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The disappearance and subsequent murder of the 20-year-old pregnant Tiffanie Adams brought the small town of Sullivan to a standstill in 2014. Tiffanie's remains were discovered almost two months later in a cornfield, and the investigation that followed revealed dark secrets about the family.
The murder of Adams led the officers to her stepbrother, Johnus Luke Orr, who had reportedly strangled Adams to death in the cornfield itself. Tiffanie's unborn child had passed away due to suffocation.
The Murder In The Heartland episode on Tiffanie Adams, titled A Killer Step, airs on Investigation Discovery on May 15, 2024, at 9 pm EST. The official synopsis of season 6 episode 16 reads,
"Tiffanie Adams is expecting her first child but disappears from her home in Sullivan, Indiana. As police desperately search for answers, they stumble upon dark secrets surrounding the men in her life."
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Five details about Tiffanie Adams' murder explored
1) Tiffanie Adams was eight months pregnant when she disappeared
Tiffanie Renee Adams had been close to her stepfather, Bruce Adams, who lived in the same block as her mother, Christina Orr, and her then-boyfriend, Brian Orr. Bruce had picked up Tiffanie and her boyfriend, Donnie Barron, from their home in Vincennes and had stepped out for an errand having brought the couple to his home.
Tiffanie had been pregnant with her unborn son, Brynsten Edward Adams, and had intended to look for baby clothes around the block. As per court documents, she had stepped out to visit her mother's place for prescription pain pills on November 5, 2014, and was never to be seen again.
She was due for her delivery around the New Year of 2015. Tiffanie Adams was reported as a missing person on November 7.
2) Tiffanie's remains were discovered 55 days later
According to WishTV.com, a farmer in Sullivan County, Sean Drake, had discovered decomposed remains while harvesting corn in a cornfield east of County Road 325 East. The Indiana State Police identified the remains to belong to Tiffanie Adams through dental records.
The body had a red fleece jacket tied around the neck in a knot, and a leaf was found in the knot. While the autopsy report stated ligature strangulation as the cause of Tiffanie's death, the Coroner's Office found Benadryl and .024 percent ethanol in her system.
Tiffanie's cellphone was recovered from the depths of Lake Sullivan on August 27, 2015.
3) Tiffanie's stepbrother, Johnus Orr, became the primary suspect in her murder
As the investigations into Tiffanie's disappearance began, the officers interrogated her close ones and found her 32-year-old stepbrother, Johnus Orr, to offer inconsistent details about his whereabouts on November 5.
A witness, James Fish, claimed that Johnus Orr had been absent with his Chevrolet Blazer for a certain time, which he had borrowed under the pretext of dropping the former's wife, Katrina Fish, to Linton.
Johnus Orr had texted his then-wife, Amber Rogers, from an unknown number around noon. The number was later found to be Tiffanie's cellphone. Besides, Bruce Adams had received three calls from Tiffanie at noon on November 5.
4) Johnus Orr had threatened harm to Tiffanie in the past
According to court documents, Christina and Brian Orr shared a strained relationship with Christina's ex-husband, Bruce Adams. On the same note, the Orrs also had a poor equation with Paul Artem McHenry, Tiffanie's ex-boyfriend and Brynsten's biological father.
The Sullivan County Sheriff Clark Cottom shared with WTWO that Orr had allegedly told Tiffanie at some point,
“I will kill anyone who messes with my dad."
Johnus Orr had allegedly threatened harm to Tiffanie, Bruce, and Paul in the summer of 2013. According to WTWO, Artem McHenry had shared that Brian Orr had been sexually inappropriate with her, which led to tensions with Johnus Orr.
5) Johnus Orr was sentenced to 120 years in prison
After recovering Tiffanie Adams' phone, the officers corroborated the text correspondence between Johnus and Tiffanie. While Amber Rogers testified against Johnus, a forensic test revealed evidence of red fleece from the Chevrolet Blazer that Johnus drove around on November 5, 2014.
Johnus Orr was charged with two counts of murder of Tiffanie Adams and her unborn son. According to the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, he was found guilty and sentenced to 120 years in prison on July 29, 2018.
Johnus Orr is presently incarcerated at the Miami Correctional Level 3 Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana.
Catch the latest episode of Murder in the Heartland on Investigation Discovery.
