D.A. seeking death penalty against woman accused of killing 4-year-old, leaving body in a backpack

CADDO COUNTY, Okla. (TCD) -- Prosecutors filed a court document this week citing their intention to seek the death penalty against the caregiver of a 4-year-old who was found deceased inside a backpack.

Caddo County District Attorney Jason Hicks wrote in a bill of particulars that Alysia Adams should be given the death penalty because she "knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person" and that Athena Brownfield’s death was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel."

On Jan. 10, 2023, a mail carrier called Cyril Police after she came across a 5-year-old girl outside a home without any adult supervision. Police began investigating and called in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for assistance. Investigators learned Brownfield and her sister had been in Adams’ care for at least a year prior to the girl’s disappearance.

Adams was arrested on child neglect charges and her husband, Ivon Adams, was taken into custody in Arizona and extradited back to Oklahoma to face charges of murder and child neglect.

The search for Brownfield lasted several days until remains found on Jan. 17, 2023, were positively identified as Brownfield’s. KOCO-TV reports Brownfield died from acute pneumonia with complicating malnutrition. She reportedly weighed only 23 pounds and had a number of viruses, including COVID-19.

According to Ivon Adams' affidavit, the 5-year-old sister referred to Alysia Adams as "mom" and Ivon Adams as "dad" and "uncle Ivon." When she spoke with investigators, she reportedly said she "had been home and she is tired of being alone."

The couple did not enroll the girls in school or take them to the doctor.

Alysia Adams allegedly told investigators her husband beat Brownfield to death on Dec. 25, 2022, then punched her in the chest. At around 1 a.m. on Dec. 26, Ivon Adams allegedly left their home with Brownfield’s body, and when he returned, he said he buried the girl’s body near a fence line next to their old house. He allegedly left a "large broken branch" over the shallow grave he dug.

KOCO reports that the medical examiner did not find any evidence of physical trauma on Brownfield’s body.

According to KSWO-TV, Brownfield was discovered inside a backpack, and she and the backpack weighed 25 pounds in total.

In December, prosecutors modified charges against the couple. Ivon Adams' first-degree murder charge was downgraded to second-degree murder, but he still faces charges of child neglect and unlawful removal of a dead body, KFOR-TV reports. The district attorney’s office is now charging Alysia Adams with first-degree murder for allegedly "putting Athena Brownfield in a closet and depriving the child of proper nutrition."

She could also reportedly face a count of second-degree murder.

Brownfield’s biological mother, Jasmin Brownfield, was arrested in May on two counts of child neglect.

MORE:

• Bill of Particulars - Sixth Judicial District Court
• Caddo County DA recommends considering death penalty for Alysia Adams - KOCO
• Missing Oklahoma 4-year-old reportedly beaten to death on Christmas, buried near fence, 1/17/2023 - TCD
• Charges modified for couple accused in Athena Brownfield’s death, 12/12/2023 - KFOR
• Official autopsy report on 4-year-old Athena Brownfield reveals new details, 8/7/2023 - KSWO
• State of Oklahoma vs. Jasmin Brownfield