Hailey Dunn Missing: Possible Remains Found Near Suspect's Home
Remains found near home of suspect in 13-year-old cheerleader's disappearance.
March 21, 2012 -- Human remains found in Texas have raised the possibility that the body of missing teenager Hailey Dunn will be located in a pasture just one mile from the home of a person of interest in her disappearance.
Dunn, 13, disappeared more than a year ago from her home in Colorado City, Texas, and the investigation into her disappearance quickly turned to her mother, Billie Jean Dunn, and her mother's boyfriend, Shawn Adkins.
Police in Big Spring,Texas, announced Tuesday that they had discovered human remains in an airfield less than one mile from the home of Adkin's mother. Police said the remains appeared to have been there for "a long period of time," according to the San Angelo Standard Times.
The location of the remains renewed focus on Adkins, who during the police investigation failed to complete three lie detector tests and gave contradictory statements to police about the events leading up to Dunn's disappearance. Adkins told police he went directly from his job, in Snyder, Texas, to his mother's home in Big Spring on Monday morning, Dec. 27, around 6 a.m. He told police he was fired from his job, and then later told them he had quit. His employers denied both claims.
Phone records, however, showed that Adkins had gone from his workplace to Colorado City, where the Dunns lived, shortly after 6 a.m. on Monday. According to the affidavit, Hailey Dunn would have been the only person at home in Colorado City during the time that Adkins was also in Colorado City.
Adkins, then 25, returned to his mother's home by around 9 a.m., according to the phone records, and made 11 phone calls between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. that day. Hailey's mother, Billie Jean, reported her daughter missing around 2 p.m. that day.
Adkins was the last person to see the 13-year-old cheerleader Dec. 27, 2010.
According to the affidavit, Adkins also told a witness during the investigation that killing a young girl was like "killing a deer," which the witness described as an Adkins hobby.
Adkins and Billie Jean Dunn were also found to be in possession of dozens of printed-out news reports and documents about serial killers, murderers, sexual sadists, motives for major crimes, and similar material, according to the affidavit.
Billie Jean Dunn admitted that on the night of her daughter's disappearance, she and her boyfriend had taken $140 out of an ATM machine in order to buy illegal narcotics that night. Billie Jean also failed two polygraph exams, once because of narcotic use and once because of deceptive answers, according to the document.
Police in Colorado City said that they would only become involved in the case of the remains if they were identified as belonging to Dunn.
No official connection has been made between the remains found Tuesday and Hailey Dunn. The FBI confirmed today that an evidence recovery team was assisting Big Spring police in recovering the evidence.
Hailey Dunn Missing: Possible Remains of Texas Teen Cheerleader Found
There are also claims that the couple had a New Year's party, just days after the 13-year-old girl disappeared, according to the affidavit.
Dunn denied that, telling the Associated Press that just a few friends came over for drinks.
Dunn told the Associated Press that she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance. She said that she asked Adkins to move out Jan. 5.
Records show that police were called to Dunn's home in February 2010 after Adkins threatened to hurt Billie and Hailey Dunn.