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Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Woman has boyfriend kill her stepdad for life insurance payout, Florida cops say
A woman increased her stepdad's life insurance policy to $750,000, then 16 days later had her boyfriend kill him, Florida authorities said. A jury convicted 48-year-old Perry Stanley of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the State Attorney's Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit announced June 26. His girlfriend at the time, 36-year-old Myesha Williams, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm in January, Volusia County records show. She awaits sentencing. Williams' attorney told McClatchy News that Williams testified on behalf of the state twice during Stanley's trial. Stanley's attorney didn't respond to comment June 27. The conviction comes more than six years after the couple was accused of conspiring to kill 59-year-old Terrence Gibson for money, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office. In 2018, Williams took out a $25,000 life insurance policy on her stepfather, who helped raise her and was married to Williams' mother before she died, officers with the DeLand Police Department wrote in an arrest affidavit. When Williams took out the policy, she told the insurance agent not to worry about adding Gibson's daughter to the plan, listing herself as the sole beneficiary, according to investigators who obtained a recording of the conversation. But 16 days before her stepfather was shot four times and killed, she called the insurance agency again, police said. She wanted to increase her stepdad's policy from $25,000 to $750,000, according to police. She asked what the payout would be if her stepdad died in an accident versus if he was killed, and how she would make her claim, police said. The insurance agent told her if someone hurt him, the payout would be $150,000, according to investigators. Prosecutors said Stanley impersonated Gibson on the phone to confirm the policy details. The day Gibson died, Williams told detectives she picked up her stepdad and they visited her mom's grave, then she brought him to a vacant field known as a hangout spot called the Watering Hole, police said. Not long after, witnesses said a man wearing all black and a ski mask walked up to Gibson and shot him multiple times in the back before fleeing, police said. A K-9 tracked the scent, and investigators found a dropped cell phone in the sand next to a set of footprints, according to police. Photos on the phone led police to believe it belonged to Perry Stanley. Phone records show that seven minutes before Gibson was killed, Stanley called Williams and spoke to her for three minutes, according to prosecutors and police. Williams said her boyfriend was named Tim, and when shown a photo of Stanley, she said that wasn't Tim, according to police. Stanley also initially denied knowing Williams, detectives said. Phone records contradicted that story, showing the pair was frequently in the same location in the 10-day period leading up to Gibson's death, according to police. But during an interview nearly eight months after the killing, Williams changed her story, and when shown a photo of Stanley again, she said that was her boyfriend she had been referring to as Tim, investigators said. She said in the September 2019 interview that the day Gibson died at the Watering Hole, she was driving away from the area when she saw Stanley walk up behind Gibson with a gun, then she heard shots, according to police. Police said they learned the couple met up after Gibson was killed, and Stanley burned his clothes. A few days later, Williams called the insurance company to tell them her stepfather had been killed, according to investigators. In October 2020, a grand jury indicted both of them on first-degree murder charges. DeLand is in Volusia County, about a 40-mile drive north from Orlando.
International Business Times
07-06-2025
- International Business Times
Daytona Beach Man Who Fatally Shot Wife After She Found Out About His Affair Through Apple Watch, Convicted
A Daytona Beach man who killed his wife in front of her parents on the day she found out he was cheating on her, has been convicted of her murder. A jury deliberated for 17 minutes before finding 37-year-old Shantell Adkins guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault, the State Attorney's Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit announced June 4. Shawntai Found Out Shantell was Cheating on Her Through Messages on His Apple Watch The mother of the victim, 34-year-old Shawntai Adkins, said during a deposition that her daughter had found out earlier the day she was killed that her husband had been cheating on her. She learned of his infidelity through messages on his Apple Watch, and she told her mom she was done and was going to divorce him, her mother recounted during the deposition. On Oct. 19, 2023, Shawntai accused Shantell of taking her motorcycle while he was intoxicated, days after he was admitted to a medical facility for alcohol abuse treatment under the Marchman Act, according to court documents filed in Volusia County. Shawntai's mom said her daughter called and asked her parents to come over because her husband had taken her bike and wouldn't tell her where it was. The parents went over to the Daytona Beach home and were asking their son-in-law where the motorcycle was, then he got angry and got out his rifle, deputies said. Shantell Fired His Rifle, Striking Shantell in the Neck The parents and the wife started leaving, then Shantell fired off a shot, killing his wife, the Daytona Beach Police Department said in an arrest affidavit. The parents started running, and the father broke his leg while trying to jump over a fence, according to prosecutors and police. Shantell also shot himself in the shoulder, and he was hospitalized while his wife died at the scene, police said. His defense tried to prevent prosecutors from using his alcohol use or alleged infidelity in court, but a judge denied the motions, saying prosecutors could use those details to establish motive for the woman's death. Shantell is expected to be sentenced to mandatory life in prison June 23.
Miami Herald
05-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Husband ‘executed' wife in front of her parents who came to help her, FL cops say
A woman called her parents for help to defuse an argument with her husband the day she found out he was cheating on her, then he 'executed' her in front of them, according to Florida prosecutors and her family. A jury deliberated for 17 minutes before finding 37-year-old Shantell Adkins guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault, the State Attorney's Office for the Seventh Judicial Circuit announced June 4. McClatchy News reached out to Adkins' attorney for comment June 5 but did not immediately receive a response. The mother of slain 34-year-old Shawntai Adkins said during a deposition that her daughter had found out earlier the day she was killed that her husband had been cheating on her. She learned of his infidelity through messages on his Apple Watch, and she told her mom she was done and was going to divorce him, her mother recounted during the deposition. On Oct. 19, 2023, the wife accused her husband of taking her motorcycle while he was intoxicated, days after he was admitted to a medical facility for alcohol abuse treatment under the Marchman Act, according to court documents filed in Volusia County. The woman's mom said her daughter called and asked her parents to come over because her husband had taken her bike and wouldn't tell her where it was. The parents went over to the Daytona Beach home and were asking their son-in-law where the motorcycle was, then he got angry and got out his rifle, deputies said. The parents and the wife started leaving, then Adkins fired off a shot, killing his wife, the Daytona Beach Police Department said in an arrest affidavit. The parents started running, and the father broke his leg while trying to jump over a fence, according to prosecutors and police. Shantell Adkins also shot himself in the shoulder, and he was hospitalized while his wife died at the scene, police said. His defense tried to prevent prosecutors from using his alcohol use or alleged infidelity in court, but a judge denied the motions, saying prosecutors could use those details to establish motive for the woman's death. Adkins is expected to be sentenced to mandatory life in prison June 23.
