ranch chores etc in the middle of the night. Very determined and seemed awake but was in a sleep walking state. Also, I am afraid that when the truck drivers reported her on their CB radios, anyone listening would have heard that a little girl was walking down the highway at 4:30am. CB radio hobbyists are listening all the time. Any local or nearby pedophile, even a truck driver or anyone with a radio could have hustled to that area and snatched her up. I don’t believe it was said that they called the police, just reported her as “watch out, don’t hit her as you’re driving the highway”. Maybe these concerns have been addressed, I haven’t read all comments or looked at any other news sites.
On Feb 14 Obryant Degree did a facebook live and gave a very emotional statement on the night his sister went missing. His facebook name is O'nee Degree.
I listened to this case on either True Crime Garage or Crime Junkies cannot remember which one but it is a sad and interesting case to discuss..Thanks guys for putting a spotlight back on it with your podcast hopefully there will be answers and closure for Asha ..
Good point! I wonder if Asha was taken by a middle-aged person or couple who had lost a child (the girl in the picture) around 20 years earlier. That may be the best-case scenario because it would mean there's a good chance Asha's still alive. The tee-shirt could have belonged to their daughter, and maybe she had checked the book out of the school library shortly before she died. ETA: I can't remember distinctly, but wasn't there a date stamped in the back of the book indicating when it was last checked out? So, I may be off track about the abductor's daughter checking the book out of the school library 20 years earlier.
This case is so compelling. Sadly a classic case of grooming but in the 2000’s it wasn’t as widely known then. The photo of that little girl is probably what the guy gave to her to telling her it’s his daughter or something to make her trust him, that’s why no one in her town recognises her. I hope and prey they find her soon 💔💔💔💔
Asha lived between Shelby and Fallston, which is a small town north of Shelby. When her school bus dropped her off, it continued south to drop off other kids in the neighborhood. When we hear she was following the bus route, we assume she was headed toward her school, but she was actually headed south, toward Shelby. Also, they found the backpack in August of 2001. That is a month before 9-11 happened. I remember the book bag being sent to the FBI, and then it being put aside so that all the FBI’s efforts went into the 9-11 investigation. Very frustrating for me as I am a Shelby native and was more interested in what had happened to Asha.
Records apparently didn't go as far back as 2000. It's a shame because I personally think the book was given to her by a child groomer. Asha wanted to be an illustrator, and it was a Dr. Seuss book, so perhaps she'd like the illustrations. The book also depicts a highway, and this may be a stretch, but what if the groomer used the book to instruct her to walk down the highway? I really think if we knew whose hands that book had been in we'd know the culprit (assuming there even is a culprit; who knows if someone lured her out or if she really was running away).
If an adult gave it to Asha he or she could have walked out and probably wouldn’t have bothered checking it out. Which means that person wouldn’t have seemed too out of place in a school library. Or, perhaps more simply, Asha took it and wanted to show whoever she was going to meet. Looking at her pic and hearing about her, she doesn’t seem unintelligent. And she had drive, that’s for certain!
Oh wow, so glad you guys are covering this one! This one bothers me greatly. If I could pick one case to be solved it would be this one. I have always leaned toward her maybe sleep walking, or us not getting the full story from the parents. There is simply no way she willingly walked out that night. She was put out somehow, maybe escaped, that's why she ran from the person or people trying to apporach her, thinking it was her predator. Looking forward to part 2!
We talk more about sleep walking next time. The problem is she not only had to do all these things that indicate conscious planning, but after that remarkable occurrence she then has to run into a child murderer at 4 in the morning. It's hard to imagine that happened.
They said asha had money and they didn't know where it came from I wonder if she had made a bet regarding basketball game since she lost maybe she was going to pay off the bet or something like a truth or dare something like if you can walk in the dark to a certain place we will give you the rest of money and that's when she realized she was tricked and wherever they took her she tried to run away and they shot her then they came up with the plan to plant the items in the bookbag
I remember this event when it happened and my friend who lived in the area was an avid rock hound and fisherman. He would always look around when out in the wilderness to try and help find any clues that could help but like so many others, he never saw anything either. He said allot of local folks tried so hard to find this poor child and it really affected the community. I can only image what the family must have went through, losing a child and family member is a terrible thing. Lots of prayers still go out to them.
I have heard this case before but you both are telling Asha’s story to a greater detail and I love it!! Like you always do- would you consider covering the Robert Wone murder? That case is also so insane to me, and I want to hear your take!
Just speculation on different pieces to this case. NKOB T-Shirt seems very outdated and misplaced in a 2000 scenario, along with older car model. Even the older Dr. Seuss book is curious if Aisha did not check it out from school library. POI might be someone who was fixated in the past. And maybe a mechanic of sorts if still driving a 70s T-Bird in 2000.
I don't know when you recorded this but I did some further reading and saw they've interviewed the inmate and nothing came of it. I found the article online on The Shelby Star website.
Hi, I love your channel! Just to say that she was walking the opposite way to her school, and today (14th March 24) the little girl on the picture is still unidentified :) this picture creeps me out for some reason! I don't know why or what it is about it, but I find this picture extremely scary and disturbing. I'm confused about Harold (dad) checking on the kids twice in 2 hours: who does that? I mean, they are not newborn or babies, where you could argue that you want to check they're not tangled with the sheets or got stuck in the cot's bars; they are 9 and 10, sleeping, in a little house (I mean, it's not the Ramseys house, the kids would be seen or heard if they wake up) I mean, what does he think would happen? Also, getting Valentine's candy? Is that a thing? I never heard or seen anyone getting/offering Valentine's candies? In the middle of the night? Why wouldn't he get them on the way instead of going home, then back? Of course he could have forgotten, but I do find his behaviour odd. Then, the 911 transcript shows he's not giving the right address amongst other errors. I understand that when panic sets in and adrenaline rushes, you are not in your normal state, but giving the wrong address? I feel like your address is like muscle memory, especially with a grown-up. I have given my address correctly and answered questions properly, in English (I'm French and English is my 2nd language) after having a seizure (I'm epileptic) and regaining consciousness. I don't think he's guilty, but I feel like he's hiding something, for some reason.
When you wake up in the UK to another rainy day and gloomily put on your running kit but then see you have an ASHA DEGREE podcast to help you through! Oh thank you thank you Prosecutors 🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️
Not a lot of kids rocking an NKOTB shirt back in 2000. Backstreet Boys and N'Sync took over the world. I wonder if it's from a previous victim and police are looking for a serial predator perhaps with ties to the school that the book was from. While ditching Asha's belongings he included possessions from another victim, 2 birds one stone.. I was leaning towards runaway/crime of opportunity, but that trucker reporting Asha walking with purpose makes me think someone convinced her to meet them, which is highly unusual given the time she left. If that is the case, it's possible Asha knew the person and they convinced her to go off with them and not tell her parents. Truly baffling, thanks for making me aware of it. Let's blast the internet with the photo of the unidentified girl. There has to be a family member, teacher, friend, or classmate that recognizes her. I know it's been over 2 decades, but I still have images in my head of kids I knew from grade school that are frozen in time at that age.
I was close to her age, & New Kids on the Block wasn’t even a thing when we had the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC - just a plethora of boy bands. I highly doubt that shirt belonged to her or a friend. Even if it was a friend’s decade old hand me down, she may not have wanted a tee with random guys on it. Going further into speculation, this shirt could have been owned by whoever killed her. Maybe they held her for a time & had to provide clothes. Could have belonged to a child they knew years ago, like an offspring, or bought for cheap at somewhere like Goodwill (where lots of NKOTB merch probably went by then). It’s speculation.
My daughter was a NKOTB fan in elementary school and she was born in 1980. She had a sleepshirt very similar to that one....I can remember her wearing it often in about 3rd grade. Edited to update from tween to elementary school age.
I've seen a bunch of videos on Asha Degree and it can be kinda hard to follow because people mix conjecture with fact in order to make a cogent story. Thisin contrast, was easy to follow and I'm looking forward to the subsequent episodes.
I am shocked and saddened that I have not heard of this case before. It seems like it needs a bigger spotlight on it. I do agree that the NKOTB t-shirt may have been mom's, any idea if she has said if it was hers or not? keep up the great work! love you guys, your banter, and your laughs!
I heard the Shelby Police already knew About the Green Car but I don't know how true that is, but it's not hard to remember things from 16-Years Ago, people can remember things with photographic Memory from 20-Years Ago, So it don't surprise Me that someone would remember Asha getting into A 70's Model Green Car 16-Years later ( that's not impossible folks ) .
Im wondering if the investigators have ever gone to elementary schools in the area or even around the state and looked through the old year books to see if they can find a match to the photo. I know my elementary school had yearbooks in the library dating back to the 70’s. Just a thought…
Wow, you weren't kidding!! I'm only half way through but thank you for posting this. That was a very interesting take on this case. I've also got a new podcast to listen to!! Thanks again!!!! 👍
Guys, i just noticed my kiddo changed my username to "crackhead squad"...🤦♀️😂...i cant with this child! 😂.. I know there sre more podcasts on Asha, i think the Trace Evidence host actually lives nearby. His take is good to but CCMM is the only one I've heard go this direction.
I’m happy you guys decided to do this one. Asha’s case has bugged me for a long time. I wonder if the T shirt belonged to her mom and Asha wore it as a sleep shirt maybe? Her mom is more the right age for being a NKOTB fan.
Im wondering if she dumped her backpack out in the shed looking for something and what was left there had no significance to her. It was just stuff that had been collecting in the bottom of her bag.
Great podcast guys! Poor girl, she could have been going to meet someone but would a 9 year old have had a phone or internet to contact someone at that time? Not like now when everyone has phones, maybe she had a mental break? You don't know what opportunistic predators could be lurking maybe they just happened to find their chance on the highway that night :(
I love my church and I am a Christian ✝️ , but I am not to gullible to realize that predators can hide in a church as well as a school. Since she had more than one set of clothes it says she was not threatened but cruelly tricked. 🥺
Brett and Alice here in NH the elementary schools still take school photos my niece and nephew had their photos last year before the pandemic arrived and the schools moved to remote learning.
I wonder if it's possible that it was another little girl that the truckers saw on the highway. Perhaps this other little girl was used to lure Asha out of her house. If Asha was so shy and terrified of storms, I don't see how she's be out by herself that night much less running alone into the woods. The same girl may be the one who was in the picture and the owner of the other items found in Asha's backpack that did not belong to Asha. This could be a case of 2 kidnappings.
First time seeing this case, the first thought I got when seeing this other girls picture was pen pal. Hopefully they questioned teachers about class assignments. We did pen pal letters a long time ago and it would be a class from a different state/etc. she was on a mission, maybe headed to the school😢
Police should be able to find out who took the photos. School photo companies keep track of these things so you don’t get duplicates at CVS or WalGreens.
@@TalkingWithTiff I tried to get a duplicate of a church directory photo of my mom for her funeral and was told that because it was taken by lifetouch that they couldn’t do it.
@@amyrients that’s understandable but weird. Maybe Walgreens in different places do things differently 🤷🏼♀️ Could always buy a scanner and do it at home Cheaper
Just watching this so maybe this is addressed in the next episode, could the photo of the little girl have been dropped by whomever got her, if someone did?
It’s so odd she would choose to wear all white. I almost wonder if she was told or asked to wear all white. Why wear that when you know even at age 9 it’s going to get dirty in that weather. Plus I would want to wear darker clothes to not be seen if I was sneaking out like that. I wonder if it was an adult at her school that groomed her. Or an extended family member. Has to be someone she trusted at that age and an adult
This does not look like any school photo I've ever seen. This looks much more like a mall photo where they have the different back drops. In my school years we didn't even sit down we walked up, they took the shot from the top of the shoulders up. This really looks like a mall photo to me. Of course that would be easy to check out.
I need to see your faces. With the prevalence of AI I’m not taking anything for granted. I also have a lot of skepticism about the parents’ stories of the night Asha “disappeared”. There are NO other possible witnesses to Asha’s “disappearance”’. So convince me that her parents were telling the truth - if one or both are lying then everything else is false. And don’t tell me they’re “good Christian folks who never lie”.
I think that tee shirt is actually a nightgown. The way the bottom is isn’t how concert tee shirts are. Also I don’t know how they know the book isn’t hers. She could have gotten it from the library.
She wasn't your typical little child.. for her to challenge those circumstances .. she learned the route from going to school but the unknown wasn't her reality.. at nine years old it's about fantasy and reality! undertermind reality quite frankly!
I teach 9 year olds... They are babies! Whoever does this or let’s a child walk alone on the street..... if y’all have a bad feeling ever call. It doesn’t hurt especially when it comes to children. Trust your gut
Yes! And I don’t want to cast blame, but I can’t help but wonder why the heck no one (like the first trucker witness)called the cops about a little girl walking on the side of the road at 2:30 a.m. I mean, she “looked like she knew where she was going,?” Ok, but she’s NINE! Alone! In a storm! On a Highway! It’s super weird to me that no one called the police.
If you ever want to cover a case outside the US, Madeleine McCann will win you a lot of UK listeners. The most publicised disappearance case in the UK, I believe. Lots of documentaries and information about it out there.. Also, really enjoying your podcast!
To me that shirt looks like a shirt a little girl would sleep in. When my girl was little she slept in nightshirts like that all the time. Maybe someone gave it to her to sleep in wherever she’s been
I’m from Vancouver Canada and was not familiar with this case before your podcast, but since listening to it I’ve done some research and there are some interesting theories out there. But what I can say for sure is there are not too many reasons why a nine-year-old would plan an escape, when I say plan I mean packing a backpack ahead of time, leaving the house in the middle of the night determined to keep going forward. There’s no diplomatic way to say it other than you have to wonder if there was abuse going on in the house. Why was the father up till 2:30 in the morning after everyone went to bed, things to consider.
A good question, but I just feel like, if that were the case, she would have sleepwalked before? And if the weather was so cold and stormy, wouldn't you eventually "wake up"? Furthermore, she got frightened by the trucks, so that also could have woken her up. I don't know, but a good query.
I was wondering that as well. But she supposedly ran into the woods when one of the truckers turned back around. I would think that points to her being fully awake. But I don't know much about sleepwalking.
I was thinking the same. I have a cousin who left the house twice, once her mom caught her trying to leave. When she was a kid and slept over, she used to get up and talk and I was like what the heck?
@@realhousewifeoftransylvania1.0 Do people dress themselves and eat while sleepwalking? I would think this indicates she was awake. But I could be wrong.
We talk about this some later. The changing clothes, packing a bag, and locking the door behind her, among other things, tend to make me think it's unlikely.
Is it possible she received a head injury (hit on the head by the ball) during the basketball match resulting in the unexpected loss of her match and later her having some sort of epileptic episode that made her take off Into the night ?
So her bus takes that road - maybe I missed it, but was she walking toward the school? Maybe the loss was weighing on her, & she planned to go practice basketball then stay for the school day? It’s a little bit of a leap.
I live in Shelby and she was walking south toward Shelby. Her school was in Fallston, which is north of Shelby and of her house. Apparently, her school bus continued south after it dropped her off to drop off other kids. She was following the bus route, so people assume she was walking toward the school.
@@ellenfortenberry5006 She may have thought she was walking toward the school by following her bus route. She might have accepted a ride from a stranger (and the wrong person) then because it was taking her so long to get to school and she was cold, wet, and afraid. 😢
Y’all think maybe she was like pen pals with this little girl and thought she was going to meet her? This is so sad. I mean looks like this case involved two little girl.
If she had been white would you have made it a point to say “a ten year old Caucasian girl”? I don’t think so. Just the way you seemed to emphasize that she’s African American (as though her race matters) came off wrong.
WOW! I’ve followed this case for awhile and have NEVER heard about the photo of the other little girl until this podcast. Thanks guys!
Thank you for covering this case! I enjoy your personalities and banter, and I think your podcast is top notch. I live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina not far from Shelby so I am very familiar with Asha’s case. I grew up with loving and protective parents in a small North Carolina town like Asha. When I was growing up, computers were not ubiquitous like now and the internet was not yet accessible to most people. School, friends, and family were my entire happy world. I can relate to Asha as a little person with so much to learn and experience and so much life ahead of her. My sons were 10 and 8 at the time of Asha’s disappearance so I can also identify with Asha’s parents and the mind numbing misery they must feel having had their child vanish in the night. The entire awful conundrum affects me as deeply now as it did then. What in the world would have caused Asha to leave the safety of her home in the middle of the night in a frigid downpour to walk down a dark deserted highway alone (and defy every warning her parents undoubtedly instilled about danger)?! It just makes no sense. Had she somehow been “groomed” by a predator? Was it some type of unforeseen mental health crisis? Was she running away - as crazy as that seems? What caused her to leave that night? I wrestle with this every time I hear about the investigation. It bothers me that there was not more national interest in the case all things considered. Maybe eventually there will be. But I am glad local law enforcement have not forgotten or slacked in their efforts and that podcasters and UA-camrs have taken up the mantle. I hope that Asha’s parents and all who care about Asha will one day have the answers to what happened that night and what became of little Asha. 💕
I'm so glad you're covering this case! This is one that has haunted me since I first read about Asha's disappearance 10-11 years ago. I think about her often, and she has especially been on my mind the last few days.
So I’m from Shelby, NC and two years older than Asha. I do want to point out a few things. Highway 18 isn’t your typical highway and there are intersections and homes all along the road. Also where the guy says she ran into woods isn’t actually heavily wooded, it’s just tree lines there. Another thing, the hours the dad worked were at PPG and I believe they have different hours than normal second shift companies. There are two conflicting stories through various sources, one was he worked that night and one he didn’t. We also have Walmart which at the time was 24 hours a day for him to get candy. By the time he went out the power was back on I do believe. It came back on shortly after bath time had passed but they still skipped it. I’ve listened to so many podcasts and stories on this case and I wish this case could be solved so much.
Hello, is there a theory that circulates locally regarding what may have happened?
Love you guys!! Please never stop uploading at 1 AM!!
So happy you guys are covering Asha’s case! This and Andrew Gosden’s case (another child that simply walked away but in different circumstances) are the two that I keep going back to. Hopefully the police are onto something with those new releases but unfortunately it really seems like we’ll only get concrete answers once the right person says the right thing
ive always believed andrew gosden is alive
They've got to figure out who the unknown girl is in the black and white photo. That is a very bizarre piece of evidence.
I feel like it’s possible that maybe she thought she was going to meet the girl in the photo? Like a pen pal or something? But it was really just a ruse to get her alone and vulnerable.
Yeh, I think they should do age progression on the photo as well. I'm pretty sure someone will recognize the girl.
Agree, that’s why it’s so important to share it on social media. Someone has to know who she is, hopefully at some point we will learn her identity.
I don't think her parents did it or she was sleep walking or she decided to go on a adventure. My theory is she left because she was being groomed. She was most likely talking to someone older than her and they probably schedule a valentine's date. Whoever she was talking to is someone who has been seen by her family before. I do think she made it to the meeting spot safely. She did stop at the shed for a few moments but continued her journey. The items in the bookbag was most likely given to Asha after is ran away. The book was given to her for something to read and the shirt was given to her to sleep in. The FBI should do age progression on photo that was found in the shed also. If they can figure out why she left then case will be solved. Someone close to home knows why, I believe. Praying she is still alive.
Alice IS funny, charming, and eloquent. Love you guys!
love Alice!!!! she's adorable too, and Brett toooooo, can't forget Brett
Yes! Love Alice, and Brett, of course (“America’s Sweetheart” lol!)
@@michelleshafto4141 aka "breast"
I think I heard this case before. crazy, , something lured her out there. could you imagine at 9 years old getting out of your warm bed and walking down the highway, it sounds like she walked for at least an hour. wth.. very strange case, terrible for the parents, like so many of these cases.
thanks Brett and Alice, you guys rock!
I agree there would have been no way that I would have been out there in the dark at 9 years old due to being such a scardy cat...This is such a strange case,and it is mind boggling when you think about this little girl out there walking down that dark road all by herself..
@@judyholiday1794 Asha was afraid of the dark. That's just another great mystery surrounding Asha's disappearance. Walking in the dark in the cold rain for nearly an hour. I can't imagine what would motivate a 9-year-old girl to do such a thing. I do believe her goal was to meet up with someone. But, was it another child she was going to meet with at the school? Or was it an adult?
I think it being Valentine's Day was significant. Maybe she was to meet with a boy from school and he was afraid to tell anyone their plan after he learned of Asha's disappearance, for fear he would get in trouble. At this point, though, he'd be an adult and you'd think it would weigh on his conscience knowing he held some information. OTH, he may think any information he has to offer is inconsequential since Asha probably didn't make it to the school, but got into a car with the wrong person.
If Asha's plan was to meet with an adult, it was likely someone associated with the school--like a teacher, coach, or other staff member. If that's the case, he may have gone to look for her in his car since she would've been running late after taking shelter from the elements for a while.
It’s so bizarre. I keep thinking she thought she was going to meet and maybe help a friend she’d never met in person. Like a pen pal (hence the mystery photo). Maybe they even agreed to meet at the shed and Asha was going to share her candy. I keep thinking, the only way a kid would do that is if they felt like they had to got some reason, and while it absolutely could be for a boy, it could also be for a “friend” in need (who of course actually wasn’t a real person; just a photo used to trick her so she’d come out)
Ok, I take it back, because I just realized the photo looks like a childhood version of Asha’s mom. Now I don’t know what to think.
You listed the reasons here why she WASNT LURED outside in the dark stormy night.
Ridiculous - that girl wasn’t “lured”.
Hello, I’m been listening to your podcast and am bingeing all episodes. I just finished part 1 of Asha and I am struck by a few things. Was there any history of her sleep walking? My sister did at that age and she would leave the house and go do ranch chores etc in the middle of the night. Very determined and seemed awake but was in a sleep walking state. Also, I am afraid that when the truck drivers reported her on their CB radios, anyone listening would have heard that a little girl was walking down the highway at 4:30am. CB radio hobbyists are listening all the time. Any local or nearby pedophile, even a truck driver or anyone with a radio could have hustled to that area and snatched her up. I don’t believe it was said that they called the police, just reported her as “watch out, don’t hit her as you’re driving the highway”. Maybe these concerns have been addressed, I haven’t read all comments or looked at any other news sites.
On Feb 14 Obryant Degree did a facebook live and gave a very emotional statement on the night his sister went missing. His facebook name is O'nee Degree.
I listened to this case on either True Crime Garage or Crime Junkies cannot remember which one but it is a sad and interesting case to discuss..Thanks guys for putting a spotlight back on it with your podcast hopefully there will be answers and closure for Asha ..
That picture is vintage - from an earlier "day"
I thought the same. A few things seem a bit outdated in this case.
Good point! I wonder if Asha was taken by a middle-aged person or couple who had lost a child (the girl in the picture) around 20 years earlier. That may be the best-case scenario because it would mean there's a good chance Asha's still alive. The tee-shirt could have belonged to their daughter, and maybe she had checked the book out of the school library shortly before she died.
ETA: I can't remember distinctly, but wasn't there a date stamped in the back of the book indicating when it was last checked out? So, I may be off track about the abductor's daughter checking the book out of the school library 20 years earlier.
Has it been age tested?
Thank you for covering this case. I’ve been following it for a little while. I hope one day the family can find Asha.
This case is so compelling. Sadly a classic case of grooming but in the 2000’s it wasn’t as widely known then. The photo of that little girl is probably what the guy gave to her to telling her it’s his daughter or something to make her trust him, that’s why no one in her town recognises her. I hope and prey they find her soon 💔💔💔💔
I think the only other podcast I've heard cover this was Crime junkie. So thank you for giving it more coverage!!
Asha lived between Shelby and Fallston, which is a small town north of Shelby. When her school bus dropped her off, it continued south to drop off other kids in the neighborhood. When we hear she was following the bus route, we assume she was headed toward her school, but she was actually headed south, toward Shelby.
Also, they found the backpack in August of 2001. That is a month before 9-11 happened. I remember the book bag being sent to the FBI, and then it being put aside so that all the FBI’s efforts went into the 9-11 investigation. Very frustrating for me as I am a Shelby native and was more interested in what had happened to Asha.
I forgot to say she went to school in Fallston, so the school was north of her house.
That makes a lot of sense about why the find didn’t push the investigation much further along…
I’m sure the police would have checked this, but if Asha didn’t check out the book, wouldn’t the school library have a record of who did?
Records apparently didn't go as far back as 2000. It's a shame because I personally think the book was given to her by a child groomer. Asha wanted to be an illustrator, and it was a Dr. Seuss book, so perhaps she'd like the illustrations. The book also depicts a highway, and this may be a stretch, but what if the groomer used the book to instruct her to walk down the highway? I really think if we knew whose hands that book had been in we'd know the culprit (assuming there even is a culprit; who knows if someone lured her out or if she really was running away).
If an adult gave it to Asha he or she could have walked out and probably wouldn’t have bothered checking it out. Which means that person wouldn’t have seemed too out of place in a school library. Or, perhaps more simply, Asha took it and wanted to show whoever she was going to meet. Looking at her pic and hearing about her, she doesn’t seem unintelligent. And she had drive, that’s for certain!
Oh wow, so glad you guys are covering this one! This one bothers me greatly. If I could pick one case to be solved it would be this one. I have always leaned toward her maybe sleep walking, or us not getting the full story from the parents. There is simply no way she willingly walked out that night. She was put out somehow, maybe escaped, that's why she ran from the person or people trying to apporach her, thinking it was her predator. Looking forward to part 2!
We talk more about sleep walking next time. The problem is she not only had to do all these things that indicate conscious planning, but after that remarkable occurrence she then has to run into a child murderer at 4 in the morning. It's hard to imagine that happened.
They said asha had money and they didn't know where it came from I wonder if she had made a bet regarding basketball game since she lost maybe she was going to pay off the bet or something like a truth or dare something like if you can walk in the dark to a certain place we will give you the rest of money and that's when she realized she was tricked and wherever they took her she tried to run away and they shot her then they came up with the plan to plant the items in the bookbag
I remember this event when it happened and my friend who lived in the area was an avid rock hound and fisherman. He would always look around when out in the wilderness to try and help find any clues that could help but like so many others, he never saw anything either. He said allot of local folks tried so hard to find this poor child and it really affected the community. I can only image what the family must have went through, losing a child and family member is a terrible thing. Lots of prayers still go out to them.
I have heard this case before but you both are telling Asha’s story to a greater detail and I love it!! Like you always do- would you consider covering the Robert Wone murder? That case is also so insane to me, and I want to hear your take!
Stumbled across your channel and I love your style so much, I subbed!
Just speculation on different pieces to this case. NKOB T-Shirt seems very outdated and misplaced in a 2000 scenario, along with older car model. Even the older Dr. Seuss book is curious if Aisha did not check it out from school library. POI might be someone who was fixated in the past. And maybe a mechanic of sorts if still driving a 70s T-Bird in 2000.
I don't know when you recorded this but I did some further reading and saw they've interviewed the inmate and nothing came of it. I found the article online on The Shelby Star website.
Hi, I love your channel! Just to say that she was walking the opposite way to her school, and today (14th March 24) the little girl on the picture is still unidentified :) this picture creeps me out for some reason! I don't know why or what it is about it, but I find this picture extremely scary and disturbing. I'm confused about Harold (dad) checking on the kids twice in 2 hours: who does that? I mean, they are not newborn or babies, where you could argue that you want to check they're not tangled with the sheets or got stuck in the cot's bars; they are 9 and 10, sleeping, in a little house (I mean, it's not the Ramseys house, the kids would be seen or heard if they wake up) I mean, what does he think would happen? Also, getting Valentine's candy? Is that a thing? I never heard or seen anyone getting/offering Valentine's candies? In the middle of the night? Why wouldn't he get them on the way instead of going home, then back? Of course he could have forgotten, but I do find his behaviour odd. Then, the 911 transcript shows he's not giving the right address amongst other errors. I understand that when panic sets in and adrenaline rushes, you are not in your normal state, but giving the wrong address? I feel like your address is like muscle memory, especially with a grown-up. I have given my address correctly and answered questions properly, in English (I'm French and English is my 2nd language) after having a seizure (I'm epileptic) and regaining consciousness. I don't think he's guilty, but I feel like he's hiding something, for some reason.
When you wake up in the UK to another rainy day and gloomily put on your running kit but then see you have an ASHA DEGREE podcast to help you through! Oh thank you thank you Prosecutors 🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️🏃♀️🤸♀️
Not a lot of kids rocking an NKOTB shirt back in 2000. Backstreet Boys and N'Sync took over the world. I wonder if it's from a previous victim and police are looking for a serial predator perhaps with ties to the school that the book was from. While ditching Asha's belongings he included possessions from another victim, 2 birds one stone.. I was leaning towards runaway/crime of opportunity, but that trucker reporting Asha walking with purpose makes me think someone convinced her to meet them, which is highly unusual given the time she left.
If that is the case, it's possible Asha knew the person and they convinced her to go off with them and not tell her parents. Truly baffling, thanks for making me aware of it. Let's blast the internet with the photo of the unidentified girl. There has to be a family member, teacher, friend, or classmate that recognizes her. I know it's been over 2 decades, but I still have images in my head of kids I knew from grade school that are frozen in time at that age.
I was close to her age, & New Kids on the Block wasn’t even a thing when we had the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC - just a plethora of boy bands. I highly doubt that shirt belonged to her or a friend. Even if it was a friend’s decade old hand me down, she may not have wanted a tee with random guys on it. Going further into speculation, this shirt could have been owned by whoever killed her. Maybe they held her for a time & had to provide clothes. Could have belonged to a child they knew years ago, like an offspring, or bought for cheap at somewhere like Goodwill (where lots of NKOTB merch probably went by then). It’s speculation.
My daughter was a NKOTB fan in elementary school and she was born in 1980. She had a sleepshirt very similar to that one....I can remember her wearing it often in about 3rd grade. Edited to update from tween to elementary school age.
I've seen a bunch of videos on Asha Degree and it can be kinda hard to follow because people mix conjecture with fact in order to make a cogent story. Thisin contrast, was easy to follow and I'm looking forward to the subsequent episodes.
I am shocked and saddened that I have not heard of this case before. It seems like it needs a bigger spotlight on it. I do agree that the NKOTB t-shirt may have been mom's, any idea if she has said if it was hers or not? keep up the great work! love you guys, your banter, and your laughs!
I don't think anyone in Asha's family recognized the t-shirt.
I heard the Shelby Police already knew About the Green Car but I don't know how true that is, but it's not hard to remember things from 16-Years Ago, people can remember things with photographic Memory from 20-Years Ago, So it don't surprise Me that someone would remember Asha getting into A 70's Model Green Car 16-Years later ( that's not impossible folks ) .
Im wondering if the investigators have ever gone to elementary schools in the area or even around the state and looked through the old year books to see if they can find a match to the photo. I know my elementary school had yearbooks in the library dating back to the 70’s. Just a thought…
I wonder if one of her teachers or basketball coaches lured her out?
AWWW ASHA AT 2240 IN HER BASEBALL ⚾ OUTFIT AND CAP .
So very sad.
I had that NKOTB shirt in like 1990. It was actually a nightgown.
Yes, they still take school pictures at least in my area (west coast). Get my grandson’s pics every year!
Cold Case Murder Mysteries does this case from a different aspect. I wont give it away, but it makes u go hmmm...
Wow, you weren't kidding!! I'm only half way through but thank you for posting this. That was a very interesting take on this case. I've also got a new podcast to listen to!! Thanks again!!!! 👍
Where can we hear that podcast? Sounds interesting!
I use spotify or stitcher...ill grab the link for y'all.
@@CenkZappa i know! Finish n tell me what u think!
Guys, i just noticed my kiddo changed my username to "crackhead squad"...🤦♀️😂...i cant with this child! 😂..
I know there sre more podcasts on Asha, i think the Trace Evidence host actually lives nearby. His take is good to but CCMM is the only one I've heard go this direction.
Ok, so maybe I have to listen to all your podcasts 🙃
I’m happy you guys decided to do this one. Asha’s case has bugged me for a long time.
I wonder if the T shirt belonged to her mom and Asha wore it as a sleep shirt maybe? Her mom is more the right age for being a NKOTB fan.
That is a nightgown..sleep shirt. my daughter had one.
I was thinking the same thing. Remember they would have one for the little girl ,and one for her favorite doll. My daughter had this as well.
Im wondering if she dumped her backpack out in the shed looking for something and what was left there had no significance to her. It was just stuff that had been collecting in the bottom of her bag.
Round two on this set of podcasts...
Looking forward to hear about this case. 💖🇦🇺
Great podcast guys! Poor girl, she could have been going to meet someone but would a 9 year old have had a phone or internet to contact someone at that time? Not like now when everyone has phones, maybe she had a mental break? You don't know what opportunistic predators could be lurking maybe they just happened to find their chance on the highway that night :(
I wonder if the NKOTB t-shirt was tested for DNA.
Those items could have been gifts for her and she put them in her bag. I really wonder if it was an adult that worked at the school
I love my church and I am a Christian ✝️ , but I am not to gullible to realize that predators can hide in a church as well as a school. Since she had more than one set of clothes it says she was not threatened but cruelly tricked. 🥺
Brett and Alice here in NH the elementary schools still take school photos my niece and nephew had their photos last year before the pandemic arrived and the schools moved to remote learning.
I wonder if it's possible that it was another little girl that the truckers saw on the highway. Perhaps this other little girl was used to lure Asha out of her house. If Asha was so shy and terrified of storms, I don't see how she's be out by herself that night much less running alone into the woods. The same girl may be the one who was in the picture and the owner of the other items found in Asha's backpack that did not belong to Asha. This could be a case of 2 kidnappings.
School pics are still taken so the school has ID pic in a file some school has this on file somewhere
First time seeing this case, the first thought I got when seeing this other girls picture was pen pal. Hopefully they questioned teachers about class assignments. We did pen pal letters a long time ago and it would be a class from a different state/etc. she was on a mission, maybe headed to the school😢
Who would have a t-shirt from a band tour popular in the 80s? Prob the same person who would drive a rusty 70’s thunderbird car in the 2000s
Police should be able to find out who took the photos. School photo companies keep track of these things so you don’t get duplicates at CVS or WalGreens.
I worked at Walgreens and we always made copies of school pictures. On the kiosk there’s actually a tab to order school photos
@@TalkingWithTiff I tried to get a duplicate of a church directory photo of my mom for her funeral and was told that because it was taken by lifetouch that they couldn’t do it.
@@amyrients that’s understandable but weird. Maybe Walgreens in different places do things differently 🤷🏼♀️
Could always buy a scanner and do it at home
Cheaper
Just watching this so maybe this is addressed in the next episode, could the photo of the little girl have been dropped by whomever got her, if someone did?
That’s definitely a possibility, until she can be identified it is difficult to say for certain.
It’s so odd she would choose to wear all white. I almost wonder if she was told or asked to wear all white. Why wear that when you know even at age 9 it’s going to get dirty in that weather. Plus I would want to wear darker clothes to not be seen if I was sneaking out like that. I wonder if it was an adult at her school that groomed her. Or an extended family member. Has to be someone she trusted at that age and an adult
Ok that new kids on the block item isn't not a shirt it is s pajama shirt/ nightgown I think. I had one very similar as a chil.
This does not look like any school photo I've ever seen. This looks much more like a mall photo where they have the different back drops. In my school years we didn't even sit down we walked up, they took the shot from the top of the shoulders up. This really looks like a mall photo to me. Of course that would be easy to check out.
I need to see your faces. With the prevalence of AI I’m not taking anything for granted. I also have a lot of skepticism about the parents’ stories of the night Asha “disappeared”. There are NO other possible witnesses to Asha’s “disappearance”’. So convince me that her parents were telling the truth - if one or both are lying then everything else is false.
And don’t tell me they’re “good Christian folks who never lie”.
I think that tee shirt is actually a nightgown. The way the bottom is isn’t how concert tee shirts are. Also I don’t know how they know the book isn’t hers. She could have gotten it from the library.
I believe they said, no one in the family regonizes the t-shirt.
With peace and love why is this on UA-cam if it’s just audio
Because some people listen to podcasts on UA-cam.
@@ProsecutorsPodcast with peace and love I disagree
Plus if The Prosecutors only published to Apple podcasts they’d miss all our insightful comments! 🤪
I listen to podcasts on UA-cam all the time.
She wasn't your typical little child.. for her to challenge those circumstances .. she learned the route from going to school but the unknown wasn't her reality.. at nine years old it's about fantasy and reality! undertermind reality quite frankly!
I teach 9 year olds... They are babies! Whoever does this or let’s a child walk alone on the street..... if y’all have a bad feeling ever call. It doesn’t hurt especially when it comes to children. Trust your gut
Yes! And I don’t want to cast blame, but I can’t help but wonder why the heck no one (like the first trucker witness)called the cops about a little girl walking on the side of the road at 2:30 a.m. I mean, she “looked like she knew where she was going,?” Ok, but she’s NINE! Alone! In a storm! On a Highway! It’s super weird to me that no one called the police.
If you ever want to cover a case outside the US, Madeleine McCann will win you a lot of UK listeners. The most publicised disappearance case in the UK, I believe. Lots of documentaries and information about it out there.. Also, really enjoying your podcast!
To me that shirt looks like a shirt a little girl would sleep in. When my girl was little she slept in nightshirts like that all the time. Maybe someone gave it to her to sleep in wherever she’s been
That’s a nightgown not a T-shirt I had one similar to it as a teen in Ohio from the 80’s
It’s from the Step by Step tour.
I’m from Vancouver Canada and was not familiar with this case before your podcast, but since listening to it I’ve done some research and there are some interesting theories out there. But what I can say for sure is there are not too many reasons why a nine-year-old would plan an escape, when I say plan I mean packing a backpack ahead of time, leaving the house in the middle of the night determined to keep going forward. There’s no diplomatic way to say it other than you have to wonder if there was abuse going on in the house. Why was the father up till 2:30 in the morning after everyone went to bed, things to consider.
I had never heard of this case. Very interested next time to hear theories of why Asha left home and what evidence there might be.
I don’t trust the trucker.
Dude, you're not funny either but that's not why we love your Podcasts
I may be jumping the gun here since there is more to the story, but could Asha have been sleepwalking?
A good question, but I just feel like, if that were the case, she would have sleepwalked before? And if the weather was so cold and stormy, wouldn't you eventually "wake up"? Furthermore, she got frightened by the trucks, so that also could have woken her up. I don't know, but a good query.
I was wondering that as well. But she supposedly ran into the woods when one of the truckers turned back around. I would think that points to her being fully awake. But I don't know much about sleepwalking.
I was thinking the same. I have a cousin who left the house twice, once her mom caught her trying to leave. When she was a kid and slept over, she used to get up and talk and I was like what the heck?
@@realhousewifeoftransylvania1.0 Do people dress themselves and eat while sleepwalking? I would think this indicates she was awake. But I could be wrong.
We talk about this some later. The changing clothes, packing a bag, and locking the door behind her, among other things, tend to make me think it's unlikely.
Is it possible she received a head injury (hit on the head by the ball) during the basketball match resulting in the unexpected loss of her match and later her having some sort of epileptic episode that made her take off Into the night ?
Hmmm. Possibly!
So her bus takes that road - maybe I missed it, but was she walking toward the school? Maybe the loss was weighing on her, & she planned to go practice basketball then stay for the school day? It’s a little bit of a leap.
Practice at 3am? Doesn’t seem likely
If I remember correctly, she was walking toward the school. I think she was planning to meet someone there.
I live in Shelby and she was walking south toward Shelby. Her school was in Fallston, which is north of Shelby and of her house. Apparently, her school bus continued south after it dropped her off to drop off other kids. She was following the bus route, so people assume she was walking toward the school.
@@ellenfortenberry5006 She may have thought she was walking toward the school by following her bus route. She might have accepted a ride from a stranger (and the wrong person) then because it was taking her so long to get to school and she was cold, wet, and afraid. 😢
Guys: I gotta say the song titles in reference to these tragic titles are inappropriate.
Y’all think maybe she was like pen pals with this little girl and thought she was going to meet her? This is so sad. I mean looks like this case involved two little girl.
This is exactly what I thought until a few minutes ago when I realized the girl in the photo looks exactly like Asha’s mom.
@@caitlyntidwell5895 good point! But don’t you think the mom would say it’s her? But you are right
Lizzie Borden please!
The only true crime personality to inspire her own contemporary theme song!
Sleepwalking?
If she had been white would you have made it a point to say “a ten year old Caucasian girl”?
I don’t think so.
Just the way you seemed to emphasize that she’s African American (as though her race matters) came off wrong.
If she'd been white everyone in America would know her name. Yes, it matters.