Investigation ongoing

The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Friday morning indicating that they and the Chesapeake Police Department are investigating a suspicious death in that village, with the assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Detectives with the sheriff’s office received a tip from an informant telling them that there was a dead body at 603 Rockwood Avenue. The sheriff’s office and Chesapeake police began their investigation of the address at around 7 a.m., and, after conducting a search of the residence, they found the victim, David Adkins, 48, in the basement of the home.

BCI was called in to process the scene, as foul play was suspected.

“We are in the very early stages of this investigation, and we cannot divulge a lot of information at this time, as we do not want to compromise any criminal case,” explained Sheriff Jeff Lawless in a statement early Friday morning.

However, by Friday afternoon the sheriff’s office had secured a confession from his wife, Tina M. Campbell Adkins, 42.

The office confirmed that a member of Adkins family had reported him missing on Thursday, and they had visited his home at that time, but saw no evidence of wrongdoing and had no probable cause to enter the residence.

After the missing person report was filed, the informant reached out to them late Thursday evening. Based on that information, they obtained a search warrant and investigated the home again on Friday morning.

The body, which was believed to belong to Adkins, was found inside a refrigerator in the basement of the home. Although it is believed to be Adkins, the identity of the body has not yet been confirmed by the Lawrence County Coroner’s office.

Tina Adkins was taken into custody at the time the search warrant was executed, and during an interview with detectives admitted that she had killed her husband.

Tina Adkins was charged with murder, a felony of the first degree, and was arraigned in Lawrence County Municipal Court on Friday. She is currently being held in the Lawrence County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond.

BCI collected evidence at the premises, and the body has been removed to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office where an autopsy will be conducted to determine cause of death.

The investigation is ongoing, and we will update this story with new information as it becomes available.