Killer of 3 saw ‘devil’ in child, family says

The home of Tim and Regina Adams at 2127 Old Rudy Road in Crawford County was the scene of a shooting that left Tim Adams, two of his grandchildren and his daughter’s boyfriend dead.
The home of Tim and Regina Adams at 2127 Old Rudy Road in Crawford County was the scene of a shooting that left Tim Adams, two of his grandchildren and his daughter’s boyfriend dead.

Tim Adams thought his daughter’s boyfriend was the devil and their 4-month-old son was the devil’s child, family members told Crawford County investigators. Adams shot and killed the boyfriend, his grandson, a granddaughter and himself Tuesday afternoon outside his home near Alma.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

According to Sheriff Ron Brown, Adams, 59, shot Michael Williams, 31, the boyfriend of his daughter Ashley; 4-month-old Chaysten Williams; and Ashley’s 4-yearold daughter Kierra Adams before putting the 12-gauge pump shotgun under his chin and pulling the trigger.

“It’s very clear-cut that he committed the murders and then committed suicide at the end,” sheriff ’s Chief Deputy Jimmy Damante said Wednesday.

Before shooting himself, Adams made a phone call to David Adams, a nephew, and told him that he did not mean to shoot his grandchildren, another nephew Brian Jones said Wednesday.

Jones said David Adams called him right after hearing over the phone the loud report of the shotgun as Tim Adams shot himself.

Brown said that according to interviews with family members, Tim Adams did not like Williams or the son that Williams had with Ashley Adams, 24.

Damante said family members also told investigators that Tim Adams suspected Williams of child molestation, but that was not confirmed.

Tim Adams also believed that Williams was not good for his daughter and that the baby was not good for Williams and his daughter, Damante said family members revealed.

Jones said the family has tried to reason with Tim Adams through the years.

“He was never rational,” Jones said, “But he has never done anything that would lead us to believe he could go to this extent.”

Damante said the sheriff’s office has responded to numerous calls involving the Adams family.

On Tuesday afternoon, Brown said, Ashley Adams drove to her parents’ home at 2127 Old Rudy Road just outside Alma with Williams and Chaysten to pick up Kierra and another daughter, a 3-year-old. Ashley Adams was expected in Alma District Court on Tuesday afternoon over a traffic citation. She had been cited for having no liability insurance on her vehicle.

Court records show that the citation was dismissed Wednesday “for the reason of prosecuting attorney’s discretion.”

Brown said that when Ashley Adams told her father she was going to leave the children in the car with Williams while she went to court, Adams walked out of the house and shot Williams as he sat in the front passenger seat.

Ashley Adams dashed outside and struggled with her father as he tried to shoot Chaysten who was in a car seat in the back, Brown said. He said Tim Adams went around to the driver’s side of the car and shot Chaysten through the window.

Williams got out of the car after being shot and appeared to try to walk toward the house but collapsed in the front yard, Damante said.

Tim Adams’ wife, Regina, who had Kierra and the 3-year-old daughter with her, ran into the house and locked the front door. Tim Adams pursued them, kicking open the door.

At the same time, Ashley Adams pulled Chaysten’s lifeless body out of the car seat and carried the baby into the house and put him on a bed, Damante said.

Inside the house, Damante said, Tim Adams reloaded the shotgun and fired one round into the floor.

Meanwhile, Regina Adams with her two grandchildren in tow, ran out the back door and hid behind a car in the backyard. Tim Adams followed them outside, Damante said.

Kierra stepped out from behind the car and, Damante said, Adams shot her in the back.

Damante said family members told investigators that Tim Adams loved Kierra and favored her over the other grandchildren. He had expressed a desire to adopt her as his daughter, Damante said.

Regina Adams took the remaining grandchild and ran into the house, leaving Tim Adams standing over Kierra’s body. That’s where sheriff’s deputy Sgt. Chad Marion found Tim Adams after Regina Adams called 911, Damante said.

Tim Adams reportedly was talking on his cellphone to David Adams when Marion arrived. Brown said Tim Adams also had made a call to a brother.

Marion called out Tim Adams’ name. Adams turned to face the deputy, revealing that he was armed, according to investigators. Marion and Ashley Adams pleaded with Tim Adams not to kill himself, but he dropped the cellphone and shot himself without saying a word, investigators said.

Damante said investigators were continuing with interviews in the case and were awaiting the results of autopsies on the four from the state Crime Laboratory.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/05/2013

Upcoming Events