Billy Bennett Adams: Rapper sentenced to death for killing pregnant girlfriend days after double-murder acquittal

Alana Sims was shot to death by Billy Bennett Adams because he was not ready to have a child and did not want her in his life
UPDATED MAR 29, 2023
Billy Bennett Adams killed his girlfriend Alana Smith who was five months pregnant (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Shahelvi Sims/Facebook)
Billy Bennett Adams killed his girlfriend Alana Smith who was five months pregnant (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Shahelvi Sims/Facebook)

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Billy Bennett Adams, a rapper by profession, faces death penalty for allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend just days after his double-murder acquittal. Alana Sims was shot to death by the 25-year-old man because he seemingly was not ready to have a child and did not want her in his life.

"The capital felony was a homicide and was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification," according to a filing in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, March 25, for the State's Attorney Office of the 13th Judicial Circuit. The 22-year-old who was five months pregnant was found dead on January 30, 2022, reported Law and Crime.

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Sim's brutal murder 

On January 27, he was acquitted of the 2020 murder of Trevon Albury and Daniel Thompson. Days later, Adams lured his pregnant girlfriend to a party for celebrating the verdict. However, he fatally shot Sims and abandoned her body near the SUV which she borrowed to meet the rapper, according to police. Following her death, her 18-month-old son was found alive in the vehicle parked in the Easton Park subdivision. In February, the rapper pleaded not guilty to a count each of first-degree murder and killing of an unborn child by injury to the mother. 

Adams didn't believe he was the father of Sim’s unborn child

After police tracked down the rapper as Sims' boyfriend, he allegedly denied at the time knowing she was dead and shifted stories. Authorities stated, "Further Adams stated he did not believe he was the father of the victim’s unborn child and stated he had not seen, spoken with, or texted the victim in several months," and added, "Lastly, Adams told detectives that he was at home the entire evening and that he did not leave the house until the next day."

According to authorities, a search warrant was obtained for Adams' house and they seized his phone. Investigators found that the rapper was messaging a woman named Lakenya Brantley. Following Adams' arrest, he first denied being in contact with his pregnant girlfriend on January 30. After many inconsistencies in his story, Adams finally confessed to meeting her and allegedly claimed that he murdered her in self-defense. He is currently held at the Hillsborough County's Falkenburg Road Jail without bond, reported Law and Crime.

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