Shawn Adkins, not in person, enters plea of not guilty in Hailey Dunn murder case
COLORADO CITY — Through his attorney, Shawn Adkins has entered a plea of not guilty on two charges related to the death of 13-year-old Hailey Dunn, according to the Mitchell County District Clerk's office.
The plea was included in a document filed by the attorney to waive Adkin's arraignment hearing scheduled this week.
More: Mother's boyfriend Shawn Adkins indicted in connection with Hailey Dunn killing
A Mitchel County grand jury Dec. 30 indicted Adkins on the charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair a human corpse.
Texas Rangers arrested Adkins on the charges June 14 in Big Spring.
In earlier court documents from the 32nd District Court in Sweetwater and filed in Mitchell County, Adkins is accused of fatally striking Dunn in the head with an unknown blunt object. He then allegedly concealed Dunn's body to hamper the homicide investigation.
The Colorado ISD eighth-grader was reported missing by her mother, Billie Jean Dunn, on Dec. 27, 2010. The teen allegedly had left the day before to go to a friend's house but never arrived.
Dunn's remains were found in March 2013 about 30 miles northwest of Colorado City near Lake J.B. Thomas in Scurry County.
At the time of the teen's disappearance, Adkins was the live-in boyfriend of Dunn's mother.
Dunn's disappearance became a missing person case in January 2011, according to Reporter-News archives.
Early in the investigation, law enforcement officials named Adkins the primary person of interest, according to Reporter-News archives.
Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Shawn Adkins enters plea of not guilty in Hailey Dunn murder case
