The murder of Sabrina Underwood
Fulton County, Arkansas · 1991
Overview
Sabrina Lynn Underwood was a 19-year-old woman from Huntsville, Arkansas, who vanished on January 20, 1991. Her mother dropped her off near Bear Creek in Boone County, where Sabrina planned to hitchhike roughly 70 miles east to Calico Rock to visit an inmate at the North Central Unit prison. She never arrived. When the man she planned to visit called asking why she had missed the visit, her family reported her missing. Three months later, on April 8, 1991, two turkey hunters discovered a bundle of clothing and human remains near the Gum Springs Cemetery in Fulton County, about 140 miles away. The Arkansas Medical Examiner identified the remains as Underwood, but the cause of death was initially ruled undetermined, and the case went cold for more than three decades. It was solved not by forensic science but by a criminal informant: in July 2022, a fellow inmate at the Varner Maximum Security Unit, where Rick Allen Headley was serving a life sentence for murdering his estranged wife, told Arkansas State Police that Headley had confessed to killing Underwood in a written letter. Investigators interviewed Headley on August 24, 2022, and he admitted to writing the confession letter and described in detail how he picked Sabrina up while hitchhiking, stabbed her, hid her body, and disposed of the knife and his clothes. A second person also told investigators that Headley had confessed to get the killing off his chest. Headley was charged with first-degree murder on October 17, 2023, and on December 11, 2023, he pleaded guilty in Fulton County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
How it was solved
The 1991 murder of Sabrina Underwood was solved by a criminal informant, a fellow prison inmate who came forward with the killer's own confession. For thirty-one years, the case had almost nothing to go on. Underwood had disappeared while hitchhiking in northern Arkansas in January 1991, and although her remains were found by hunters that April near a cemetery in Fulton County, the medical examiner could not at the time conclusively establish a cause of death, and the case was classified as a cold case homicide. There was no suspect, no physical evidence pointing to a perpetrator, and no eyewitness. The break came entirely from inside a prison. By 2022, Rick Allen Headley was an inmate at the Varner Maximum Security Unit, serving a sentence of life without parole for the March 2018 stabbing death of his estranged wife, Kirstie Headley, in Mountain Home. According to Arkansas State Police, in July 2022 a fellow Varner inmate provided information to investigators that Headley, who had lived in Mountain Home in 1991, had confessed to killing Underwood. The fellow inmate's account reached the Arkansas State Police through a local attorney, whose client reported that Headley had written out a confession to the murder in a letter. Acting on that tip, Special Agent Justin Nowlin and other ASP investigators interviewed Headley on August 24, 2022. Headley identified a photograph of Underwood and admitted to writing the confession letter. He then provided a detailed account of the crime: he said he had picked Sabrina up in Bellefonte, Arkansas, while he was driving toward Mountain Home; he claimed she had tried to extort money from him; and he said he knew he could not let her ruin his life. Headley described stabbing her, concealing her body, disposing of the knife he used, and later putting his clothes in a trash bag, showering, and throwing the clothing into a dumpster behind a mall. Investigators also reported that he expressed concern that no one else had been wrongly arrested for the killing. Two days later, on August 26, 2022, a second witness corroborated the confession, telling investigators that Headley had confessed roughly a month earlier and had said he wanted to get the murder off his chest. With Headley's own statements and the corroborating accounts, Arkansas State Police charged him with first-degree murder on October 17, 2023, closing what the agency described as a 32-year-old cold case. On December 11, 2023, Headley pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Fulton County Circuit Court and was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, a sentence he will serve on top of the life-without-parole term he was already serving. The case stands as a clear example of a homicide solved by a criminal informant: it was a fellow inmate, not DNA or any laboratory technique, who delivered the killer's confession to the authorities.
Sources
- ASP Closes 32-Year-Old Cold Case, Charging Suspect in 1991 Death of Huntsville Woman
“In July 2022, a fellow Varner inmate provided information to ASP investigators indicating that Headley, who lived in Mountain Home in 1991, confessed to killing Ms. Underwood. ... In January 1991, Ms. Underwood's mother told police that she dropped her daughter off near Bear Creek in Boone County. Ms. Underwood planned to hitchhike to the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock, where she planned to visit an inmate. ... In April 1991, human remains were found near the Gum Springs Cemetery in Fulton County and identified as Underwood.”
- Murder Suspect in the Sabrina Underwood Investigation Pleads Guilty and Is Sentenced to 40 Years
“Rick Allen Headley pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Fulton County Circuit Court on Monday, December 11, 2023, in the 1991 death of Sabrina Underwood. He was sentenced to 40 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.”
- 32 years after Sabrina Underwood's remains were found by hunters in Arkansas, a man has been charged with her murder
“In July 2022, state police Special Agent Justin Nowlin received a tip from an attorney who said his client had information that could possibly lead to identifying a suspect. ... The witness handed over a confession letter given to him by Headley that contained details of Underwood's killing. ... On August 24, 2022, investigators questioned Headley, who identified a photo of Underwood and admitted to writing the confession letter.”
- Man, 48, pleads guilty to murder 32 years after Arkansas woman found dead
“An inmate informed Arkansas State Police that Headley had confessed in a letter while serving time. Headley confirmed that he had written the letter and gave details about Underwood's death in an interview with investigators. ... Headley was already serving a life sentence for capital murder after stabbing his estranged wife to death.”
- Cold case solved: Inmate charged with 1991 murder of Sabrina Underwood
“During the August 24, 2022 interview, Headley acknowledged writing the confession letter. He claimed she attempted extortion, but he knew he could not let her ruin his life. He described stabbing her, concealing her body, disposing of the murder weapon, and discarding his clothing in a dumpster behind a mall. On August 26, 2022, another witness confirmed Headley had confessed approximately one month prior, stating Headley told them he wanted to get the murder off his chest.”
- Cold case solved: Inmate charged with murder of teen Sabrina Underwood back in 1991
“In July 2022, a state police investigator received a tip from the Madison County Sheriff's Office with information sourced through a local attorney. The attorney's client told investigators that Headley had confessed to the murder in a letter. ... Headley admitted to writing the confession letter during his August 24, 2022 interview.”
- Arrest made in Sabrina Underwood cold case murder
“Investigators received a tip from the Madison County Sheriff's Office, who said they had been given information from a local attorney. That attorney's client spoke with an investigator and said Headley confessed to the murder in a letter. Headley was charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 19-year-old Sabrina Underwood.”
- Convicted murderer pleads guilty in 1991 death of Huntsville teen
“Rick Allen Headley pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 1991 death of Sabrina Underwood and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Headley was already serving life without parole for the 2018 killing of his estranged wife when a fellow inmate's information led investigators to him.”