Prosecutor: Trudy Appleby’s death believed to be tied to drug debt

CAMBRIDGE, Ill. (KWQC) - The 30-year-old death of Trudy Appleby is believed to be motivated by a drug debt, according to court documents.

The Henry County State’s Attorney said in court documents that witnesses have testified that the 11-year-old was “taken as collateral for a drug debt.”

Fifty-year-old Jamison Fisher was indicted in the kidnapping and murder of Trudy Appleby and appeared in Henry County Courthouse Tuesday to face those charges for the first time.

The court documents didn’t have many details but said the case broke open recently after witnesses came forward decades after her disappearance.

The state’s attorney said in its appeal to deny pretrial release that witnesses testified they were afraid of the defendant, which is why they hadn’t been more forthcoming sooner about Trudy’s disappearance.

Fisher will remain in Henry County Jail, a judge decided. His next court appearance is on Oct. 20.

He will be represented by a public defender.

Fisher is charged in Henry County, Illinois, with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealment of a homicidal death in connection with the disappearance of Appleby in 1996.

She was 11 when she went missing, and her remains were never recovered.

The case haunted the Quad-Cities for almost 30 years before Fisher was suddenly indicted in August.

Fisher was extradited to Illinois by U.S. Marshals Monday. Fisher had been in the Scott County Jail on unrelated drug charges.

Police have said they’re convinced Fisher strangled Appleby to death before getting rid of her body. They haven’t said what evidence they have to support that theory.

correction: An earlier version of the story had Trudy's incorrect age when she went missing. She was 11.