A Blink On Crime Exclusive: DeDe Spicher speaks for the first time about her ordeal in the Kyron Horman investigation.  ©

S. Christina Stoy, Editor In Chief- Blink On Crime

Lea Conner,  Attorney- contributing editor, and, legal analyst

DeDe Spicher

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In the days following the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman from the Skyline School on June 4^th, 2010, Terri Horman’s inner circle of friends, family and associates—casual acquaintances, shop clerks, and gym employees—were deluged by law enforcement.

Word spread quickly that law enforcement was after anyone who knew, might have known, or had any dealings with Terri Horman. The term used to describe law enforcement’s behavior toward potential witnesses was “bullying. ”

As the president of her former condominium owner’s association, DeDe Spicher was involved in helping the association with litigation against the condo’s builder. Spicher had a working relationship with the association’s legal team, and one afternoon, she casually mentioned the investigation into Kyron’s disappearance to the association’s legal team. Although DeDe had not been contacted by law enforcement, counsel for her condo association recommended to DeDe that, in light of what DeDe had heard about the investigation, if law enforcement were to contact her, she should agree to interview only with counsel present.   She asked the attorney to sit in if that happened,  to which he agreed.  He quickly referred Spicher to attorney Chad Stavley.

With a search warrant in hand for electronic devices only, to which DeDe directed investigators, law enforcement proceeded to search her entire home. Multnomah County Detective Keith Krafve asked Spicher to answer some questions.

DeDe said she replied, “I would be happy to answer any and all questions you have but I would like to do so in the presence of counsel. ”

Law enforcement, in turn, began a prolonged and highly orchestrated effort to bully DeDe Spicher.

When I first introduced myself to Ms. Spicher, I offered my apologies for what she had been through and told her that in my personal opinion, she had been unfairly maligned, if not persecuted. I thanked her for her trust of me to tell her story. Ms. Spicher paid me some kind compliments on my coverage of Kyron’s case to date.

I found her extremely bright, animated and witty, with a charmingly confident , and self-deprecating sense of expression.

I also found Ms. Spicher to be very naive, even now, as to the standards, protocols and practices utilized by law enforcement.

I can’t say that I blame Ms. Spicher for trusting law enforcement so blindly.  The fact is, she grew up around law enforcement but saw very little about the actual workings of an investigation. Ms. Spicher is the daughter of a well-respected—now retired—deputy with the Klamath Falls Sheriff’s Office.

At times, I found myself questioning if I would be able to exhibit the sort of resilience this woman has. Probably not.

I found DeDe Spicher to be unwavering as to her account of events on June 4^th, 2010, and ensuing dates.

It was only a few weeks ago, during a meeting with MCSO detectives Mark Herron and Keith Krafve , investigators  unofficially cleared DeDe Spicher of any involvement in Kyron’s disappearance or of having any knowledge of anyone elses.  She is hopeful that Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill will issue a public statement from his office clearing her officially.

To date, neither the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office nor the DA’s office has publicly declared any persons cleared in the active investigation.

DeDe is adamant that she was not involved, nor did she ever see anything that led her to believe Terri Horman was involved.

DeDe spoke freely and without hesitation as to the relentless harassment she experienced at the hands of law enforcement.

However, DeDe is adamant that she does not want this piece to express any sort of “pity DeDe” perspective. She does not want anyone to feel sorry for her.

DeDe hopes that by speaking publicly, the public’s curiosity will be satisfied, and the focus of the investigation into Kyron’s disappearance can return to an actual investigation.

This is her story.

In Her Own Words

“. . . On a positive note, I have met some really nice people out of all this, so that’s how I choose to look at it. I can’t control other people’s actions or opinions about me…”

“I did not know anything’ I never knew anything ;and I could not get them (law enforcement) to believe me for over three years. ”

“. . . Since the investigation started, I believe they were able to narrow the time I was supposedly missing [never was, never left the property] but they never shared that with me and have not to this day. . ”

“. . . There was no communication between Terri and I since her birthday party in March [2010], and we had only been in touch the December before that [in 2009]. Terri and I were not best buds. I think that was something investigators were really hung up on. They could not understand that I would rush to someone’s aid that on the surface was a more casual friend. They saw that as behavior of someone that had something to hide, or as a motive of some kind…”

What investigators believed that motive was, they certainly never shared with DeDe Spicher. (more…)