Bio

Brittny Marie Adams was born in the early 1990s and resided in Topeka, Kansas, prior to the events that led to her conviction. Public records provide limited information about her childhood and early family life. At the time of the offense, Adams was 19 years old and had been living a transient lifestyle, relying on acquaintances for transportation and housing.

Court testimony and investigative reports indicated that Adams was experiencing personal instability in the months leading up to the homicide. She told investigators that her vehicle had been taken by two acquaintances who allegedly abandoned her in Topeka. This claim formed the basis of her explanation for why she sought out the Edens residence in Lawrence on the day of the shooting.

Adams had prior contact with the criminal justice system before July 2013, including unrelated charges in Shawnee County, though none involved homicide. No evidence was presented suggesting a prior relationship between Adams and the victim, Gary Edens, before the day of the shooting.

Murder Story

In July 2013, 51-year-old Gary Edens of Lawrence died. Douglas County prosecutors charged Brittny Marie Adams, a Topeka woman, with second-degree murder soon after.

A Wichita man named Johnathan Rush was arrested with Adams. Both were taken into custody in Topeka less than an hour after the incident.

At a December preliminary hearing, prosecutors asked to change the charge against Adams to premeditated first-degree murder. A former Douglas County Jail cellmate testified that Adams had boasted about causing Edens’ death.

Adams pleaded not guilty at that hearing. On January 17, 2014, she pleaded guilty to intentional second-degree murder. She also entered a plea of no contest to two counts of felony criminal threats made to a corrections officer.

On February 28, 2014, District Judge Sally D. Pokorny sentenced Adams to 155 months, nearly 13 years, for second-degree murder. The sentence was set to run consecutively with the other terms, and she agreed not to file departure motions or request probation.

Adams also received two six-month sentences for threatening a Douglas County Jail corrections officer. She must register as a violent offender for 10 years after her sentence.

Jeremy Edens, the victim’s son, spoke in court during the sentencing. He told Adams that she had taken his father’s life and said the family must now cope without him.

Prosecutors said Adams and Rush had gone to the Edens home seeking information about two women who had taken Adams’ car. Court testimony said they were arrested in Topeka and that some items were discarded after they left.

Rush later pleaded guilty in federal court to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He received a federal prison sentence of about 40 months, and some lesser county charges were dismissed when federal charges were filed.

The case was noted as the first homicide in Lawrence since 2008. When charged, Adams was held on a $100,000 bond.