GOULD, Ark. (TCD) — A 48-year-old man already serving time for fatally stabbing his wife is now accused of killing a 19-year-old woman in 1991 because he believed she was trying to extort him.
Arkansas State Police charged Rick Headley, an inmate at the Varner Maximum Security Unit, with the first-degree murder of Sabrina Underwood on Oct. 17.
Underwood’s mother informed police that she dropped her daughter off near Bear Creek in Boone County in January 1991, and she was planning to hitchhike from there to the North Central Unit prison in Calico Rock to visit an inmate. She was later reported missing to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
In April 1991, a hunter discovered some of Underwood’s personal belongings near the Gum Springs Cemetery in Fulton County. Deputies in the area reportedly located human remains nearby, and the Arkansas Medical Examiner positively identified them as Underwood’s.
More than three decades later, in July 2022, a fellow inmate reportedly told police Headley admitted to killing Underwood. During an interview with investigators, police said Headley provided details of Underwood’s death.
According to the affidavit obtained by KATV-TV, Headley informed investigators that he picked up Underwood in Bellefonte, Arkansas, while en route to Mountain Home. The affidavit said Headley believed Underwood tried to extort him for money, and he “knew he could not let her ruin his life.”
He allegedly stabbed Underwood to death, concealed her body, and he disposed of the knife he used. Headley reportedly told investigators he drove back to his apartment in Mountain Home, showered, and threw his clothes away behind a shopping mall.
According to KATV, investigators interviewed a second witness in August 2022, who confirmed that Headley admitted to killing Underwood and wanted to get it “off his chest.”
Headley, who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, previously pleaded guilty to capital murder for fatally stabbing his estranged wife Kristie Headley in March 2018.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 13.
MORE:
TRUE CRIME DAILY: THE PODCAST covers high-profile and under-the-radar cases every week. Subscribe to our YouTube page for podcasts, exclusive videos, and more, and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
