ATHENA Brownfield loved the color purple and was “joined at the hip” with her surviving sister, a heartwrenching obituary for the four-year-old states.
Little Athena was reported missing on January 10, and officials recovered the remains of a child in the search for her on Tuesday.
Her tragically short life is set to be remembered on January 25 with Senator Roger Thompson officiating the service.
According to the obituary, Athena was born on September 6, 2018, in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Her parents were listed as Wesley Robert Brownfield and Jasmin Adina Kay Faircloth Brownfield, but she was living with caretakers at the time of her death.
“She was raised in Nebraska and later in Oklahoma,” the article states.
“Athena loved to color and Baby Shark. She and her sister were close ‘Joined at the hip.”
According to the obit, she also loved “playing dress-up.”
It confirms the girl died on December 25, which is when the affidavit released by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation claims she was fatally beaten by Ivon Adams, 36.
Ivon was booked in Arizona on Friday and was hit with child abuse charges and one charge of first-degree murder, the OSBI confirmed.
His estranged wife Alysia was taken in the day prior on child abuse charges.
Ivon was awaiting extradition, but he could be headed back to Oklahoma as he is no longer on the jail roster for Maricopa County, KSWO reported.
TRAGIC SEARCH
The search for Athena began on January 10 when a postal worker found her sister outside their Cyril home unattended.
Investigators discovered the remains of a child on Tuesday afternoon in Rush Springs in rural Grady County.
The medical examiner’s office will analyze the remains to determine a positive identification.
According to the documents obtained by KSWO, Adina told police after she was discovered that she had been left in the house and was “tired of being alone.”
The five-year-old girl spoke of her caretakers, Ivon and Alysia Adams, who she tragically referred to as “mom” and “dad,” the docs reveal.
Alysia, 36, was interviewed by authorities and reportedly confessed that her estranged husband beat Athena to death on December 25th and “held her up by her arms.”
The report claims that Athena “was not moving and her eyes were barely open.
“He [Ivon] then laid her on the ground and punched her at least three more times in the chest. [Athena] never moved after that,” court docs added.
Alysia reportedly told investigators that Ivon allegedly fled the home with Athena’s body the following day at around 1am.
The affidavit claims that Ivon told his wife that he buried the four-year-old girl’s body near a “fence line that was near their old property in Grady County.”
Ivon is being held on $1million bond whereas Alysia, who appeared before a judge on Tuesday, is being held on $500,000 bond.
If posted, Alysia cannot leave Oklahoma, has to wear a GPS tracker, and cannot have contact with witnesses.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation revealed that Alysia is related to Athena and Adina.
The girls’ biological mother left the sisters in the care of Alysia and Ivon for approximately one to two years, court docs say.
The family lived in the home in Cyril, a small city 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, for at least two years.
For up to two years, the girls had never been taken to a doctor’s appointment or enrolled in school, court docs showed.
Athena’s older sister is now in protective custody with Oklahoma’s Department of Human Services.
Alysia was arrested for “failing to protect (Athena) from abuse) according to charging documents, but she pleaded not guilty.
Ivon had not entered a plea.
Athena is survived by her biological parents, her sister, grandparents on both sides, and aunts and uncles.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/7180774/athena-brownfield-obituary-heartbreaking-details/
