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Authorities have confirmed the death of Athena Brownfield, a 4-year-old girl from Oklahoma, nearly three weeks after she was reported missing. Her body was reportedly discovered outside Rush Springs in rural Grady County, Oklahoma.
Athena Brownfield was reported missing on January 10, 2023, after a postal worker found her five-year-old sister wandering outside her caretaker's home in Cyril, Oklahoma. Athena’s biological mother reportedly left the missing girl and her sister in the care of Ivon Adams and his wife, Alysia Adams, for over a year.
On January 17, authorities recovered the child's body but did not immediately identify the remains. On January 26, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) announced that they had positively identified the remains of Athena Brownfield, who was reportedly killed on December 25, 2022, by her male caretaker Ivon Adams. Athena’s body was reportedly recovered outside Rush Springs in rural Grady County, where Ivon Adams previously owned property.
Authorities are yet to reveal details on the case, including whether the children’s caretakers were related to the victim’s mother, as Caddo County District Court Judge David Stephens signed a gag order in the case preventing officials from divulging any information to the public.
What happened to Athena Brownfield?
Athena Brownfield, a 4-year-old girl who was under the care of Ivon and Alysia Adams alongside her sister, was reported missing on January 10 after the postal carrier found her 5-year-old sister wandering around alone in Cyril, Oklahoma.
Investigators, who began looking for the missing girl, soon switched gears to find the missing body on January 16 after the child’s female caregiver, Alysia Adams, confessed to authorities that on Christmas Day, her husband Ivon beat the child to death. Alysia said that her husband left home with Athena’s dead body and later told her that he buried her near the fence line of their old property in Rush Springs, Oklahoma.
Authorities later recovered a body from the scene on January 17, nearly a month after she was killed. After positively identifying Athena's remains, officials said in a statement:
"The Oklahoma Office of Chief Medical Examiner has positively identified the remains [OSBI] agents recovered on January 17, 2023, as those of Athena Brownfield, 4.”
Ivon Adams, who fled to Phoenix, Arizona, after the alleged murder, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and child neglect. The suspect's wife, Alysia, was also charged with two counts of child neglect.
Authorities have yet to reveal any other details in the case, including the biological mother's reasons for leaving her children in the care of their alleged abusers.
