HUNTSVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas State Police have charged a man with murder in the 1991 death of a Huntsville woman, closing a 32-year-old cold case.
Rick Allen Headley, 48, is an inmate at Varner Maximum Security Unit. He’s now charged with first-degree murder for the death of 19-year-old Sabrina Underwood.
“Sabrina’s family still suffers from the pain of her absence, but we hope this week’s arrest will provide them with some comfort and long-sought answers,” said ASP Colonel Mike Hagar. “We will never give up on finding justice for families like the Underwoods.
Underwood was reported missing to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
In April 1991, a hunter reported finding items belonging to Underwood near the Gum Springs Cemetery in Fulton County.
Fulton County deputies and ASP later found Underwood’s remains nearby.
ASP, the 16th Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office have investigated the case.
According to a release from ASP, an inmate at the Varner Maximum Security Unit came forward in July 2022 with information indicating that Headley, who lived in Mountain Home in 1991, confessed to killing Underwood.
Headley was later interviewed by ASP investigators and gave details of the crime.
Headley is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murder for killing his wife in March 2018.
Headley is set to appear in Fulton County court on Nov. 13.
