Tampa rapper Billy Adams found guilty in murder of pregnant girlfriend
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa rapper Billy Adams was found guilty Tuesday in the 2023 murder of his pregnant girlfriend.
The jury deliberated for nearly six hours before returning a guilty verdict on the two charges of first-degree murder and the killing of an unborn child.
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Rapper's pregnant girlfriend murdered
The backstory:
Adams, who was 25 years old at the time of the incident, allegedly shot his pregnant girlfriend, Alana Sims, 22, in January 2023. The state says that at the time of the murders, Adams believed he was the father of Sims' unborn child.
Pictured: Alana Sims.
Prosecutors told jurors on Wednesday that Adams lured Sims, who was five months pregnant at the time, to a secluded, unfinished area in the Easton Park neighborhood of New Tampa. They say Adams gave her vague directions that didn't lead to a specific home or address.
The shooting happened three days after Adams was acquitted in an unrelated double-murder trial.
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Tampa murder trial
What they're saying:
The jury heard from both sides and witnesses, including Adams' "main girlfriend" and an inmate who was in jail when the defendant was arrested.
Pictured: Billy Adams.
Lakenya Brantley, identified as Adams' alleged "main" girlfriend, detailed their relationship during the trial, even reading text messages that she sent to Adams the day before the shooting.
"Alana being pregnant, although you were upset in those text messages, was not something that would've destroyed your relationship?" The defense asked Brantley. "'No.'"
The inmate Bryan Boggs, a convicted felon in the Hillsborough County Jail when Adams was arrested, said he and the defendant discussed possible defense arguments in his case.
READ: Billy Adams trial: Tampa rapper accused of killing pregnant girlfriend stands trial
Boggs testified that Adams wrote letters from jail to three women instructing them what to tell investigators, to craft an alibi. Boggs copied Adams' letters in his own handwriting in order to cover their tracks.
The other side:
The defense gave a brief opening statement, urging jurors to focus on witness testimony throughout the trial.
"Consider how the witnesses know what they claim to know, whether their accounts are consistent, whether their memories are reliable and whether any interest, bias or motive may affect what you hear," the defense said.
The defense rested Monday afternoon without calling any witnesses.
Billy Adams sentencing phase
What's next:
Now that Adams has been found guilty, the penalty phase is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during the murder trial against Billy Adams.