Officers from the Talladega Police Department’s SWAT team are seen combing the Knoxville Homes area in search of suspect in a Sunday morning double homicide. An AIB employee was found dead in her living room on Swain Street, and her daughter was found gunned down on Avenue H. Bob Crisp/The Daily Home
Thomas said police were notified about 5 a.m. Sunday that a male suspect was chasing a woman down Avenue H while shooting at her. Officers responding to the call found a woman’s body in the roadway, dead from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. The woman was eventually identified as Toni Adams, 32, of 445 Swain St.
When officers went to the residence on Swain Street, they found an open door and a second body, later identified as that of Carolyn Jean Adams, 54, Toni Adams’ mother. Thomas said she appeared to have been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
The elder Adams was legally blind and worked for Alabama Industries for the Blind as a sewing machine operator. Monday would have been her 31st anniversary at AIB, according to executive director Billy Sparkman.
“Carolyn was one of those employees that everybody looked forward to seeing,” Sparkman said.
“At this point our employees are in shock and angry that something so terrible could happen to someone so sweet. It just breaks your heart knowing that something like this could happen. There’s lots of sentiment in the plant this morning. She was only 54 years old so she basically grew up here.”
“It really is a big family. It’s a lot of anger, frustration, sorrow, you name it. It has run the gamut today,” Sparkman said.
Captain of Investigation Ronnie Jones and Talladega County Coroner Shaddix Murphy were summoned to the crime scene Sunday morning.
Thomas said Murphy arrived at the scene at 6:45 a.m., and pronounced Carolyn Jean Adams dead at the scene and removed the body at 7:26 a.m. Both bodies will be sent to a state forensics lab for autopsy.
Both women appear to have been shot with a handgun, although Thomas could not say for certain what caliber the weapon was.
A suspect in the case has been identified, and while investigators followed up various leads Sunday and Monday, no arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon.
The U.S. Marshal Service is assisting in the hunt, and the Alabama State Troopers have been using a helicopter to search for a suspect, Thomas said. The local SWAT Team has also been deployed in the search.
Investigators are following up on numerous leads and sightings, Thomas said, and he believes the suspect has not left town.
Anyone with information on this incident should contact the Talladega Police Department at 256-362-4508 or call the city’s tip line at 256-299-0011. All information will be kept confidential, Thomas said.
Home staff writer Aziza Jackson contributed to this story.
Contact Chris Norwood at cnorwood@dailyhome.com. or Aziza Jackson at ajackson@dailyhome.com.
