diff --git a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAO.java b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAO.java
index 6c876ca7c..9556e6118 100644
--- a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAO.java
+++ b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAO.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import com.linkedin.metadata.annotations.Mode;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.annotations.UrnFilter;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.annotations.UrnFilterArray;
+import com.linkedin.metadata.aspect.SoftDeletedAspect;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.backfill.BackfillMode;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.builder.BaseLocalRelationshipBuilder.LocalRelationshipUpdates;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.equality.DefaultEqualityTester;
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.tracking.TrackingUtils;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.urnpath.UrnPathExtractor;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.utils.ModelUtils;
+import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.utils.RecordUtils;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.events.ChangeType;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.events.IngestionMode;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.events.IngestionTrackingContext;
@@ -59,6 +61,7 @@
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -1668,7 +1671,7 @@ public Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTe
         aspectClasses == null ? getValidAspectTypes(_aspectUnionClass) : aspectClasses;
     checkValidAspects(aspectToBackfill);
     final Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>>> urnToAspects =
-        get(aspectToBackfill, urns);
+        get(aspectToBackfill, urns, true);
     urnToAspects.forEach((urn, aspects) -> {
       aspects.forEach((aspectClass, aspect) -> aspect.ifPresent(value -> backfill(mode, value, urn)));
     });
@@ -1741,6 +1744,8 @@ public Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTe
   private <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> void backfill(@Nonnull BackfillMode mode, @Nonnull ASPECT aspect,
       @Nonnull URN urn) {
 
+    RecordTemplate oldValue = probeSoftDeletedValue(aspect, urn.toString());
+
     if (mode == BackfillMode.MAE_ONLY
         || mode == BackfillMode.BACKFILL_ALL
         || mode == BackfillMode.BACKFILL_INCLUDING_LIVE_INDEX) {
@@ -1749,9 +1754,9 @@ private <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> void backfill(@Nonnull BackfillMode mode
         IngestionTrackingContext trackingContext = buildIngestionTrackingContext(
             TrackingUtils.getRandomUUID(), BACKFILL_EMITTER, System.currentTimeMillis());
 
-        _trackingProducer.produceAspectSpecificMetadataAuditEvent(urn, aspect, aspect, aspect.getClass(), null, trackingContext, ingestionMode);
+        _trackingProducer.produceAspectSpecificMetadataAuditEvent(urn, oldValue, aspect, aspect.getClass(), null, trackingContext, ingestionMode);
       } else {
-        _producer.produceAspectSpecificMetadataAuditEvent(urn, aspect, aspect, aspect.getClass(), null, ingestionMode);
+        _producer.produceAspectSpecificMetadataAuditEvent(urn, oldValue, aspect, aspect.getClass(), null, ingestionMode);
       }
     }
   }
@@ -1878,6 +1883,38 @@ public <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> Optional<AspectWithExtraInfo<ASPECT>> get
     return getWithExtraInfo(aspectClass, urn, LATEST_VERSION);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Similar to {@link com.linkedin.metadata.dao.BaseReadDAO}'s {@link #get(Set, Set)} but includes a flag to be able to
+   * retrieve SoftDeletedAspect entries as well.
+   *
+   * <p>This is currently used to parse soft-deleted metadata in order to backfill the search index for deleted items.
+   *
+   * <p>This is not advised for general use cases since deleted metadata will be returned.
+   *
+   * @param aspectClasses the set of aspect classes to retrieve
+   * @param urns the set of URNs to retrieve
+   * @param includeSoftDeleted whether to include soft deleted aspects
+   * @return a map of URN to a map of aspect class to the corresponding aspect value
+   */
+  @Nonnull
+  public Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>>> get(
+      @Nonnull Set<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>> aspectClasses, @Nonnull Set<URN> urns, boolean includeSoftDeleted) {
+    final Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys = getKeysForLatestVersion(urns, aspectClasses);
+
+    final Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>>> results = new HashMap<>();
+    get(keys, includeSoftDeleted).forEach((key, value) -> {
+      final URN urn = key.getUrn();
+      results.putIfAbsent(urn, new HashMap<>());
+      results.get(urn).put(key.getAspectClass(), value);
+    });
+
+    return results;
+  }
+
+  @Nonnull
+  public abstract Map<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>> get(
+      @Nonnull Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys, boolean includeSoftDeleted);
+
   /**
    * Generates a new string ID that's guaranteed to be globally unique.
    */
@@ -2093,4 +2130,22 @@ protected <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> AspectUpdateResult aspectCallbackHelpe
     }
     return new AspectUpdateResult(newAspectValue, false);
   }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  @Nonnull
+  protected static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> RecordTemplate probeSoftDeletedValue(
+      @Nonnull ASPECT aspect, @Nonnull String urn) {
+    if (aspect instanceof SoftDeletedAspect) {
+      SoftDeletedAspect softDeletedAspect = (SoftDeletedAspect) aspect;
+      if (!softDeletedAspect.hasGma_deleted_content()) {
+        throw new NoSuchElementException(
+            String.format("SoftDeletedAspect found for urn <%s> does not have gma_deleted_content field, cannot be backfilled.", urn));
+      }
+      return RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(
+          softDeletedAspect.getGma_deleted_content().getCanonicalName(),
+          softDeletedAspect.getGma_deleted_content().getAspect());
+    }
+    // if not a soft deleted aspect, return the original aspect as-is
+    return aspect;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseReadDAO.java b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseReadDAO.java
index 7e208c512..dd7a7be04 100644
--- a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseReadDAO.java
+++ b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseReadDAO.java
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 import com.linkedin.metadata.validator.AspectValidator;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -78,13 +77,7 @@ public <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> Optional<ASPECT> get(@Nonnull Class<ASPEC
   public Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>>> get(
       @Nonnull Set<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>> aspectClasses, @Nonnull Set<URN> urns) {
 
-
-    final Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys = new HashSet<>();
-    for (URN urn : urns) {
-      for (Class<? extends RecordTemplate> aspect : aspectClasses) {
-        keys.add(new AspectKey<>(aspect, urn, LATEST_VERSION));
-      }
-    }
+    final Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys = getKeysForLatestVersion(urns, aspectClasses);
 
     final Map<URN, Map<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>>> results = new HashMap<>();
     get(keys).entrySet().forEach(entry -> {
@@ -134,4 +127,11 @@ protected void checkValidAspect(@Nonnull Class<? extends RecordTemplate> aspectC
   protected void checkValidAspects(@Nonnull Set<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>> aspectClasses) {
     aspectClasses.forEach(aspectClass -> checkValidAspect(aspectClass));
   }
+
+  protected Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> getKeysForLatestVersion(
+      @Nonnull Set<URN> urns, @Nonnull Set<Class<? extends RecordTemplate>> aspectClasses) {
+    return urns.stream()
+        .flatMap(urn -> aspectClasses.stream().map(aspectClass -> new AspectKey<>(aspectClass, urn, LATEST_VERSION)))
+        .collect(Collectors.toSet());
+  }
 }
diff --git a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtils.java b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtils.java
index 881a0eaa4..d9ba109e9 100644
--- a/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtils.java
+++ b/dao-api/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtils.java
@@ -151,6 +151,18 @@ public static RecordTemplate toRecordTemplate(@Nonnull String className, @Nonnul
     return toRecordTemplate(clazz, dataMap);
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The string-only version of the toRecordTemplate methods.
+   *
+   * @param className FQCN of the record class extending RecordTemplate
+   * @param jsonString a JSON string serialized using {@link JacksonDataTemplateCodec}
+   * @return the created {@link RecordTemplate}
+   */
+  @Nonnull
+  public static RecordTemplate toRecordTemplate(@Nonnull String className, @Nonnull String jsonString) {
+    return toRecordTemplate(className, toDataMap(jsonString));
+  }
+
   /**
    * Gets the aspect from the aspect class.
    *
diff --git a/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAOTest.java b/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAOTest.java
index 233261861..49f375cab 100644
--- a/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAOTest.java
+++ b/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/BaseLocalDAOTest.java
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 import com.linkedin.data.template.RecordTemplate;
 import com.linkedin.data.template.SetMode;
 import com.linkedin.data.template.UnionTemplate;
+import com.linkedin.metadata.aspect.AuditedAspect;
+import com.linkedin.metadata.aspect.SoftDeletedAspect;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.builder.BaseLocalRelationshipBuilder.LocalRelationshipUpdates;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.ingestion.AspectCallbackMapKey;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.ingestion.AspectCallbackRoutingClient;
@@ -41,6 +43,7 @@
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.function.BiConsumer;
@@ -227,6 +230,13 @@ public long newNumericId(String namespace, int maxTransactionRetry) {
       return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
+    @Override
+    @Nonnull
+    public Map<AspectKey<FooUrn, ? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>> get(
+        Set<AspectKey<FooUrn, ? extends RecordTemplate>> aspectKeys, boolean includeSoftDeleted) {
+      return Collections.emptyMap();
+    }
+
     @Override
     @Nonnull
     public Map<AspectKey<FooUrn, ? extends RecordTemplate>, AspectWithExtraInfo<? extends RecordTemplate>> getWithExtraInfo(
@@ -802,4 +812,28 @@ public void testAspectCallbackHelperWithUnregisteredAspect() throws URISyntaxExc
     // Verify that the result is the same as the input aspect since it's not registered
     assertEquals(result.getUpdatedAspect(), foo);
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testProbeSoftDeletedValue() throws URISyntaxException {
+    FooUrn urn = new FooUrn(1);
+
+    // bypass (non-soft-deleted) pathway
+    AspectBar barExpected = new AspectBar().setValue("foo");
+    RecordTemplate fooActual = BaseLocalDAO.probeSoftDeletedValue(barExpected, urn.toString());
+    assertEquals(fooActual, barExpected);
+
+    // missing gma_deleted_content pathway
+    SoftDeletedAspect softDeletedAspectExpected = new SoftDeletedAspect();
+    assertThrows(NoSuchElementException.class,
+        () -> BaseLocalDAO.probeSoftDeletedValue(softDeletedAspectExpected, urn.toString()));
+
+    // ideal soft-delete pathway
+    AuditedAspect softDeletedContent = new AuditedAspect();
+    softDeletedContent.setAspect("{\"value\": \"foo\"}");
+    softDeletedContent.setCanonicalName("com.linkedin.testing.AspectBar");
+
+    softDeletedAspectExpected.setGma_deleted_content(softDeletedContent);
+    RecordTemplate softDeletedAspectIdealActual = BaseLocalDAO.probeSoftDeletedValue(softDeletedAspectExpected, urn.toString());
+    assertEquals(softDeletedAspectIdealActual, barExpected);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtilsTest.java b/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtilsTest.java
index 7b05a11ee..c872d5659 100644
--- a/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtilsTest.java
+++ b/dao-api/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/RecordUtilsTest.java
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ public void testToRecordTemplate() throws IOException {
 
     assertEquals(actual2.getClass(), AspectFoo.class);
     assertEquals(actual2, expected);
+
+    RecordTemplate actual3 = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate("com.linkedin.testing.AspectFoo", jsonString);
+    assertEquals(actual3, expected);
   }
 
   @Test(expectedExceptions = ModelConversionException.class)
diff --git a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAO.java b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAO.java
index 7e0b88eb0..233797e7c 100644
--- a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAO.java
+++ b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAO.java
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 import com.linkedin.data.template.RecordTemplate;
 import com.linkedin.data.template.SetMode;
 import com.linkedin.data.template.UnionTemplate;
+import com.linkedin.metadata.aspect.SoftDeletedAspect;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.builder.BaseLocalRelationshipBuilder.LocalRelationshipUpdates;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.builder.LocalRelationshipBuilderRegistry;
 import com.linkedin.metadata.dao.exception.ModelConversionException;
@@ -791,7 +792,7 @@ protected <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> AspectEntry<ASPECT> getLatest(@Nonnull
     }
     final ExtraInfo extraInfo = toExtraInfo(latest);
 
-    if (isSoftDeletedAspect(latest, aspectClass)) {
+    if (isSoftDeletedAspect(latest)) {
       return new AspectEntry<>(null, extraInfo, true);
     }
 
@@ -1077,6 +1078,13 @@ protected <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> void applyTimeBasedRetention(@Nonnull
   @Nonnull
   public Map<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>> get(
       @Nonnull Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys) {
+    return get(keys, false);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  @Nonnull
+  public Map<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>, Optional<? extends RecordTemplate>> get(
+      @Nonnull Set<AspectKey<URN, ? extends RecordTemplate>> keys, boolean includeSoftDeleted) {
     if (keys.isEmpty()) {
       return Collections.emptyMap();
     }
@@ -1095,7 +1103,8 @@ protected <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> void applyTimeBasedRetention(@Nonnull
         .collect(Collectors.toMap(Function.identity(), key -> records.stream()
             .filter(record -> matchKeys(key, record.getKey()))
             .findFirst()
-            .flatMap(record -> toRecordTemplate(key.getAspectClass(), record))));
+            .flatMap(record -> includeSoftDeleted ? (Optional<RecordTemplate>) toRecordTemplateIncludeSoftDelete(key.getAspectClass(), record)
+                : (Optional<RecordTemplate>) toRecordTemplate(key.getAspectClass(), record))));
   }
 
   @Override
@@ -1259,14 +1268,14 @@ List<EbeanMetadataAspect> batchGetHelper(@Nonnull List<AspectKey<URN, ? extends
     }
 
     if (_schemaConfig == SchemaConfig.NEW_SCHEMA_ONLY) {
-      return _localAccess.batchGetUnion(keys, keysCount, position, false, false);
+      return _localAccess.batchGetUnion(keys, keysCount, position, true, false);
     }
 
     if (_schemaConfig == SchemaConfig.DUAL_SCHEMA) {
       // Compare results from both new and old schemas
       final List<EbeanMetadataAspect> resultsOldSchema = batchGetUnion(keys, keysCount, position);
       final List<EbeanMetadataAspect> resultsNewSchema =
-          _localAccess.batchGetUnion(keys, keysCount, position, false, false);
+          _localAccess.batchGetUnion(keys, keysCount, position, false, false);  // TODO: should soft-deleted aspects be included?
       EBeanDAOUtils.compareResults(resultsOldSchema, resultsNewSchema, "batchGet");
       return resultsOldSchema;
     }
@@ -1466,16 +1475,25 @@ URN getUrn(@Nonnull String urn) {
   @Nonnull
   static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> Optional<ASPECT> toRecordTemplate(@Nonnull Class<ASPECT> aspectClass,
       @Nonnull EbeanMetadataAspect aspect) {
-    if (isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect, aspectClass)) {
+    if (isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect)) {
       return Optional.empty();
     }
     return Optional.of(RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(aspectClass, aspect.getMetadata()));
   }
 
+  @Nonnull
+  static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> Optional<? extends RecordTemplate> toRecordTemplateIncludeSoftDelete(
+      @Nonnull Class<ASPECT> aspectClass, @Nonnull EbeanMetadataAspect aspect) {
+    if (isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect)) {
+      return Optional.of(RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(SoftDeletedAspect.class, aspect.getMetadata()));
+    }
+    return Optional.of(RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(aspectClass, aspect.getMetadata()));
+  }
+
   @Nonnull
   static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> Optional<AspectWithExtraInfo<ASPECT>> toRecordTemplateWithExtraInfo(
       @Nonnull Class<ASPECT> aspectClass, @Nonnull EbeanMetadataAspect aspect) {
-    if (aspect.getMetadata() == null || isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect, aspectClass)) {
+    if (aspect.getMetadata() == null || isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect)) {
       return Optional.empty();
     }
     final ExtraInfo extraInfo = toExtraInfo(aspect);
diff --git a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtils.java b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtils.java
index 6ae211bb9..305718d25 100644
--- a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtils.java
+++ b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/main/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtils.java
@@ -176,22 +176,22 @@ public static <T> boolean compareResults(@Nullable ListResult<T> resultOld, @Nul
   }
 
   /**
-   * Checks whether the aspect record has been soft deleted.
-   *
-   * @param aspect aspect value
-   * @param aspectClass the type of the aspect
-   * @return boolean representing whether the aspect record has been soft deleted
+   * Same as {@link #isSoftDeletedAspect(SqlRow, String)}, but for {@link EbeanMetadataAspect}.
    */
-  public static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> boolean isSoftDeletedAspect(@Nonnull EbeanMetadataAspect aspect,
-      @Nonnull Class<ASPECT> aspectClass) {
-    // Convert metadata string to record template object
-    final RecordTemplate metadataRecord = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(aspectClass, aspect.getMetadata());
-    return metadataRecord.equals(DELETED_METADATA);
+  public static boolean isSoftDeletedAspect(@Nonnull EbeanMetadataAspect aspect) {
+    try {
+      SoftDeletedAspect softDeletedAspect = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(SoftDeletedAspect.class, aspect.getMetadata());
+      return softDeletedAspect.hasGma_deleted();
+    } catch (Exception e) {
+      return false;
+    }
   }
 
-
   /**
    * Read {@link SqlRow} list into a {@link EbeanMetadataAspect} list.
+   * Currently only in use by AIM.
+   * Note this cannot read deleted metadata.
+   *
    * @param sqlRows list of {@link SqlRow}
    * @return list of {@link EbeanMetadataAspect}
    * @deprecated This method has been deprecated, use {@link #readSqlRow(SqlRow, Class)} instead.
@@ -239,6 +239,11 @@ public static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> List<EbeanMetadataAspect> readSqlR
 
   /**
    * Read EbeanMetadataAspect from {@link SqlRow}.
+   *
+   * <p>Note that if the Aspect is (soft) deleted and the DB is on the NEW SCHEMA, the creation metadata will be
+   * associated with the *whole row*, not the individual aspect. There is currently no metadata stored for the deletion
+   * of aspects.
+   *
    * @param sqlRow {@link SqlRow}
    * @param aspectClass aspect class
    * @param <ASPECT> aspect type
@@ -258,10 +263,10 @@ private static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> EbeanMetadataAspect readSqlRow(Sq
     }
     if (isSoftDeletedAspect(sqlRow, columnName)) {
       primaryKey = new EbeanMetadataAspect.PrimaryKey(urn, aspectClass.getCanonicalName(), LATEST_VERSION);
-      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedBy(sqlRow.getString("lastmodifiedby"));
-      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedOn(sqlRow.getTimestamp("lastmodifiedon"));
-      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedFor(sqlRow.getString("createdfor"));
-      ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata(DELETED_VALUE);
+      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedBy(sqlRow.getString("lastmodifiedby"));  // TODO: add support for deletion metadata
+      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedOn(sqlRow.getTimestamp("lastmodifiedon"));  // TODO: add support for deletion metadata
+      ebeanMetadataAspect.setCreatedFor(sqlRow.getString("createdfor"));  // TODO: add support for deletion metadata
+      ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata(sqlRow.getString(columnName));
     } else {
       AuditedAspect auditedAspect = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(AuditedAspect.class, sqlRow.getString(columnName));
       primaryKey = new EbeanMetadataAspect.PrimaryKey(urn, auditedAspect.getCanonicalName(), LATEST_VERSION);
@@ -278,14 +283,23 @@ private static <ASPECT extends RecordTemplate> EbeanMetadataAspect readSqlRow(Sq
 
   /**
    * Checks whether the entity table record has been soft deleted.
+   *
+   * <p>NOTE: the ability to cast the aspect to a {@link SoftDeletedAspect} is sufficient to determine
+   * whether the aspect has been soft-deleted. This is because there are NO current use cases where we
+   * store a SoftDeletedAspect with the flag set to anything other than "true".
+   *
+   * <p>This "shallow check" is necessary because many usages of checking soft-deletion are followed by
+   * a deserialization call to {@link RecordUtils#toRecordTemplate(Class, String)}, which will fail if
+   * we try to deserialize a SoftDeletedAspect -- to another Aspect Type -- with the flag set to "false".
+   *
    * @param sqlRow {@link SqlRow} result from MySQL server
    * @param columnName column name of entity table
    * @return boolean representing whether the aspect record has been soft deleted
    */
   public static boolean isSoftDeletedAspect(@Nonnull SqlRow sqlRow, @Nonnull String columnName) {
     try {
-      SoftDeletedAspect aspect = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(SoftDeletedAspect.class, sqlRow.getString(columnName));
-      return aspect.hasGma_deleted() && aspect.isGma_deleted();
+      SoftDeletedAspect softDeletedAspect = RecordUtils.toRecordTemplate(SoftDeletedAspect.class, sqlRow.getString(columnName));
+      return softDeletedAspect.hasGma_deleted();
     } catch (Exception e) {
       return false;
     }
diff --git a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAOTest.java b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAOTest.java
index 65038189a..146fcae85 100644
--- a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAOTest.java
+++ b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/EbeanLocalDAOTest.java
@@ -2337,7 +2337,7 @@ public void testGetSoftDeletedAspect() {
 
     // latest version of metadata should be null
     EbeanMetadataAspect aspect = getMetadata(urn, aspectName, 0);
-    assertTrue(isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect, AspectFoo.class));
+    assertTrue(isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect));
     Optional<AspectFoo> fooOptional = dao.get(AspectFoo.class, urn);
     assertFalse(fooOptional.isPresent());
 
@@ -2523,7 +2523,7 @@ public void testUndeleteSoftDeletedAspect() {
     if (dao.isChangeLogEnabled()) {
       // version=3 should correspond to soft deleted metadata
       EbeanMetadataAspect aspect = getMetadata(urn, aspectName, 3);
-      assertTrue(isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect, AspectFoo.class));
+      assertTrue(isSoftDeletedAspect(aspect));
       fooOptional = dao.get(AspectFoo.class, urn, 3);
       assertFalse(fooOptional.isPresent());
 
diff --git a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtilsTest.java b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtilsTest.java
index 2f2b31dd8..b3d680cf6 100644
--- a/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtilsTest.java
+++ b/dao-impl/ebean-dao/src/test/java/com/linkedin/metadata/dao/utils/EBeanDAOUtilsTest.java
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
 
 public class EBeanDAOUtilsTest {
 
+  final static String SOFT_DELETED_ASPECT_WITH_DELETED_CONTENT = "{\"gma_deleted\": true,"
+      + "\"gma_deleted_content\": {\"aspect\": \"{removed: false}\", \"canonicalName\": \"com.linkedin.common.Status\","
+      + "\"lastmodifiedon\": \"0L\", \"lastmodifiedby\": \"urn:li:tester\"}}";
 
   @Nonnull
   private String readSQLfromFile(@Nonnull String resourcePath) {
@@ -573,6 +576,34 @@ public void testIsSoftDeletedAspect() {
 
     when(sqlRow.getString("a_aspectbaz")).thenReturn("{\"random_value\": \"baz\"}");
     assertFalse(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(sqlRow, "a_aspectbaz"));
+
+    // NOTE how this is should return "true"; see the explanation in the method javadoc
+    when(sqlRow.getString("a_aspectqux")).thenReturn("{\"gma_deleted\": false}");
+    assertTrue(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(sqlRow, "a_aspectqux"));
+
+    when(sqlRow.getString("a_aspectbax")).thenReturn(SOFT_DELETED_ASPECT_WITH_DELETED_CONTENT);
+    assertTrue(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(sqlRow, "a_aspectbax"));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testIsSoftDeletedAspectEbeanMetadataAspect() {
+    EbeanMetadataAspect ebeanMetadataAspect = new EbeanMetadataAspect();
+
+    ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata("{\"gma_deleted\": true}");
+    assertTrue(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(ebeanMetadataAspect));
+
+    ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata(SOFT_DELETED_ASPECT_WITH_DELETED_CONTENT);
+    assertTrue(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(ebeanMetadataAspect));
+
+    // NOTE how this is should return "true"; see the explanation in the method javadoc
+    ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata("{\"gma_deleted\": false}");
+    assertTrue(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(ebeanMetadataAspect));
+
+    ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata("{\"aspect\": {\"value\": \"bar\"}, \"lastmodifiedby\": \"urn:li:tester\"}");
+    assertFalse(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(ebeanMetadataAspect));
+
+    ebeanMetadataAspect.setMetadata("{\"random_value\": \"baz\"}");
+    assertFalse(EBeanDAOUtils.isSoftDeletedAspect(ebeanMetadataAspect));
   }
 
   @Test
diff --git a/testing/test-models/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/testing/SoftDeletedAspectCopy.pdl b/testing/test-models/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/testing/SoftDeletedAspectCopy.pdl
index c392f06a1..9cdc5a7d0 100644
--- a/testing/test-models/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/testing/SoftDeletedAspectCopy.pdl
+++ b/testing/test-models/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/testing/SoftDeletedAspectCopy.pdl
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 namespace com.linkedin.testing
 
+import com.linkedin.metadata.aspect.AuditedAspect
+
 /**
  * Captures metadata on soft deleted aspect. This is a copy of SoftDeletedAspect.
  */
@@ -9,4 +11,9 @@ record SoftDeletedAspectCopy {
    * flag to indicate if the aspect is soft deleted in GMA
    */
   gma_deleted: boolean
+
+  /**
+   * The deleted content of the aspect
+   */
+  gma_deleted_content: optional AuditedAspect
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dao-api/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/AuditedAspect.pdl b/validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/AuditedAspect.pdl
similarity index 100%
rename from dao-api/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/AuditedAspect.pdl
rename to validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/AuditedAspect.pdl
diff --git a/validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/SoftDeletedAspect.pdl b/validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/SoftDeletedAspect.pdl
index 99634f194..b40e9dfd8 100644
--- a/validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/SoftDeletedAspect.pdl
+++ b/validators/src/main/pegasus/com/linkedin/metadata/aspect/SoftDeletedAspect.pdl
@@ -7,6 +7,15 @@ record SoftDeletedAspect {
 
   /**
    * Flag to indicate if the aspect is soft deleted in GMA
+   *
+   * Currently, there are no cases where the aspect is soft-deleted but this flag is NOT set to
+   * true: the very existence of this Aspect type indicates soft-deletion. This is to say that
+   * any aspect that is not soft-deleted will simply not exist -- cannot be cast -- as this type.
    */
   gma_deleted: boolean
+
+  /**
+   * The deleted content of the aspect
+   */
+  gma_deleted_content: optional AuditedAspect
 }
\ No newline at end of file