Athena Brownfield was allegedly beaten to death on Christmas Day by one of her caregivers and buried near a fence, newly-released court documents revealed on Tuesday.
The search for the four-year-old Oklahoma girl was changed to a ‘recovery operation’ to find her remains after both her caregivers were arrested.
Ivon Adams, 36, and his estranged wife Alysia Adams, 31, had been caring for the sisters and the couple were arrested separately last week.
Now the documents are shedding new light on her murder, revealing that Ivon Adams allegedly laid the child on the ground and hit her three times. She didn’t move after that, court documents claimed.
The alleged killing happened at the home on West Nebraska and Alysia reportedly told investigators that Ivon had left the house around 1 a.m. on December 26 with Athena’s body.
The alarm was raised last week after a postal carrier found Athena’s older sister Adina, 5, wandering alone outside the home of the couple in Cyril, a small city 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, on January 10.
Ivon Adams (left) was jailed in Arizona and is facing a murder charge. Alysia Adams (right), was arrested on two counts of child neglect
The Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations continues to search for Athena Brownfield. The four-year-old was reported missing on January 10 but could have been missing since at least January 6, authorities say
When Ivon returned home, he allegedly told Alysia that he buried Athena near a fence line that was next to their old residence in Rush Springs, court documents claimed.
Phone records reportedly showed Ivon leaving the home and traveling to Rush Springs around 4:15 a.m.
Ivon is facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of child neglect and Alysia is facing two counts of child neglect.
In a statement, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said: ‘Special Agents… along with our partners at the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), have been searching areas of Caddo County for the toddler’s remains.’
The agency asked the the public not to help in the search, saying that they could end up trespassing or contaminating potential evidence.
The sisters’ biological parents – who have not been named – have been interviewed by authorities and are cooperating with the investigation, the OSBI said. Athena’s sister has been taken into protective custody.
Authorities said they believe Athena was wearing a hoodie with a butterfly design when she disappeared.
Volunteers and multiple law enforcement agencies have been involved in the search, which included a helicopter, boats, all-terrain vehicles, a specially trained ground team, and a review of surveillance video from around Cyril.
The city of Cyril has also suspended trash service as investigators search for clues.
The bureau said agents were following up on tips coming from Oklahoma and other states.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol were seen searching for Athena in a body of water near her home
The child vanished from this house in Cyril, Oklahoma, a small city 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, on January 10
On Thursday, Ivon Adams was arrested in Phoenix and is now awaiting extradition to Oklahoma. Alysia Adams, who is related to the sisters, was arrested in Oklahoma on the same day.
Jail records do not list attorneys for either who could comment on the accusations against them.
While authorities have revealed that the pair are married, it appears they have since split, with Alysia seen spending a romantic weekend away with her boyfriend just days after Athena went missing.
Athena is shown with her older sister Adina, who was found last Tuesday wandering around outside the home the girls had been living in
While authorities have said Ivon and Alysia are married, the pair appear to have split. They have four biological children of their own
The postal worker who found Athena’s sister said she checked the home and no one appeared to be there.
Adina is said to have told the worker that she was hungry, and that she couldn’t find Athena – who is described as being ‘very shy’.
Over the weekend of January 7 and 8, Alysia, who had guardianship of the sisters, was seen enjoying a trip to the movies and a meal over an hour away in Oklahoma City with her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis.
Athena’s grandmother Penny Brownfield said the family is trying to remain hopeful
Over the weekend of Jan 7 and 8, Alysia – who had guardianship of the sisters with her estranged husband Ivon – enjoyed a trip to the movies and a meal over an hour away in Oklahoma City with her new boyfriend, Blayden Davis
Alysia calls herself a ‘beauty influencer’. She regularly uploads videos to TikTok but the kids are never shown
Alysia regularly shares videos of herself rapping on TikTok, singing along to the N-word and making joke clips about her life as a busy mother.
She has four children of her own who regularly feature on her Instagram account, but Athena and Adina were never shown. It remains unclear how the girls ended up in her care.
The children’s paternal grandmother, Penny Brownfield, is in Cyril, and joined the search for her missing grandchild.
