Posted 8:51 am Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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Inmate Set To Die This Week Wins Reprieve
From Staff and Wire Reports
HUNTSVILLE — A 29-year-old convict set to die this week for a fatal shooting during the robbery and abduction of 3 peoples at an East Texas convenience store has won a reprieve from a federal judge.
HUNTSVILLE — A 29-year-old convict set to die this week for a fatal shooting during the robbery and abduction of 3 peoples at an East Texas convenience store has won a reprieve from a federal judge.
Beunka Adams was set to die by lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville for the September 2002 slaying of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever outside Rusk. Vandever and two women were abducted during the robbery, one of the women was raped, and all three were shot. The women survived.
Lawyers for A-dams convinced U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in Texarkana that the execution should be delayed until the courts review allegations that Adams had poor legal help in the early stages of his
appeals.
Lawyers for A-dams convinced U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in Texarkana that the execution should be delayed until the courts review allegations that Adams had poor legal help in the early stages of his
appeals.
It's unclear if the Texas Attorney General's office would or could appeal Monday's ruling.
Adams and Richard Aaron Cobb were convicted of kidnapping Vandever and two women from the BDJ convenience store in Rusk just after midnight on Sept. 2, 2002. After robbing the store, the men drove the three to a remote pea patch on Cherokee County Road 2434. The men put Vandever and one of the women into the trunk and Cobb stood over them with a shotgun while Adams raped the other woman in the field, according to earlier Tyler Morning Telegraph reports. Then, the men made all three kneel in the field and shot them one-by-one from behind.
Adams and Richard Aaron Cobb were convicted of kidnapping Vandever and two women from the BDJ convenience store in Rusk just after midnight on Sept. 2, 2002. After robbing the store, the men drove the three to a remote pea patch on Cherokee County Road 2434. The men put Vandever and one of the women into the trunk and Cobb stood over them with a shotgun while Adams raped the other woman in the field, according to earlier Tyler Morning Telegraph reports. Then, the men made all three kneel in the field and shot them one-by-one from behind.
Vandever was shot first, in the back. The woman who was raped was shot in her upper left shoulder. The other woman fell down and pretended to have been shot; but, during testimony, she said Adams drew near and stuck the gun near her head, asking, “Are you dead?”
She flinched as Adams prepared to fire, and she suffered a graze and powder wounds to her mouth.
She flinched as Adams prepared to fire, and she suffered a graze and powder wounds to her mouth.
Assuming the three were dead, the men left the scene, according to the previous reports. They were arrested a few hours later in Jacksonville. Testimony showed Cobb was the one who fired the shot that killed Vandever, who was a customer at the store when the robbery and kidnapping took place, according to the earlier reports. Vandever, who was 37 when he was killed, had suffered brain damage in a car accident while in college.
The women, both employees at the convenience store, survived their injuries and ran to nearby homes to call police. Both of the women testified against Adams and Cobb in their criminal trials in 2004.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, Cobb remains on death row.
The mother of one of the female victims told KYTX CBS19 Monday night that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice notified the family that Adams' execution was stayed. The mother said the family has not spoken out after all these years until now and that the family feels violated.
The family plans to make a public statement today.
KYTX CBS19 contributed to this report.
The women, both employees at the convenience store, survived their injuries and ran to nearby homes to call police. Both of the women testified against Adams and Cobb in their criminal trials in 2004.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, Cobb remains on death row.
The mother of one of the female victims told KYTX CBS19 Monday night that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice notified the family that Adams' execution was stayed. The mother said the family has not spoken out after all these years until now and that the family feels violated.
The family plans to make a public statement today.
KYTX CBS19 contributed to this report.
