A jury's verdict brought an end to a sordid case that began on December 9, 2011, when a man reported that his pregnant wife was missing. Nearly a month later, the body of 25-year-old Jaymie Adams of Blanchard was found near a dirt bike track at Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City. She had been stabbed 29 times.
Initially, Adams's husband was the prime suspect, and he was eventually charged with two counts of first degree murder for the deaths of his wife and unborn child. However, more than a year later, police found a new suspect: Joseph Richard Cyr, 34, of Skiatook.
On the night of Jaymie Adams's murder, her husband says, she met three or four men to engage in prostitution to "pay bills." One of those men was Cyr, who admitted that he contacted Jaymie Adams, but denied meeting her.
After DNA evidence found on Adams's body connected Cyr to the case, he admitted that he met her for sex, but denied killing her. He was charged with first degree murder in the deaths of Jaymie Adams and her fetus, and the charges against Justin Adams were reduced to manslaughter.
According to Justin Adams's attorney, the manslaughter charge was an attempt to save face after investigators wrongfully tried to build a case against the man. Adams was charged with manslaughter for "aiding and abetting" his wife's prostitution, leading to her murder. After spending six months in jail, Adams pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying he did not trust the system and did not want to face a jury. He was given two 10-year suspended sentences.
Cyr's attorney argued that DNA evidence only confirmed that his client had sex with the woman, and he says there is no evidence to connect Cyr to the murder. Prosecutors focused on the fact that Cyr lied to police about meeting the woman; his defense asked in closing arguments, "Is lying to people about meeting a prostitute common? ... Maybe he's scared. He knows he had sex with her."
Although the defense says that there is no physical evidence that Cyr was the one who murdered Jaymie Adams, the prosecution pointed out that the man used her cell phone after her death in an attempt to "cover his tracks."
Now, a jury has determined that Joseph Cyr is, in fact, the man responsible for Jaymie Adams's murder. After deliberating 7 hours, the jury returned guilty verdicts for two counts of first degree murder and recommended a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
