An Orlando woman was arrested in Davenport on Thursday after Polk County detectives said she intentionally poisoned a 69-year-old Haines City man, possibly on several occasions.
Detectives arrested 39-year-old Samantha Adams on August 27 at the Posner Park shopping center. She had agreed to meet the victim there. When she pulled into the parking lot, detectives boxed in her vehicle and took her into custody, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
What the arrest affidavit says
According to the affidavit, Adams mixed benzodiazepine into the man’s drink at his Haines City home. The man told detectives she may have poisoned him at least three other times at her residence in Orange County.
The investigation began August 20, after the man reported an unexpected medical incident. He told detectives he was admitted to a hospital on August 17 and believed suspicious circumstances led up to it.
The man met the woman on a dating app and knew her only as “Nala.” Detectives later identified her as Adams.
The victim’s account
The man said he and Adams argued over a vehicle he had bought for her. Afterward, she went to the kitchen carrying her purse and came back with two glasses of whiskey. He drank from one, and the two became intimate.
The man said Adams suddenly stopped and told him he would have to pay her $1,000 to continue. He refused, and she left. Later that evening, he passed out and went to the hospital.
Medical staff determined he had suffered a benzodiazepine overdose. The man told detectives he does not have any benzodiazepine.
Detectives also learned someone had tampered with his home security system. The man said he saw Adams in the part of the house where the system is located.
Earlier incidents in Orlando
The man described other episodes this month after drinking at Adams’ Orlando home. He said he became unsteady and fell after one drink. Another time, he passed out in his vehicle as he left her residence.
He also reported an incident on August 15, when he left her home feeling groggy and backed into a vehicle. He told detectives he had only a small amount to drink each time.
Pills found at arrest
When deputies arrested Adams, she had a prescription bottle that was prescribed to someone else. The bottle held 19 pills of hydrocodone/acetaminophen, 2.5 pills of oxycodone hydrochloride, nine pills of sertraline, one partial pill of Adderall and one partial pill of alprazolam, also known as Xanax.
Sheriff Grady Judd said other people may have been victims.
“It is possible that there could be more people out there who have been victimized by Samantha Adams. Her motivation is money, and as we have seen with this case, she is willing to go to great lengths to get money– including murder.”
Charges
Adams faces nine charges:
- Second-degree attempted murder (felony)
- Tampering with evidence (felony)
- Possession of oxycodone (felony)
- Possession of hydrocodone (felony)
- Possession of alprazolam (felony)
- Resisting without violence (misdemeanor)
- Possession of drug paraphernalia (misdemeanor)
- Possession of a new legend drug without a prescription (misdemeanor)
- Offering to commit prostitution (misdemeanor)
Charges are accusations, and Adams is presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.