A Texas man accused of killing 13-year-old Hailey Dunn has been released from jail, with murder charges against him withdrawn at this time.
After spending two years behind bars, Shawn Casey Adkins was released from the Mitchell County Jail on Tuesday, NBC 11 reports. Court documents revealed that the state requires “further investigation” before proceeding with the case to a jury trial.
Law enforcement received numerous tips, leads, and during the investigation following Hailey’s disappearance. However, many of these tips and leads “were not properly vetted, investigated, or cleared,” court documents state.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Hailey was last seen in December 2010 at her Colorado City home. Three years later, her body was found near Lake JB Thomas in Scurry County. Adkins, the former boyfriend of Hailey’s mother, Billie Dunn, was arrested in 2021 on murder and related charges.
Billie Dunn told police that Hailey left for a friend’s house but never arrived, sparking a large-scale search for the child.
Shawn Atkins: Motion to Dis… by Leigh Egan
According to court documents, Adkins made threats against Hailey and her mother prior to Hailey’s disappearance. Later, during a search of his residence, investigators uncovered documents related to serial killers and a memory stick containing child pornography.
Similar images were also found on a computer at Adkins’ mother’s house, police said.
Court records indicate that Adkins was subsequently arrested on murder and tampering with physical evidence charges, as stated in the indictment.
On June 26, the state filed a motion to dismiss the prosecution without prejudice.
“The prosecution views Shawn Casey Adkins as the primary suspect in the Hailey Dunn murder on or about December 27, 2010, in Mitchell County, Texas. However, additional work must be done before the case can proceed to a jury trial,” a motion read.
The motion also mentioned the inclusion of cell phone data and testimonies from eyewitnesses who were present the day Hailey disappeared, Court TV reports. The evidence suggested that Adkins had a limited two-hour timeframe during which he would have been alone with Dunn.
“This means that (Adkins) would have had to kill her, clean up any blood and other incriminating evidence in the home, and hidden her body in a relatively short amount of time. While this is not impossible, it presents additional challenges given the preceding issues.”
Prosecutors said that the charges against Adkins have been dropped “without prejudice,” which means Adkins could possibly be charged again.
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[Feature Photo: Hailey Dunn/Handout]
