On May 29, 2022, I Found and interviewed Tony Adams, Shondra May's boyfriend, before she was kidnapped and murdered by an unknown assailant.
Unable to reach Tony Adams by phone, I did some research and eventually found where he lived. When I arrived, I first went to the front door and didn't get an answer so I went around through the garage, and his wife opened the door and I explained who I was they were gracious enough to let me in their house for an interview.
We sat down in their living room and began our talk about the night Shondra went missing.
"I was at home watching TV at my mama and daddy's house", says Tony, "when I got a call from Shondra's aunt, that lived right there beside Shondra, asking me if I had seen Shondra."
"Well, no, I replied, and she informed me they had found Shondra's car up at the top of the hill and the door was open and she was gone.
They called that night, and you know, of course, they didn't have cell phones back then, they called mama and Daddy's house and we were watching tv and they were looking, and they said, is she over there, had I seen her and I said no. they said well they found her car up there and I'm telling the best I remember, they found her car was over there on the hill, the door was open and she was gone. Anyway, I hurried down there as fast as I could.
I felt very anxious, this was very unusual to me, you know, her car door open and she is not there, I knew something had happened.
Did she ever tell you she was afraid, or someone was following her or anything like that?
How long had ya'll been dating?
"We had been dating about six months, I was in love, you know I thought I was deep in love, I guess I was. I don't know how many days I stayed at her parents house, but I didn't come back home for several days, you know, hoping something would break, something would happen.
Did you ever have a feeling about who you thought might have done it?
"I was clueless, although you start suspecting people, I had no idea who might have done it."
Tony's wife. "We were talking awhile ago about how surprised he was, you know he always knew how anxious Shondra's mom was always worried about talking about Shondra's mom and bout how she was always worried about when Shondra would get home, and he mom was real sick at that time too.
I underrstand that, I have one in college and I have a tracker on my phone where I can pin point his location, he knows I do it, but I'm just saying, we didnt' ahve anything like that back then , you just called your parents. The fact that she called her mother shows you right there her intentions were to come home.
I met Shondra through a friend, a distant cousin of mine, at a ballgame. Someof the edinburg boys would go to the Leake Academy ball game, and then one of my friends dated one of her friends, I guess that is really how I met her.
When ask if they ever heard anything about who it might have been they said the news had an interview with Neil Brandford, who was the investigator at the time and he said he knew who done it. He thought it was William Kenneth McLain, but Bradford is dead now.
Bradford was someone I didnt' like because you know , he put a lot of pressure on me, you know before they ever found her, and almost ever time we talked they seemed to insinuate I knew something.
You know, you are already in a very uspet condition, and then to have somebody try to make you feel like you know something about somethign, like he wasn't being compliant.
It was valentines so you would not have been meeting her early.
Wife:
It was close to valentimes, but he, his mom and dad and little siter were all at the house watching the same movie, but Tony still went and took a lie detector (polygraph test). I would do anythign to help, you know, like I'm talking to you, and I 've kind of let it go, but you know, I dont like to talk about it. It was devestating, and it still brings feelings back, but I would like for it to be settled and know who done it.
I forgive them, which it ain't for me to forgive, (ask him forgive who) I do wish they would find out, but it is very doubtful they ever will.
The sheriff back then, I didn't like him either, he was bad, and I think after that he got in some kind of trouble. That man was mean, I mean he treated me bad. The state people that gave me the polygrapy was real nice and ironically, his last name was Valentine.
The would try and trick me. They would say we want you to do this, go down to jackson, and then they gave me a polygraph, which I would have done anyway.
I was about 18 then, maybe 19, I was working at the time, but my dad was in the logging usiness so I started working when I was 17. I started to school when I was five so I graduated when I was 17 1/2.
I've talked to I don't know how many people, investigators, you name it.
According to Angela, the worst was the investigator who took his DNA. "you know, this was after we had kids and everything and they would not come to the house, they made him meet over at Sunrise community, and took his DNA.
"I told Angela, I ain't ever meeting with anyone else again unless I have a witness.
"It scared me, because he was so adamant about me not telling my wife or anyone about it, and he got really mad because I told her." "It seemed legitimate, he did a mouth swab, but was just kind of strange, how it went down."
After Tony met him and gave his DNA we got kind of worried about it, like what was the motive behind it, he was in an unmarked car. He tole me, "You can't tell nobody."
"I was so worried about it because it was so underhanded how it was done, states Angela, so I told Tony to call me and keep me informed .
"The investigator talked to me later about the DNA, you know, like they have some DNA, but I don't know.
Her best friends were Stephanie Thornton and Tammy Thompson.
Tammy is the one I kind of met her through.
There were times when she was working, I would go down there and follow her home to make sure she made it safely, she would go up her driveway and I would go home. and this one time, Thank the Lord I didn't do it that night, I mean I guess I should not say that because I might have caused this not to happen, but I'm thinking what would they have done if I hadn't been at home...
Angie: If he hadn't been home...
What driveway did she use? Did she go up the first or the second driveway?
"She always went up the first drive way. It would be a hard turn to turn into the second drive way from the direction she would have been coming."
"One of the times I followed her from work she went on up her drive way, and of course I slowed down, and I touched my brakes for some reason, and I looked in my rearview mirror and there is a drive way across the road, I think her grandma and grandpa lived up there, anyway, my tail lights lit up enough that I could see the taillights of a vehicle, and I thought to myself, someone is parked in their driveway. You know, the vehicle wasn't on, it was just sitting there with the lights off. and best I remember that was a long driveway. It wasn't like it was sitting at their house.
"It was enough to make me think, "What is somebody doing there?" Of course, I didn't think about nobody being out to get somebody. Looking back, that is one thing that makes me think somebody could have been watching her moves at that point.
Did she ever ask you to follow her home?
"No, I would get off work, and go by there, I guess go by there to get something to eat and maybe get to see her for a little bit, because you know her mom and dad did not let her go out much on the weekends. She was only allowed to go out once, you know, like a Friday or Saturday night.
It was long distance to call me, you know, she would have had to drive up to Walnut Grove if she wanted to call me. I didn't get to talk with her much when she was at work.
I didnt' like her working down there, I can tell you that. Her mama and daddy made her work, I guess, you know, going to a private school."
Tony currently works as
Tony's wife worked as a teacher for 28 years, teaching high school English and Journalism, and also teaching middle school some. She is a former employee of Neshoba Central in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and taught at Edinburg for almost twenty years until it was consolidated. 1
