Detective Writer

Unsolved Disappearances: Asha Degree!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved disappearance: the case of 9-year-old, Asha Degree.

Asha Degree was born on August 5th, 1990 in Shelby, North Carolina. She had an older brother, O’Bryant who was born in 1989. He was ten years old when his sister disappeared. Both children had a childhood centered close to the church, school, and family. Asha Degree’s parents had worked regular jobs so when school was over, the siblings would let themselves in. At the time of her disappearance in February 2000, Asha was in the fourth grade attending the Fallston Elementary School and going on a three-day weekend.

On February 13th, 2000, the kids went to church and came back home. Around 8 P.M., the kids went to sleep. However, about an hour later, the power went out in the neighborhood due to a car accident that occurred nearby. Asha’s father, Harold came to check on the kids around 12:30 A.M. on February 14th, 2000, which is when the power came back on. He came back to check on them again around 2:30 A.M. and the kids were still asleep in bed in their shared room.

O’Bryant remembered hearing his sister’s bed squeak but he thought she was trying to make herself more comfortable. For an unknown reason, Asha packed her bookbag and walked out of her home. She was wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt and white pants. Despite the heavy rain, she was walking along the North Carolina state highway 18, and a truck driver and a motorcyclist spotted her, they tried to talk to her but she ran away into the woods near the highway. When her mother woke up a few hours later, Asha was already gone and the police were immediately called.

When police dogs could not pick up Asha’s scent and her mother, Iquilla could not find her in the neighborhood, only a mitten was found but Iquilla that did not belong to her daughter. On February 15th, candy wrappers, a pencil, a marker, and a Mickey Mouse-shaped hair bow were discovered in a shed that was confirmed to be hers. On February 16th, her mother found that in Asha’s bedroom, she was missing a pair of blue jeans with a red stripe, her favorite clothes. On August 3, 2001, Asha’s bookbag was found near Highway 18 in Burke County during a construction project. It was wrapped in a plastic bag. The contents contained a “New Kids On the Block” t-shirt and a Dr. Seuss book. Several years after she disappeared, a photo of Asha was placed as to how she may have appeared as an adult.

Although, there have been multiple leads, unfortunately, they have not been successful. Asha Degree has not been seen since the night she disappeared but her family still holds hope that she will come back and is still out there. Where do you think Asha could have gone? Why did she leave her home in the middle of the night? Why did she run away when people tried to talk to her? What do you think, DETECTIVES?

I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Unsolved Spooky Mysteries: The Somerton Man!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has plagued South Australia for many years, the case of the Somerton Man. Now, just a disclaimer, DETECTIVES, if you don’t wish to see the photo below or hear about the case, please feel free to skip this one.

On December 1st, 1948, an unidentified man was found lying in the sand on the beach of Somerton Park, a seaside suburb. His head was resting against the seawall, his feet were crossed, and his legs were stretched as he lay on his back. He also was wearing a formal suit but he had no identification and no witness recognized him.

When the body was taken to the hospital, a few items were discovered with him. In his right coat collar, there was an unlit cigarette and in his pockets, second class rail and bus tickets, gum, cigar packets, and aluminum comb. Aside from having no ID, the doctor who performed the autopsy stated that the man’s foot was twisted, his liver was quite swollen, and his eye pupils were smaller than usual.

The unknown man also had a suitcase with items that had the name tags out, making it even more of a challenge to identify him. One of those items also had this note with him and there was an unknown and unsolved code with him that still puzzles police to this day. The brown suitcase was found by staff at the Adelaide Railway Station and was officially destroyed in 1986. When investigators tried to figure it out, the best result they were able to come up with, was “Ended” or “Finished.” There have been several theories as perhaps the mystery man was a spy but none had been followed out. Who was this man and what this note could have possible meant?

Unsolved Spooky Mysteries: The Watcher!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has creeped the heck out of Westfield, New Jersey, the case of 657 Boulevard Watcher!

Now, I will say there is a new show on NetFlix, DETECTIVES with the same title, The Watcher but there are a few fictionalized pieces that never actually occurred. However, let’s discuss the story a bit.

The real story began back in June 2014 when Maria and Derek Broaddus had just purchased the 657 Blvd home in Westfield, NJ. Three days before they could move in, the couple began to receive mysterious letters from someone who only identified himself as “The Watcher.” The person addressed the letters to the family as the new owners, knowing the couple’s name, reproached them for beginning renovations, and even threatened the couple’s children. The Watcher told the family that his or her family has been watching the house since the 1920s, first a grandfather, then a father, and now the new watcher. When the couple went to the police concerning the letters, the Broadduses family discovered that the house’s previous owners had received an anonymous note themselves but since they had been living there for over 23 years, they thought the letter was a simple prank and threw it out- a fact the previous owners neglected to mention.

Here is one of the creepiest quotes: “It has been years and years since the young blood ruled the hallways of the house. Have you found all of the secrets it holds yet? Will the young blood play in the basement? Or are they too afraid to go down there alone? I would be very afraid if I were them. It is far away from the rest of the house. If you were upstairs you would never hear them scream.”

Over time, the Broadduses family began to receive more creepy letters that grew with threats back and forth. The family was understandably frightened for their safety that they never moved into the house. After 6 months, they put the house up for sale but had a difficult time getting rid of the home as they made it a point to warn any potential renters or buyers. In 2016, luck seemed to turn on their side when another family rented the property but soon after, another letter arrived that seemed a bit too extreme.

Here is another quote that was in the letter: “Maybe a car accident. Maybe a fire. Maybe something as simple as a mild illness that never seems to go away but makes you feel sick day after day after day after day after day. Maybe the mysterious death of a pet. Loved ones suddenly die. Planes and cars and bicycles crash. Bones break.”

However, the family simply asked the Broadduses to install more security cameras and didn’t move out.

Throughout the years, there have been several suspects as to who the watcher could have been: neighbors, a man who played extremely violent video games under the username “The Watcher,” and even the Broadduses themselves. Maria was suspected because the DNA on the envelope was discovered to be found and Derek later confessed to New York Times that he sent letters to neighbors who were rude to him on Facebook in 2017. Although, to this day, the watcher has never been identified and the case remains unsolved. The new owners of the home have not revealed if they receive or have gotten letters from the watcher either.

Check Out My Advice for Young Writers’ Book Chat!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about my meeting with the self-publishing company that helped make my first book become a reality! The meeting was Thursday, October 20th, 2022 at 4:25 P.M. EST. But I was not alone as I was joined by another fellow author, Emma Rothman who wrote Things my Therapist Doesn’t Want Me to Say: Ten Years Post Heart Transplant. The link is available here if you would like to check it out!

I hope you like this video, DETECTIVES!

I hope you have enjoyed this video as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post and until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Digna Ochoa!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you about another unsolved murder in Mexico, the assassination of human rights lawyer, Digna Ochoa.

Ochoa was born in Veracruz, Mexico on May 15th, 1964. Prior to becoming a human rights lawyer, Ochoa was a nun. However, in 1999, without taking her vows, she left the Dominican convent of the Incarnate Word where she had been studying since 1991. In 1984, Ochoa entered law school and by 1988, she had already been involved with opposition groups.

On August 16th, 1998, Ochoa was kidnapped in Veracruz she was alleged to have been raped, and the individuals who abducted her were state police; however, there were no investigations into her case.

Unfortunately, that horrific incident would be the first of several for Ochoa. In August 1999, Ochoa was kidnapped and held in a car while in Mexico City. In October 1999, while still in Mexico City, Ochoa was abducted again and had been interrogated the whole night while placed next to an open gas cylinder. In August 2000, she went into exile in Washington, DC.

Although, in March 2001, when she returned to Mexico City, her court-ordered protection was lifted in August 2001. By October 2001, she was already working in law offices in Mexico City.

On October 19th, 2001, while in her law office in Mexico City, Ocho was murdered by a gunshot to the head. A note had been found in her body warning her members/coworkers that they could be next. Initially, her death was ruled a homicide by the Mexico City police but by March 2002, it was ruled a suicide despite numerous objections from human rights activists. According to the autopsy report, her body had two .22 caliber bullet wounds with the entry on the left side of her body, but she was right-handed. Her case was later reopened in 2005. While it is still unknown what exactly happened or who could have killed Ochoa, in 2021, Mexico admitted there was wrongdoing in her death investigation. Perhaps we can finally figure out the clues to this mysterious case and Ochoa can receive the justice she deserves. Let me know what you think, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Victoria Cafasso!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved crime in Australia, the case of Victoria Cafasso.

Victoria Cafasso was a twenty-year-old woman born on June 8th, 1975 in Surrey, England. Cafasso was a dual citizen of both Italy and England because of both her birth and that she was living in Italy with her parents and younger sister. Her mother worked in a travel agency and her father was a lawyer. She was trilingual in French, Italian, and English. She went on vacation to visit a cousin in Tasmania and a grandma in England after choosing not to attend school for a bit.

On October 6th, 1975, she arrived in Launceston and she was received by a cousin and friend also visiting but from Sydney. She was seen leaving her cousin’s house a few times to go to Beaumaris Beach over the few days of her visit.

On the morning of October 11th, 1975, at around 9 A.M., Cafasso went out for another walk on the beach. Allegedly, around 10 A.M., she was sunbathing. Around 1:30 P.M., her body was discovered partly in the water, a bit undressed, and some of her items were found about fifty meters up the beach. It was estimated her time of death must have been around 11:30 A.M. and 12:35 P.M. A few other belongings of her such as her towel, shirt, bikini bottoms, and the murder weapon have never been found.

In 2005, the coroner stated that she suffered over seventeen stab wounds and had been brutally attached on the beach. Although, she had tried to defend herself with a blunt object that had broken three of her teeth but not from the multiple stabbings. To this day, the murder has never been solved and the police response was viewed as controversial because Cafasso’s body had been moved, forensic investigators did not arrive at the scene, no photos nor videos were taken, and she was covered by a waterproof cloth and not the scene, and it was not immediately blocked off from the public which reportedly had been over fifty people. Whoever took Cafasso’s life, has never been identified.

The Mystery of María Belén Bernal!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a mystery that has recently spooked Ecuador, the case of María Belén Bernal.

Bernal was an Ecuadorian lawyer who went missing on September 2022 after she went to visit her husband in Quito who was working at Gral. Alberto Enríquez Gallo Police Academy. On September 11th, 2022, she had been delivering a burger to him and was not seen afterward. Her husband was released on September 13th, 2022 after being asked questions regarding his wife’s disappearance. He had driven off in a BMW motorcycle that his wife had purchased for him. However, he soon also went missing.

Ten days later, Bernal’s body was found near the slopes of a dormant volcano Casitahua. Her husband still has not been found to this day and there was a reward for his whereabouts.

Murder Mystery Storytime: The Stockton Serial Killer!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about a series of unsolved crimes currently going on in California, the case of the Stockton Serial Killer.

Starting from April 2021, California officials revealed multiple homicides with the fear there are more victims. In Stockton, there have been over seven shootings with over six fatal. The shooter still remains at large, hence no one knows who the individual is, nor if the person is working with someone else or additional people, or even the motive why these killings are happening.

On April 10th, 2021, a fourty-year-old Hispanic man was gunned down in Oakland, California.

On April 16th, 2021, a forty-six-year-old black woman was shot in Stockton. Thankfully, she had survived. Unfortunately, she is the only surviving victim but she managed to describe her shooter as about 5’10 to 6 feet tall, wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head, dark pants, and a black face mask, slim, and she said she was not sure of his race.

However, despite a recording of the suspect in question walking around, he or she has yet to be known. California police urge anyone with information to please come forward and finally place an end to this reign of terror. They are also offering a reward of over $85,000 USD. Please feel free to check out this video to learn more information, DETECTIVES!

What we know about the possible serial killer in Stockton | To The Point

Police have reported that all seven victims were men and each was also Hispanic/Latino.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Octavio Rojas Hernández!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about another unsolved crime in Mexico, the murder of Octavio Rojas Hernández.

Octavio Rojas Hernández was a Mexican man who was a reporter for El Buen Tono or otherwise known as “The Good Tone” for the crime section. However, before Hernández’s death, El Buen Tono had gone through a series of attacks with robberies, threatened arson, and even the Vanegas police chief was murdered by unidentified assailants while drivng his police car in April 2015.

On August 11th, 2014, a man arrived to Hernández’s house, requesting to purchase his vehicle that was parked outside his home. Hernández had just come back home and was about to relax when the man asked to speak with him. Hernández’s wife was inside their house when she heard gunshots but when she ran outside, the assassin had already run away. Hernández was shot over 4 times, twice in the head, once in his abdomen, and once in his left arm. To this day, the killer has never been found and no leads have gone far.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Marisela Escobedo Ortiz!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about another unsolved crime in Mexico, the murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz.

(Ortiz holding a photo of her daughter Rubi who was murdered).

Ortiz was born on June 12th, 1958 and she was the mother of a 16 year old girl named Rubí Frayre. In 2008, Frayre went missing, and soon afterward in 2009, she was found dead with her remains burnt and dismembered inside a trash bin in Ciudad Juárez. Her parents claimed that their daughter was murdered by her boyfriend, Sergio Rafael Barraza Bocanegra. After being located and arrested by police and taken to Juarez, Bocanegra confessed to the crime and burial of Frayre’s remains; however, due to a lack of evidence, he was acquitted.

Ortiz was understandably outraged and began multiple protests, demanding her daughter’s killer be retried and jailed. Eventually, a circuit court had finally overturned the appeal, and Bocanegra was soon sentenced for murder while still remaining a fugitive from justice. Basically meaning he had previously tried to flee from law enforcement to avoid persecution or giving testimony so not exactly receiving jail time.

On December 16th, 2010, Ortiz was at a vigil for her daughter when she was suddenly shot in the head by a masked man. She was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. A brother-in-law’s corpse was also found on the street two days after Ortiz’s murder. While it was suspected Bocanegra was the assassin or at least had a hand in it; although, in 2012, he was killed in a fight with the Mexican military. To this day, the unknown individual has never been identified and a family’s grief continues to grow to this day. Perhaps one day the case can finally be solved and both mother and daughter can finally rest in peace.