MARICOPA COUNTY, Arizona — New court records reveal, for the first time, what family members living with JoAnn Dudek told investigators about the hours leading up to her disappearance.
Dudek’s daughter and her boyfriend told detectives there was a fight inside the home.
Those documents were filed as an exhibit in lawsuit over Dudek’s estate that is still ongoing in court.
DUDEK’S DISAPPEARANCE
Dudek was 64 years old when she was reported missing in November 2022. Her cellphone, computer and credit cards were left behind.
ABC15 first talked to members of her family in 2023, as they held a vigil and pushed for answers.
In 2024, MCSO confirmed Dudek’s skull was found, along with other bones, in the area of I-17 south of New River Road.
Two years after that discovery, her manner of death remains undetermined, and no one has been arrested or charged in connection with her death.
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“Four years later, we're sitting here with no answers,” Dudek’s niece, Erin Murtha, told ABC15.
Back in 2022, Dudek was living in Anthem with her her husband, her adopted daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend.
Other members of Dudek’s family previously told ABC15 they believed a violent altercation occurred inside the home around the time she disappeared.
Now, a search warrant obtained by the ABC15 Investigators provides new details about what the people living with Dudek allegedly told investigators.
SEARCH WARRANT
According to that search warrant, Dudek’s daughter told investigators with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office that she and her mother got into a fight the night before she disappeared.
"[Dudek's daughter] said she pushed Joann on her shoulders to get her away,” said the search warrant affidavit. “[Dudek's daughter] said Joann stumbled over, at hit her head on a laundry basket."
Those documents show the daughter’s boyfriend initially told deputies Dudek had kicked the front door, causing damage. However, those records say he later told detectives that he had kicked “the door down” himself.
The pair allegedly told investigators Dudek was drunk and that they carried her to her bed.
MCSO later discovered what they believed was blood on Dudek’s mattress, according to the search warrant.
The interviews took place about a month after Dudek was last seen. While at the family’s home, detectives noticed damage to the front door.
Dudek’s husband told deputies his wife left behind a handwritten note saying she was leaving. However, records say he could not provide investigators with the note because “he no longer had” it.
Dudek’s daughter also reported receiving two calls she believed were from her mom following her disappearance.
During one, Dudek’s daughter said her mom told her she was at a rehab center and “would come home when she wanted.”
Dudek’s husband told detectives he was not home at the time of the fight. He died in 2023.
FOUR YEARS LATER
“We felt that when JoAnn's remains were found, that would be some sort of breakthrough in this case, and it doesn't appear to be,” Murtha said. “That is confusing to us.”
But Dudek’s extended family is still stuck longing for answers.
ABC15 attempted to reach Dudek’s daughter and her boyfriend for comment this week.
An attorney representing Dudek’s daughter in the civil lawsuit did respond, saying they could not comment on the case.
“I cannot comment on the case generally or what has been documented,” attorney Jackson Hendrix said in an email to ABC15. “I can only reiterate that we are not commenting on the ongoing lawsuit and that our client denies all the allegations made against her in that lawsuit.”
Two years ago, MCSO told ABC15 that investigators had identified persons of interest in the case. This week, the sheriff’s office said there was no updates on the investigation.
“The case has not been submitted to MCAO,” said an email from the agency. “We cannot comment on open investigations.”
Murtha said the family respects the investigative process but the lack of answers after four years is hard to come to terms with.
“Having no update or no indication to us at four years is something that is very, very hard to live with every day,” Murtha said.
She said her family’s push for justice will only grow stronger with time.
