Police solved a 32-year-old cold case after a man who was already serving a life sentence for murdering his wife confessed to killing a young woman in 1991.
The incarcerated and already convicted killer, 48-year-old Rick Headley of Mountain Home, Arkansas, admitted his connection to the 1991 killing of Sabrina Underwood, according to an Oct. 20 press release from the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) Underwood was last seen hitchhiking to see a prisoner in the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock, but she never made it back. The inmate was her boyfriend, CBS News reported, citing the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Headley is currently serving a life sentence for fatally stabbing his late estranged wife, Kirstie Headley, in 2018, according to the press release.
A tip from an inmate and a subsequent confession from the suspected killer has led to the closure of a 32-year-old cold case, Arkansas State Police said.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 23, 2023
State police identified Headley as a lead in connection with the cold case after Arkansas State Police Special Agent Justin Nowlin received a tip from a lawyer who said his own incarcerated client had information pertaining the identity of a suspect in the previously-unsolved murder, according to CBS. (RELATED: Massachusetts Officials Identify Killer In ‘Lady Of The Dunes’ Cold Case, Nearly 50 Years After Gruesome Murder)
The tip from the prisoner was a confession letter written by Headley himself, KATV reported.
State police interviewed Headley in August 2022. The suspect told investigators he wrote the letter and that he killed Underwood, according to the outlet.
ASP CLOSES 32-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE, CHARGING SUSPECT IN 1991 DEATH OF HUNTSVILLE WOMANhttps://t.co/UunUPyl7uc pic.twitter.com/v8pfg1DWRF
— Arkansas State Police (@ARStatePolice) October 20, 2023
Headley alleged Underwood tried to extort him and take his money, KATV reported, citing the affidavit. He said he “knew he could not let her ruin his life” and then killed her, concealed her body and got rid of the knife.
A hunter found clothes belonging to Underwood close to Gum Springs Cemetery in April 1991, and Fulton County Sheriff’s Office deputies located human remains in the same proximity, according to the outlet.
Headley has been charged with first-degree murder, according to the DPS press release. (RELATED: Two Brothers Arrested In Connection With Cold Case Murder From 1997, Police Say)
He is due for a court appearance in Fulton County Circuit Court on Nov. 13.