Jonah L. Adams Bio – Jonah L. Adams Wiki
Jonah L. Adams of Waldorf is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Chesterfield County slayings of JoAnna M. Cottle, 39; Kaelyn M. Parson, 13; Kinsey M. Cottle, 4; and Jayson L. Cottle, 4, police told reporters.
AGE:
Jonah L. Adams is 35 years old.
DETAIL OF INCIDENCE:
A Virginia woman and her three children were fatally shot at their home in the early hours of Friday morning by the woman’s former lover and the father to two of her kids, authorities said.
Chesterfield County Police Department (CCPD) received a call from victim JoAnna M. Cottle, 39, at around 5 a.m. local time to report a suspicious person outside her home when police heard shots fired over the phone line, according to NBC 12.
“She remained on the line with us as the intruder made entry,” said CCPD’s Chris Hensley, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “There was gunfire and then silence. But our officers were on the way and immediately made entry. The suspect obviously was not there. But of course, they found the four victims, all deceased.”
In addition to JoAnna, her children — Kaelyn M. Parson, 13, and 4-year-old twins Kinsey M. Cottle and Jayson L. Cottle — were pronounced dead at the scene, per police.
CCPD detectives later obtained an arrest warrant for Jonah L. Adams, 35, on four counts of first-degree murder. Authorities said that Adams, who is Kinsey and Jayson’s father, was previously in a relationship with JoAnna.
He was apprehended by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents near his home in Maryland, according to police. Authorities were able to put him in the area at around 4 a.m., the Times-Dispatch reported.
It is not immediately clear if Adams has a legal representative to comment on his behalf.
Although no direct motive was immediately clear, Hensley told the Times-Dispatch that “there were hints of a turbulent relationship” between the co-parents, citing interviews with family and friends.
“There was a previous protective order [involving the former couple] — not in effect now — that we identified,” Hensley said. He also noted that there was conflict over their two children, but he wasn’t sure if it was “a custody dispute or a disagreement.”
According to NBC 12, CCPD’s Major Mike Louth said: “In a situation like this that we have children that were involved, many of us are parents, and that’s a difficult day for us. No way to minimize that one, so it’s tough for everyone involved.”