DeDe Spicher is a Portland, Oregon, woman whose friendship with Terri Moulton Horman and unexplained 60- to 90-minute absence from a nearby worksite on the morning seven-year-old Kyron Horman disappeared made her a lasting figure of interest in the case. The connection between DeDe Spicher and the Kyron Horman investigation deepened in October 2012, when she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 142 times during a civil deposition. She has never been charged with any crime.
Her Friendship With Terri Horman
Spicher and Terri Horman were friends who shared interests in fitness and gardening.1The Oregonian/OregonLive. DeDe Spicher Topic Page After Kaine Horman moved out of the family home with the couple’s 18-month-old daughter in late June 2010, Spicher moved in with Terri for 11 days. She later told People magazine she went because of the “horror” her friend was going through, and because she believed Terri was innocent. “If I thought for a second that she was capable of [foul play], I would not have been there,” Spicher said. “She would not have been my friend in the first place.”2ABC News. Kyron Horman Case: DeDe Spicher Speaks, Says Police Targeting Her
A former boyfriend, Jason Wishert, described Spicher in a 2010 interview as a “high-energy, dynamic” person with a “straight forward, matter-of-fact attitude.” He said her personality changed after she lost a receptionist job in January 2009, and he described her as having a “good constitution” but being “emotionally gullible.” Wishert said he did not know Terri Horman personally; his relationship with Spicher ended in August 2009.3The Oregonian/OregonLive. DeDe Spicher’s Former Boyfriend Discusses Her Personality
The Unexplained Absence on June 4, 2010
Kyron Horman was last seen at Skyline Elementary School in Portland on the morning of June 4, 2010, after attending a science fair. He never made it to class. His teacher marked him absent when the school day began at 10:00 a.m., but no one realized he was missing until Terri and Kaine Horman met his school bus that afternoon and learned he had not been there. The school secretary called 911 at 3:46 p.m.4The Oregonian/OregonLive. Kyron Horman Missing 10 Years: A Timeline
That same morning, Spicher was working as a gardener at a 40-acre private property on Northwest Old Germantown Road, about four miles from Skyline Elementary. The owners were preparing for a garden tour the next day. According to Spicher’s employer and another worker at the site, Spicher “abruptly disappeared” from the property at about 11:30 a.m., just as the others were sitting down for lunch. The homeowner tried her cell phone and got no answer. Spicher returned roughly 60 to 90 minutes later.5The Oregonian/OregonLive. Terri Horman’s Friend DeDe Spicher Invokes Fifth Amendment in Deposition
Investigators considered that window significant because they were trying to determine whether Spicher’s and Terri Horman’s whereabouts overlapped that morning.6The Oregonian/OregonLive. Investigators Trying to Determine Whereabouts of Spicher and Horman Authorities searched Spicher’s Tualatin condominium and questioned residents about whether they had seen her or a white truck in the area on June 4.
Spicher denied leaving the property at all. “I never left the property that day,” she told People. Bruce McCain, a retired captain with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, said “no one is able to corroborate her story.”2ABC News. Kyron Horman Case: DeDe Spicher Speaks, Says Police Targeting Her
What Spicher Said Publicly
In her People interview, Spicher said investigators were not interested in what she actually knew and were instead pressing her to implicate her friend. “They wanted me to tell them that Terri did it or that Terri knew something,” she said. “I told them everything that I knew, over and over again. But I didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear.” She maintained that in years of friendship, she had seen nothing to suggest Terri was “capable or motivated in any way to do something like this.”2ABC News. Kyron Horman Case: DeDe Spicher Speaks, Says Police Targeting Her
McCain noted that Spicher was the only known witness in the case who had retained a lawyer.
Grand Jury and the 2012 Deposition
Spicher hired attorney Chad Stavley on July 23, 2010. Three days later she appeared before a Portland grand jury, though prosecutors did not ask her questions during that initial session and ordered her to return later. Stavley said Spicher had been “extremely cooperative,” had spent more than three hours with the lead investigator, and had turned over text messages and emails she had exchanged with Terri Horman. He also said Spicher was no longer speaking to Terri.7KGW. Attorney: Spicher Shared Terri Horman Emails, Texts With Cops
The picture changed at a civil deposition. In June 2012, Kyron’s biological mother, Desiree Young, filed a $10 million lawsuit against Terri Horman alleging she was responsible for kidnapping or harming Kyron.8HuffPost. Kyron Horman: DeDe Spicher Refuses to Answer Questions Spicher was deposed in that case on October 5, 2012. The session lasted barely 80 minutes. She invoked the Fifth Amendment 142 times.
She answered opening questions about her work history, education, and social life. She then refused to address her relationship with Terri Horman, her activities on June 4, 2010, whether she knew if Kyron was alive, and other personal questions, including whether Terri Horman used steroids.9KVAL. Terri Horman’s Friend Refuses to Answer Questions in Lawsuit
Young’s attorney, Elden Rosenthal, filed a motion to compel Spicher to answer, arguing the Fifth Amendment “cannot be used to protect another person” or “to hide knowledge of a friend’s criminal conduct.” He asked Judge Henry Kantor to review the deposition question by question.5The Oregonian/OregonLive. Terri Horman’s Friend DeDe Spicher Invokes Fifth Amendment in Deposition Young withdrew the lawsuit in July 2013, saying it could not go forward because police were withholding information tied to the criminal investigation.10The Spokesman-Review. Kyron Horman’s Mother Drops Civil Suit
Polygraph, Immunity, and “Unofficial” Clearance
Spicher testified before a Multnomah County grand jury again in July 2013. Around that time she stated publicly that she had passed a polygraph test and reached an immunity agreement with prosecutors, and she described her status as being “unofficially” cleared of any involvement in Kyron’s disappearance.1The Oregonian/OregonLive. DeDe Spicher Topic Page Law enforcement has not publicly confirmed or denied that characterization.
Where the Case Stands
The Kyron Horman case remains open. No one has been charged, including Spicher. In August 2012, Judge Henry Kantor formally labeled Terri Horman a “prime suspect” in the investigation.11ABC News. Kyron Horman’s Stepmother Called Prime Suspect by Judge In 2025, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office finished digitizing the case file and began using new forensic software to re-examine more than 5,300 documents.12Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Leveraging New Technology in Kyron Horman Case A $50,000 reward remains available for information leading to a resolution, and District Attorney Nathan Vasquez has said his office “will not rest until it knows what happened to Horman.”13KOIN. 16 Years Later: New Technology to Boost Investigation Into Kyron Horman’s Disappearance Spicher has not made known public statements about the case in recent years.