Body found in search of murdered four year old Athena Brownfield is identified

26 January 2023 , 23:44

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Athena Brownfield was reported missing on January 10 (Image: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)

A body has been identified as Athena Brownfield in the search for the missing four-year-old who was allegedly murdered on Christmas night, it is reported.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) alleged that Athena was beaten to death on December 25 and the remains of a child were found in Grady County on January 17.

The remains were near Rush Springs, about 15 miles from the Oklahoma community of Cyril, where Athena was reported missing.

Now authorities have confirmed on Thursday that the body is that of the missing four-year-old.

The state bureau said that the Oklahoma Office of Chief Medical Examiner positively identified the remains as Athena.

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Ivon Adams, left, beat the four-year-old to death, alleged his wife, Alysia Adams (right) (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)

But due to a “gag order filed in Caddo County District Court” there has been no further comment on the investigation by the OSBI, reported NBC News.

The child was allegedly beaten to death and buried by one of her carers, Ivon Adams, according to court documents.

Following the discovery of a body last week the OSBI stated: “The remains will be transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Oklahoma City for positive identification.

“This is a active homicide investigation and until the remains are positively identified, the OSBI will not be commenting further.”

A postal worker discovered the girl’s five-year-old sister alone on January 10 outside the home where they lived with Adams and his wife, Alysia Adams, in Cyril, about 70 miles.

Alysia Adams later told investigators that Ivon Adams beat the child at about midnight December 25, according to an affidavit for the man's arrest.

Athena “was not moving and her eyes were barely open” Alysia Adams said, according to the affidavit by OSBI Lt. Brenna Alvarez.

Ivon Adams “then laid her on the ground and punched her at least three more times in the chest” and the child “never moved after that.”

The document does not reveal why Ivon Adams was beating the girl.

He left the home with Athena at about 1am on December 26 and later returned, saying he buried her body on land the Adams once owned near Rush Springs, marking the site with “a large broken branch.”

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Ivon Adams has been charged with murder and child neglect after being arrested in Arizona while his wife has been charged with two counts of child neglect.

Tim Hanlon