ANADARKO — The couple accused of killing and hiding the body of 4-year-old Athena Brownfield is scheduled for an October preliminary hearing together.
On Wednesday, following preliminary hearing conferences, Alysia, 31, and Ivon Neil Adams III, 37, both of Cyril, were scheduled to return to the Caddo County District Court for a preliminary hearing, records indicate.
Ivon Adams was arrested in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 12 following the issuance of a first-degree murder and child neglect arrest warrant from Caddo County. After waiving extradition, he made his initial appearance Jan. 20 in Caddo County District Court for the warrant allegations and is being held without bond.
Alysia Adams was taken into custody on Jan. 12, made her initial appearance for two counts of child neglect and is being held on $500,000 bond, records indicate.
Caddo County District Judge David A. Stephens will rule following the preliminary hearing as to if their cases will go forward before a jury. It is unclear if they are being tried together but court records indicate they will be before Stephens at the same time.
Athena and her 5-year-old sister were left in the Adams’ custody by their mother, Jasmin Adina Kay Brownfield, 27, of Stillwater, over a year ago while she was experiencing mental health issues that left her feeling she couldn’t care for the children properly, according to the warrant affidavit.
Jasmin Brownfield was charged May 4 with two counts of child neglect by abandonment, records indicate. She is Athena’s biological mother.
Investigators first learned the children were living with the Adams’ after Athena was discovered missing; the older girl alerted a postal carrier on Jan. 10 that she had been home alone. After speaking with Alysia Adams that day, investigators realized Athena was missing and a large search was begun that lasted for days until the Jan. 17 recovery of her remains on land in Grady County.
According to her arrest warrant affidavit, Alysia Adams told investigators her husband, Ivon, had beaten the girl to death the night of Christmas 2022 at their home in Cyril. Early the next morning, she said he buried her on the land outside of Rush Springs.
Recovered phone data backed up the claim of Ivon Adams’ travels, the affidavit states.
Ivon Adams took the couple’s four biological children to his wife’s family in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 7. Athena’s 5-year-old sister, also in the Adams’ care, was left at the home, apparently alone.
The cause and manner of the 4-year-old’s death has not been released and no additional information is being released due to a gag order put in place by the Caddo County District Court.
