Criminal Details

DothanEagle.com
Matt Elofson – Aug 6, 2015 Updated Aug 7, 2015

Shawn Adkison guilty of murder in Geneva County woman’s death

A jury found a Slocomb man guilty of murder on Thursday in less than 20 minutes.

Geneva County District Attorney Kirke Adams said the jury returned with the guilty verdict against 41-year-old Shawn Lee Adkison. He faces 10 to 99 years or life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

Adkison was one of two people indicted on felony murder charges in connection to the death of 49-year-old Debbie Ayres. The trial against Adkison started earlier this week in Geneva.

A similar felony murder charge remains pending against Christopher Edward Finley, 45, of Dothan. His case was also scheduled for trial this week, but it was delayed.

Authorities originally arrested both Finley and Adkison in October 2014. State police investigators initially only charged Finley with murder and filed a felony hindering prosecution charge against Adkison. Deputies with the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office assisted in making the arrests.

Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms told the Dothan Eagle earlier that the charges stemmed from a Geneva County missing person investigation. The victim’s body was found in October 2014 on property off U.S. 84 West in the Wicksburg community.

Helms said Ayres was found buried in 3 to 4 feet of dirt in the woods just past County Road 9 in Wicksburg. Helms said Ayres lived in the Black community of Geneva County.

Source: View DothanEagle.com Article

Criminal Details

WTVY.com
Press Release: AL Attorney General Luther Strange

Appeals Court Upholds Geneva County Murder Conviction

Attorney General Luther Strange announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals last Friday upheld the murder conviction of Shawn Adkison. Adkison, 42, of Slocomb, was convicted in Geneva County Circuit Court in August of 2015 for the murder of Debbie Ayers.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Adkison was involved in a dispute with Ayers and that he killed her on August 14, 2014. Ayers died of blunt force trauma to the head.

The case was prosecuted at trial by Geneva County District Attorney Kirke Adams’ office. Adkison was sentenced to a term of 85 years’ imprisonment. Adkison subsequently sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued on Friday, July 1.

Attorney General Strange commended Assistant Attorney General Beth Slate Poe of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section for her successful work in this case.

Source: View WTVY.com Article

Criminal Details

WTVY.com
WTVY News 4 – Published: Jul. 19, 2018 at 4:24 PM CDT

Convicted Geneva Co. murderer denied by Criminal Appeals Court

The Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals has denied the petition of Shawn Lee Adkison. Adkison from Slocomb was convicted of the 2014 murder of Debbie Ayers.

Adkison, 44, of Slocomb, was convicted in Geneva County Circuit Court in 2015, for the murder of Debbie Ayers. Evidence presented at trial showed that Adkison was involved in a dispute with Ayers and that he killed her on August 14, 2014. Ayers died of blunt force trauma to the head.

The Geneva County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Upon conviction, Adkison was sentenced to 85 years in prison. Adkison’s subsequent attempts to have his conviction and sentence reversed on appeal have been rejected by the courts.

Source: View WTVY.com Article