Person of interest arrested, charged with Hailey Dunn’s murder in 2010

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - It has been 11 years since 13-year-old Hailey Dunn vanished from Colorado City. On Monday, the person of interest in the case, Shawn Casey Adkins, was arrested in Howard County and charged with murder. He is being held on a $2 million bond.

Texas Rangers tell KCBD Shawn Adkins was arrested and charged in connection to Hailey Dunn’s murder.

Dunn disappeared in December of 2010 when she was just 13 years old. Nearly three years later she was found near Lake J.B. Thomas in Scurry County.

Through the years, Adkins has only been a person of interest. Adkins was Hailey’s mother’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance.

The 32nd Judicial District of Texas for Nolan, Mitchell and fisher Counties released a statement saying:

The 32nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office would like to confirm that Shawn Adkins has been arrested in connection to the murder of Hailey Dunn. Our office has not and will not be releasing any details of this case. Information will be released by public record and court proceedings, in due process. This has been a multi-county and multi-agency effort and is still under investigation. Any statements made that have not been provided by the 32nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, have not been made by our direction. Our office believes the integrity of this case should be preserved until a time that it can be properly presented m a court of law.

Adkins was moved from the Howard County jail to the Mitchell County jail on Tuesday, June 15, 2021.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

December 27th, 2010: Hailey Dunn goes missing. Shawn Adkins, Hailey’s mother’s boyfriend, is the last to see Hailey. He tells authorities Hailey was going to go to a friend’s house, but she never made it.

January 4th, 2011: Texas Rangers and the FBI get involved in the disappearance of Hailey. Authorities say the friend Hailey was supposedly going to visit says she was never expecting Hailey.

January 6th, 2011: Billboards with Hailey’s picture and missing information are put up across parts of Texas. On this same day, Billie Jean Dunn, Hailey’s mother, admits she and Adkins failed lie detector tests concerning Hailey’s whereabouts.

January 12th 2011: New documents are revealed and Adkins becomes a person of interest in the case. Affidavits say Adkins had previously threatened Billie and Hailey’s life back in February of 2010. Documents about serial killers were also found in Billie’s home where Adkins lives.

January 15th, 2011: Cadaver dogs search the landfill in Abilene for human remains, but nothing is found. Authorities later search the landfill in Big Spring, the town where Adkins’ mother lives.

January through February: Prayer vigils and searches continue in Colorado City. Searches by volunteers are hindered for several weeks due to freezing temperatures.

February 25th 2011: Authorities find thousands of pictures of child pornography on a memory stick found in Billie’s home and a computer in Adkins’ mother’s home.

March 17th 2011: Billie admits she lied to police about Adkins’ whereabouts. She is taken into custody.

March 30th, 2011: Colorado City authorities hold a press conference saying they are investigating the case as if Hailey is deceased or under duress.

June 15th 2011: Billie is given a year of probation. Reports say she and Adkins moved to Austin.

June 19th 2011: Search efforts by volunteers dwindle as time goes by.

December 27, 2011: One year has passed since Hailey went missing.

March 16, 2013: Remains found near Lake J.B. Thomas southwest of Snyder.

April 26, 2013: Scurry County officials confirm identity.

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