ANADARKO, Okla — The 4-year-old girl who was the subject of an intensive search last week was beaten to death at her caretakers’ home in Cyril, Oklahoma, late Christmas Day, prosecutors allege in a murder indictment.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has said the search for Athena Brownfield was considered a recovery. The agency announced Tuesday afternoon that the remains of a child have been found, but have not yet been identified.
Her male caretaker, Ivon Neil Adams III, 36, was charged with first-degree murder and child neglect in Caddo County District Court on Thursday.
He is accused of hitting Athena several times on or around her body. He is accused of leaving her 5-year-old sister alone on January 6.
The indictment was made public on Tuesday. Adams’ wife, Alysia Adams, said he hit Athena around midnight on Christmas Day and held her by the arms, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent said in a court statement.
Athena “didn’t move and her eyes were barely open,” she said, according to the affidavit. “He then laid her on the floor and hit her on the chest at least three more times.”
Athena “never moved after that.”
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He left around 1 a.m. on Dec. 26 and “later told Alysia that he had buried her near a fence next to their old residence in Rush Springs,” the affidavit said. “He told her he put a big broken branch over the cemetery.”
The search for Athena began on January 10 after her sister was found outside Cyril around 2 p.m.
The 5-year-old revealed “she had been home alone and she is tired of being alone,” the affidavit said.
Ivon Adams was arrested Thursday in Glendale, Arizona. Alysia Adams, 31, was arrested Thursday in Oklahoma on charges of child neglect.
Caddo County District Attorney Jason Hicks may prosecute Ivon Adams for murder even if the girl’s body is never found. Such so-called “no body” cases are rare, but convictions have been upheld in the past.
