Athena Brownfield: Body of a child recovered from spot where caregiver claims missing girl, 4, was buried
CYRIL, OKLAHOMA: Cops in Oklahoma have reportedly recovered the body of a child in an area where the caregiver of missing Athena Brownfield claimed the four-year-old was beaten to death and buried by her husband. Authorities found the body during their search for the missing child in rural Grady County, outside of Rush Springs.
In a news release on Tuesday, January 17, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) stated that they "cannot confirm the remains are those of Athena Brownfield" who was reported missing since January 10. Authorities said that the remains will be transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Oklahoma City for positive identification.
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On January 10, a postal worker found Athena's five-year-old elder sister Adina alone in front of the home of the children's guardians, Ivon Adams, 36, and Alysa, 31 at around 2.00 pm, and after that, they filed a missing complaint. For "at least a year," the children were in Adam's care. The duo was taken into custody on Thursday, January 12 and the missing child's elder sister is under protective custody, according to Daily Mail.
In the court documents released on Tuesday, January 17, it was revealed that the caregiver told the case investigators that her estranged husband Adams buried Athena's body after she was beaten to death. The murderer buried the four-year-old child's body inside the property where they used to live in Rush Springs.
The child's body was allegedly buried after he hit her three times and she did not move following the incident that took place around midnight on Christmas, according to the court documents mentioning Alysa's statement to the OSBI. On December 26, at around 1.00 am her husband left the spot on West Nebraska Avenue and as he reached home, he told Alysa that the child's body was laid on the ground close to a fence line near their old residence in Rush Springs, Oklahoma. He further said that he placed a large broken branch over the grave.
On Thursday, January 12, Ivon and Alysa were arrested. He will reportedly be facing murder charges and he will be extradited back to Oklahoma whereas two counts of child neglect are faced by Alysa.
According to Daily Mail, Alysa told investigators that she had been inside her home. While she was interviewed by investigators last week, she told them that she was "tired of being alone." The identity of the biological parents of the sisters has not been disclosed. The OSBI said that authorities have been interviewing the parents and they are cooperating with the case investigation.