Caddo County District Attorney Seeking Death Penalty Against Caretaker Of Athena Brownfield

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a woman charged with the murder of 4-year-old Athena Brownfield.

The Caddo County District Attorney announced on Thursday their office will be pursuing the death penalty against Alysia Adams, who is charged with first-degree murder.

Athena was reported missing in January 2023 and was later found buried in a shallow grave in Rush Springs on a property Adams had previously resided on.

Adams and her husband, Ivon Adams, were Athena's and her 5-year-old sister's caretakers.

The Caddo County District Attorney filed the paperwork on Wednesday and said he's pursuing the death penalty because Adams "knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person... and that Athena's death was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" in the filing.

UPDATE: Ivon Adams is charged with Second-Degree Murder, Child Neglect, and Unlawful Removal of a Body. Initially charged with First Degree Murder based on statements from his wife, Alysia Adams, prosecutors downgraded his charges in Dec. 2023 while upgrading hers to First Degree Murder and Child Neglect.