The Murder of Dana Satterfield: The Salon on 221 and a Decade-Long Search for Justice
Dana Satterfield
The Murder of Dana Satterfield: The Salon on 221 and a Decade-Long Search for Justice
In 1995, the small town of Roebuck, South Carolina, was shattered by a brutal crime that would take more than a decade to solve. The victim was Dana Satterfield, a beloved 27-year-old mother of two and the owner of a local hair salon. What began as a typical Monday evening at work ended in a tragedy that left the community on edge and investigators searching for a killer who seemed to have vanished into the night.
This case is a testament to the fact that secrets rarely stay buried forever. It involves a chance encounter, a decade of silence, and the eventual triumph of DNA technology.
The Crime: July 31, 1995
Dana Satterfield was known for her warm personality and her dedication to her family. She had recently achieved her dream of opening her own business — the Roebuck Hair and Tanning Salon, located off State Highway 221. The salon was a converted trailer that sat behind a liquor store, but it was easily accessible from the highway and quickly became a place where clients felt like family. Dana worked hard to build her client base, often staying late to accommodate different schedules.
On the evening of July 31, 1995, Dana was working late. Around 6:30 PM, a door-to-door saleswoman named Diane Harris stopped by and sold Dana some cleaning supplies. When Diane passed by again around 8:11 PM, she saw Dana inside cleaning with the new products. They waved at each other through the window.
When Diane returned to the front of the salon around 8:30 PM to wait for her ride, something was wrong. The lights that had just been on were now off. As she stood outside, she heard loud thumps from inside, followed by a crash — and then a young man jumped out of the salon window.
Panicked, Diane ran to a nearby liquor store to call for help. In a strange twist, the man who had just fled the salon ran into the same store, giving Diane a clear look at his face before they both fled in opposite directions. Around the same time, a client of Dana's named Ken Smith drove past the salon and noticed a blue and white Bronco parked on the shoulder of the highway, with a frantic-looking young man standing next to it.
When police arrived, they found a gruesome scene. Dana had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled with a strap from a purse found in the salon. Her body was left tied to the hot water heater in the laundry room. Despite the violence, there was no sign of robbery — her purse and valuables were untouched.
The Investigation Stalls
The initial investigation focused on those closest to Dana. Because she was recently separated from her husband, Mike Satterfield, he was immediately considered the prime suspect. A single fingerprint belonging to Mike was found on the water heater — he had installed it himself when he helped Dana set up the salon — which intensified police scrutiny.
However, Mike had a solid alibi. He was home with their two children, Ashley and Brandon, who were eight and five at the time, and both children were able to confirm this to police. Mike also passed multiple polygraph tests, including one where he was asked directly whether he had hired anyone to kill his estranged wife. Furthermore, the composite sketch created from Diane's description of the man she saw fleeing the salon did not resemble Mike.
Investigators then turned their attention to the blue and white Bronco seen near the scene. Tips poured in, leading them to a vehicle owned by a woman named Maryanne Vick. Her 17-year-old son, Jonathan Vick, had been driving the Bronco that night. When police attempted to interview Jonathan, Maryanne became hostile and uncooperative, refusing to allow them to speak to her minor son. She even put a sign on the Bronco that read: "Save your quarter. This vehicle has already been checked. Don't call it into law enforcement anymore."
With no cooperation from the family and no DNA match among the roughly 30 samples collected from various men, the case eventually went cold.
A Chance Encounter and a Decade-Old Secret
Ten years passed. In 2005, a new sheriff, Chuck Wright, took office in Spartanburg County with a simple philosophy: there are no cold cases, only old ones. He posted photos of unsolved murder victims at the front of his office so the community would never forget them.
Around this same time, Dana's daughter, Ashley, now 18 and bearing a striking resemblance to her mother, took her car to a local mechanic shop for an oil change. One of the mechanics, Michael Pace, noticed Ashley and asked a coworker who she was. When he learned she was Dana Satterfield's daughter — he had no idea Dana even had a daughter — a secret he had carried for a decade became too heavy to hold.
Michael went to his boss first, then to the police. In 1995, he had been a high school friend of Jonathan Vick. On the night of the murder, Jonathan had given Michael a ride home and casually mentioned that he planned to ask Dana out on a date. Michael, knowing Dana was 27 and Jonathan was only 17, laughed it off. Jonathan became irate, dropped Michael off, and said he was going to get a haircut.
A few days later, Jonathan found Michael at a pool hall and threatened him directly: if Michael ever told anyone about their conversation, he would be killed. Terrified, the 17-year-old Michael stayed silent — even after learning about Dana's murder. He had tried to reach out anonymously to police a few times over the years, but without a sworn statement, nothing could move forward.
The Arrest and Conviction of Jonathan Vick
Armed with Michael's statement, investigators renewed their focus on Jonathan. By 2005, Jonathan was no longer a minor. He had been discharged from the Marine Corps after three years with a letter calling him a "disgrace to the military and uniform." In the years that followed, he had held 57 different jobs, racking up a pattern of conflict with supervisors and coworkers, along with two arrests for domestic violence. He was also a suspect in the 2002 disappearance of his former fiancée, Heather Sellars — a case that remains unsolved to this day.
When police finally tracked Jonathan down with the help of the US Marshals — he had been moving around and changing addresses to avoid them — he was compelled to provide a DNA sample. The results were undeniable: his DNA matched the evidence recovered from the crime scene with a probability of 900 million to one.
In November 2006, Jonathan stood trial for the murder, kidnapping, and criminal sexual assault of Dana Satterfield. After a five-day trial, the jury deliberated for just 20 minutes before returning a guilty verdict on all counts. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years. He was not eligible for the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the crime.
During the trial, Jonathan stood before the jury and cried, insisting that justice for Dana had not been done because they had the wrong man. In 2009, he was charged with assaulting a police officer while incarcerated and received an additional three years added to his sentence. His mother and wife continue to claim his innocence.
The Legacy of Dana Satterfield
The resolution of Dana's murder brought a measure of justice to her family and the Roebuck community. Her daughter, Ashley, channeled her grief into purpose, becoming a victim advocate at a detention center, working with families whose loved ones have been murdered.
"You don't get over it," Ashley has said. "You just learn how to live with it."
She has also stated that forgiveness will come only when Jonathan admits to what he has done.
While Jonathan remains behind bars, questions linger about his possible involvement in other crimes — particularly the disappearance of Heather Sellars. The Dana Satterfield case stands as a powerful reminder of the importance of speaking up and the relentless pursuit of justice, even when a case seems hopelessly cold.
🎙️ Want to hear the full story? Listen to our deep dive into the Dana Satterfield case on Spotify or Apple Podcast.
