Blair Adams articles

[MegtheEgg86]

I was doing a bit of research on the Adams case and found these in the archives of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. There's a smidge or two of info in them that didn't make it into the UM segment that I find particularly interesting. Well worth the $5.00 I had to shell out for them.

Published: July 12, 1996

CANADIAN MAN'S PARTIALLY NUDE BODY FOUND AT KNOX CONSTRUCTION SITE

JAMIE SATTERFIELD, STAFF WRITER
A Canadian man whose partially nude body was found at a construction site in East Knox County Thursday checked into a Strawberry Plains Pike motel hours before authorities believe he was beaten to death.

The only luggage authorities found, however, was a duffel-type bag that contained ``a number of receipts,'' including a plane ticket and documentation on two cars the victim rented, Knox County Sheriff's Department spokesman Chuck Denney said.The victim, identified as Blair Robert Dennis Adams, 31, of Surrey, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, was clad in a shirt only. Denney said his jeans, tennis shoes and socks were found by detectives near the body.

Detectives also found several sets of keys and a mix of American, Canadian and German currency around the area where the body was located, Denney said.

Authorities were called about the case around 7:30 a.m. when construction workers arrived at the site of a hotel that is under construction just off Strawberry Plains Pike. Denney said the body was found in a parking area of the construction site, and there was ``no attempt to hide the body.''

Denney said the body was surrounded by blood. Authorities believe Adams was beaten to death.

Adams had what appeared to be a defensive wound on his hand, but Denney said no further details could be released without jeopardizing the case.

A security guard at a nearby business told detectives he heard a ``very short, abrupt scream'' around 3:30 a.m. and believed it was a woman's voice, Denney said.

Denney said Adams rented a room late Wednesday night at a motel located within a half mile of where Adams' body was found. There was no luggage in the room.

Denney said detectives found a duffel-type bag that apparently belonged to Adams ``around the corner'' from where the body was found.

Using receipts and documents from that bag, Denney said detectives have traced some of Adams' steps before his death.

Authorities believe Adams rented a car July 9 in Vancouver and then drove to Seattle, where he boarded a plane bound for Washington, D.C. Adams then rented a white 1996 Toyota Camry, which Denney said was due back July 12.

The Camry was found Thursday afternoon at an East Knox auto repair shop.

``We have no idea why he came to Knoxville,'' Denney said.

Detectives also do not know if the Strawberry Plains Pike motel was Adams' first stop, he said.

The detectives also are in contact with British Columbia police to try to find out more about Adams' background.




Published: July 13, 1996

OFFICIALS SEEK CLUES IN MAN'S DEATH

SKIP LACKEY, STAFF WRITER
Authorities are searching for a Canadian man who might shed some light on the death of a fellow Canadian whose partially nude body was found in East Knox County.

The body of Blair Robert Dennis Adams, 31, of Surrey, British Columbia, was found Thursday in the parking lot of a hotel under construction off the Strawberry Plains Pike interchange of Interstate 40.Authorities said they believe Adams was beaten to death. They are investigating the possibility his killing was a sex crime, Knox County Sheriff's Department spokesman Chuck Denney.

Denney said authorities found in Adams' belongings a rental car receipt from Seattle signed by a fellow Canadian.

Authorities declined to release the man's identity but said they hope he can tell them why Adams was in Knox County after renting a car in Washington, D.C.

Adams had what appeared to be a defensive wound on his hand, but Denney said no further details could be released without jeopardizing the case.

On Friday, the Sheriff's Department released a composite picture of Adams, hoping someone will recognize him and help establish a timeline of his whereabouts -- and identify anyone who might have been with Adams before his death.

``It could have been he was in the company of another person during the last few hours of his life,'' Denney said.

Denney said the composite drawing shows Adams unshaven as he was at the time of death compared to his existing passport photograph with facial hair.

The only luggage authorities found was a duffel-type bag that contained a number of receipts, including the one signed by the Canadian being sought.

Detectives also found several sets of keys and a mix of American, Canadian and German currency around the area where the body was located, Denney said.

Authorities believe Adams rented a car July 9 in Vancouver then drove to Seattle, where he boarded a plane bound for Washington, D.C.

Adams then rented a white 1996 Toyota Camry, which Denney said was due back Friday.

The Camry was found Thursday afternoon at an East Knox auto repair shop.

Denney said authorities "have no idea'' why Adams, a construction worker, came to Knoxville.




If the scream did indeed come from a woman, then somebody obviously witnessed the murder as it took place, and somebody knows something that hasn't come forward. But I'm kind of leaning towards the idea that the scream might've came from Adams himself.

The multiple sets of keys are weird, but probably explain why a totally disoriented Adams had a Nissan key in his possession and insisted that it was the one he had been using. And who is the "fellow Canadian" that signed the rental car receipt?

[Mastermind]

Nice article!!

I wonder if that woman that screamed...might have been a prostitute?

Would explain why she hasn't come forward.

[MegtheEgg86]

Possibly, although that particular area of Knoxville is still sort of in development and the hotel was brand new at the time of the murder: it's not what you would call the "seedy" part of town. Anything is definitely possible, however.

Maybe the woman was accompanying either Adams or his killer at the time of the murder? Perhaps she ran.

[Corky Kneivel]

I was JUST ABOUT to post abou tthis very segment! I re-watched it last night and I was going to post about how it is the number one most un-explainable segment, in my opinion. (after reading about how the ballistics tests were screwed up in that odd case about the gun being stolen, used ina murder, pawned, bought, then found during a traffic stop)

Thanks for the info and thanks for creeping me out that of all the numerous segments that could have come up today...it just so happened to be the very one I watched last night and was going to post about.

(CrystalDawn's Best of... Volume #5 represent!)

[MegtheEgg86]

Hahaha you're welcome for the creep-out.

There's just so much weird to this case it's crazy. I was even finding it difficult to explain to my husband last night, as there's so many things that just don't make sense---the back and forth to the Canada/U.S. border, the shelling out tons of money (wasn't it like $750 or so?) to take a plane from B.C. to Seattle, the plans to go to Germany, the odd crime scene.

But the whole "why Knoxville?" thing I think was overemphasized. I'm really not of the opinion that Adams actually set out from D.C. intending to come to Knoxville. I think it was meant to have been a temporary stop; his car wouldn't start, after all. I never understood why UM seemed to present it as though he deliberately set out for East Tennessee.

[Mastermind]

I have long ventured the theory that Blair Adams was involved in some type of illegal smuggling activity. Possibly even espionage. Money laundering seems like the most probable.

I wonder if Blair was going to snitch on the people he was working for and was killed by them to silence him. It would explain why the attackers weren;t interested in robbing him. They may have wanted to search his pockets for something like a key to a safe deposit box. They spilled his money on the ground looking for it, but didn;t disturb the jewelry once they found what they were looking for.

Perhaps Blair was trying to get to DC to speak to the CIA, FBI or some other govt people. Maybe his meeting place with a "handler" was in Knoxville.

[MegtheEgg86]

You know, I never thought about that but it makes sense. Organized crime revenge can be pretty brutal and those who carry out hits oftentimes leave their victims in symbolic or otherwise undignified positions. That may explain the pants being down (as there was nothing mentioned about a rape, which wouldn't be far from a thug's behavior either).

And that's a good possible explanation for his totally erratic behavior. If he was participating in some sort of organized crime, it was likely he also knew of or participated in some way in other hits on those rumored to be squealers. So he would've known what was about to happen to him, and was doing everything in his power to run away---including spending over $500 on a plane ticket to a location about 200 miles away from his home, contemplating leaving for Europe, and going to a place where he knew no one, or to someone who would provide him protection.

Very, very interesting. Good thinking!

[imwithyou2688]

Of all the murder cases ive seen, this is still the most bizarre and mysterious death of all time. im so glad i found atleast a thread on it, because i totally forgot his name, but i did remeber Canada, and that his pants were found partially off when they found him dead. i wanted to know if they ever solved it--but it looks like they didnt. do they have this one in the DVD series??

[MegtheEgg86]

This one has always been of keen interest to me, too....I always have an interest in cases that take place (literally) close to home. If you're refering to the DVD series that First Look Media released a while back, the Blair Adams segment is unfortunately not on any of them (there's not a "Disappearances" set, sadly). But our moderator crystaldawn has 17 "Best Of" volumes of UM episodes that she's compiled. I'm not sure which one the Adams segment is on, though. I'm sure if you send her a private message she could give you more info.

Welcome to the board!

[Mastermind]

Just thought of something..

(I'm assuming Blairs underpants were still on and not partially removed. )

if you were going to look through the pants pockets of someone who was prone on the ground it is near impossible to do so with the pants on. Especially since Blair probably had some weight on him and his pants were probably not loose fit.

But if you remove the pants to the ankles. It would probably be far more easier to search the pockets.

I mean try it with someone like your spouse. Try to empty their pockets with them prostrate on the floor. It's probably not that easy. But if the pants were down on the ankles, it's much looser and easier to empty the pockets

Also, is assume the way the cash was strewn on around the body seems more like someone took the cash out of the pockets and just threw them on the ground like they had no value. Same with the key.

If it was a homosexual message or a humiliation, i don;t think they would have stopped at his pants, i think they would have took his underpants down as well.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Mastermind

Just thought of something..

(I'm assuming Blairs underpants were still on and not partially removed. )

if you were going to look through the pants pockets of someone who was prone on the ground it is near impossible to do so with the pants on. Especially since Blair probably had some weight on him and his pants were probably not loose fit.

But if you remove the pants to the ankles. It would probably be far more easier to search the pockets.

I mean try it with someone like your spouse. Try to empty their pockets with them prostrate on the floor. It's probably not that easy. But if the pants were down on the ankles, it's much looser and easier to empty the pockets

Also, is assume the way the cash was strewn on around the body seems more like someone took the cash out of the pockets and just threw them on the ground like they had no value. Same with the key.

If it was a homosexual message or a humiliation, i don;t think they would have stopped at his pants, i think they would have took his underpants down as well.

If that's the case, do you think he may have just had something in his possession that would've been incriminating for somebody else? Perhaps he was going to meet up with a law enforcement official and was about to rat someone out, maybe?

[Speculator]

My condolences to all those who knew Blair Adams.

There have been some comments and questions on other threads about this case, and a question as to whether Adams was of sound mind.

Despite the comments on his past history and issues with drugs and alcohol, and his erratic and seemingly paranoid behavior, I think it is clear that this is a homicide case. I think the fact that law enforcement officials are still requesting information from the public and hoping for clues points to this, (details of the case aside).

The cause of death is interesting. One does not deliver a blow to themselves that ruptures the stomach - and even if Adams had indeed found a way to do such a thing to himself the weapon of choice would have been found at the scene. He had defensive wounds on his body, and the initial officers on the scene stated that his clothes were removed in such a way to suggest that someone else had done the removing. THIS WAS A HOMICIDE. PERIOD. Adams obviously feared for his life - and justifiably so.

No money was taken - that was not the point of interest here. Adams' behavior suggests that he himself had done some illegal action - he refused to speak with his mother about the situation and he did not go to the authorities for protection despite being convinced that his life was in danger - enough to drain his accounts and leave his relations without a word.

And, I think it is interesting that the assailant did not use a knife or gun to deliver the killing "shot." On a different thread, it was said that Adams had a fling with a girl in Germany and there was some suspicion that his situation originated there. I tend to agree. The first thought that came to my mind with this fact was that it would be difficult for a non-U.S. citizen to legally acquire a standard weapon in a short period of time. I'm assuming that police exhausted all avenues with phone and credit card records - coming up with no leads. This is very odd - given our forensic resources today (hair and fiber analysis, fingerprints, etc.), the fact that they were able to trace his travels and speak with relatives and friends, they had a conclusive cause of death, etc. PERHAPS THAT'S BECAUSE THE LEADS CAN ONLY BE FOUND ON FOREIGN SOIL? The assailant could have been on his/her way out of the country by the time the investigation was underway. But, another question is how the assailant could have traced Adams' whereabouts if indeed they were coming from another country?

[Orgazmo]

After seeing this segment again I looked it up and found this article stating a cold case group has been formed for Blair's and other cold cases.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/ma...otten/?print=1

[mdl1981]

This is one of the strangest cases on UM. Do you all think he was really running from something? Or did he just lose his mind/have a psychotic break, and then just died in a random type homicide?

[Tao]

Originally Posted by mdl1981

This is one of the strangest cases on UM. Do you all think he was really running from something? Or did he just lose his mind/have a psychotic break, and then just died in a random type homicide?

That's always what I thought. He lost his mind and with the way he was acting, someone took advantage. From the eyewitness accounts, everybody could tell he was disoriented and didn't know what the heck he was doing. But, with robbery pretty much ruled out as a motive, that seems less likely.