Adam Mayes

Case record: Adam Mayes

Adam Mayes (September 2, 1976 – May 10, 2012) was accused in the Bain murder-kidnappings case involving the murder of Jo Ann Bain and her eldest daughter, Adrienne Bain, and the kidnapping of Jo Ann Bain’s two younger daughters, Alexandria Bain and Kyliyah Bain.

Background

Mayes lived in Alpine, Mississippi, and had known the Bain family in Whiteville, Tennessee for many years. He and his wife Teresa lived with his parents in a mobile home in Alpine, Mississippi. Mayes was the youngest of six children of Johnny and Mary Frances Mayes.

Mayes’ mother-in-law, Josie Tate, repeatedly called police to complain about domestic violence committed by Mayes against his wife, Teresa. Tate described him as violent and controlling.

Mayes’ sister described him as aggressive and untrustworthy, but she never thought he would commit such a serious crime.

For many years, Mayes was friendly with the Bain family of Whiteville, Tennessee. Jo Ann Bain was the mother of three daughters, Adrienne (b. 1997), Alexandria (b. 1999) and Kyliyah (b. 2004). Her first husband, Mark Johnson, signed over his legal rights to Adrienne and Alexandria to Jo Ann’s second husband, Gary Bain, in 2011.

Gary Bain had previously been married for 20 years to Adam Mayes’ eldest sister, Pamela; they divorced in 2002. Mayes was a frequent visitor to the Bain house and had a friendly relationship with the Bain girls.

According to Mayes’ mother-in-law, Mayes likely believed that he was the father of the two younger girls.

The offence

On April 27, 2012, a day before Mayes was supposed to help the Bain family move to Arizona, Mayes allegedly killed Jo Ann Bain and her oldest daughter Adrienne Bain and kidnapped the two younger girls, Alexandria Bain and Kyliyah Bain.

Bain’s husband came home late that night and assumed his family members were sleeping; he did not see them the next day. Only when he could not reach his wife by cell phone and his daughters did not return from school did he report them missing.

Mayes’ statement attributed to Teresa Mayes during the October 1, 2012 court hearing described Mayes’ motive and the plan. Teresa said in her statement that Mayes was in love with Alexandria and feared losing her because the family was moving to Arizona.

"Adam said he couldn't live without her," Teresa Mayes was quoted as saying. "I think that is why he initiated his plan."

Teresa also said that Adam had planned the kidnappings and murders a year in advance due to his romantic interest in Alexandria Bain, age 12.

In that statement, Teresa said the couple first tried to kidnap the girls April 25 while they waited for the school bus, but they arrived too late and missed them. The couple remained in Whiteville, with Mayes visiting the family while Teresa hid in their Dodge Durango under blankets for two days, eating only pickles.

Teresa told investigators in the statement that Mayes threatened to kill her if she did not help him.

Teresa’s statement also described an April 26 incident: on the night of April 26, Mayes attempted to kill Gary Bain by giving him two Tequila Sunrise cocktails laced with Visine and other prescription drugs. After Gary Bain and Jo Ann Bain had gone to sleep, Mayes entered the couple’s bedroom with a key to the Bain house, woke up Jo Ann, and told her to come out to the shop by the house because Kyliyah was sleepwalking. Once in the shop, Mayes hit Jo Ann with a board and strangled her with a rope. Afterwards Teresa said Mayes smothered Adrienne, age 14. The statement said Mayes told Teresa to drive around with Alexandria and Kyliyah; afterwards, Teresa drove the two girls and the two corpses to Guntown, where Mayes allegedly buried the bodies in his mother’s backyard.

Teresa’s statement described April 27 as Mayes entering the Bain home with his key and giving Gary Bain a tequila sunrise cocktail mixed with Visine and prescription drugs. Teresa said Mayes then killed Jo Ann Bain—who struggled and scratched his neck—and killed her oldest daughter, the statement said.

Teresa told investigators that Mayes told her that Alexandria did not want to live in Arizona and that they had talked more than a year ago about him taking her away from her family. Teresa’s statement said Kyliyah began crying as Teresa drove her away from the home.

"Alex was telling Kyliyah to calm down, that she was going to be Kyliyah's new mom and Adam was going to be her new dad," the statement said.

The statement then described driving to Guntown with the bodies and the surviving girls and burying the bodies in their backyard with a borrowed shovel.

"Adam acted proud of himself, like he had accomplished his plan," the statement said.

Mayes disappeared into the woods with Alexandria and Kyliyah sometime after May 1.

Investigation and police actions

Mayes was interviewed by police officers about the Bain disappearance on April 29. He told police he was the last to see the mother and daughters, but police found no evidence of a crime.

On April 30, Jo Ann Bain’s SUV was found abandoned on a country road in Tennessee.

Mayes was last seen in Guntown, Mississippi, on May 1. On May 2 he was declared a person of interest in the case, though police still did not suspect a crime.

On or around May 4, Teresa Mayes reportedly told police that she had seen her husband kill Jo Ann and Adrienne in the Bains’ garage. Afterwards, Teresa reportedly drove Mayes, the bodies, and the two younger girls back to Alpine, where he allegedly buried the bodies behind his mobile home.

On May 5, investigators uncovered two “badly decomposed” bodies from a shallow grave behind the mobile home. The bodies were identified as Jo Ann and Adrienne on May 7.

By May 8, both Mayes’ wife Teresa and his mother Mary Frances Mayes were charged as accomplices and taken into custody.

The FBI added Mayes to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on May 9, having replaced James “Whitey” Bulger on the list.

Mayes was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, especially aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder.

The plea bargain obviated the need for a trial.

Witnesses and investigative testimony

TBI special agent Kathy Ferguson testified about claims that Mayes thought one of the girls was his. She testified:

"We found no evidence to suggest that Adam was the father of any of the children."

Hardeman County General Sessions Judge Chip Cary ordered the cases sent to a grand jury scheduled to convene in January.

Arrest attempt and death

Mayes and the two girls were missing for over a week when, on May 10, acting on a tip, Mississippi highway patrolmen and state fish and wildlife officers searched a heavily wooded area behind the Zion Hill Baptist Church, one and a half miles from Mayes’ home in Alpine. Officers saw one of the children peeking over a ridge, then spotted the second child, then saw Mayes.

The officers told Mayes to put his hands up; he raised only one hand and officers saw a gun in the other. Mayes then shot himself in the head with the 9mm pistol.

Emergency medical technicians transported Mayes via ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The county coroner pronounced Mayes dead at 8:20 pm.

When police found the trio on May 10, the girls had been in the forest for three days without food or water. They were dehydrated and had rashes from poison ivy and insect bites. After Mayes’ death, the girls were sent to a Memphis hospital, treated, and released.

The Union County sheriff said emergency medical technicians transported Mayes to Baptist Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Mayes’ wife Teresa Mayes’ statement had been read in court on October 1, 2012, during proceedings connected to the case after Mayes’ death.

Legal proceedings involving others

After Mayes was charged and added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted list, Teresa Mayes and Mary Mayes were charged in relation to the kidnapping and murders.

Mary Mayes was charged with especially aggravated kidnapping. She was later described as facing changes in charges.

On May 21, charges against Mayes’ mother, Mary, were changed from four counts of conspiracy to commit especially aggravated kidnapping to two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. Investigators believed she “confined” the two girls after her son and his wife drove them from their Tennessee home to the Mayes’ Mississippi home.

The court ordered a psychological evaluation of both Mary and Teresa Mayes and rescheduled their first hearing for June 19.

On October 1, 2012, Teresa Mayes appeared in a Hardeman County General Sessions Court hearing while a statement Teresa had given to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation during May was read to the court.

On August 9, 2013, in a plea bargain agreement, Teresa Mayes pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. She was sentenced to 35 years, minus the 460 days she had already spent in prison.

Mary Mayes pleaded guilty to two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and was sentenced to 13 1/2 years.

Aftermath

Mayes’ mother-in-law, Josie Tate, stated that Mayes had taken the “coward’s way out.”

Mayes’ body was donated to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville’s Body Farm in June 2012 after being left unclaimed and refused by family members.

On July 30, 2012, the FBI announced that it had paid out reward money to several individuals for information leading to the capture of Mayes.

Other details

Mayes’ disappearance prompted his name to be added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on May 9, 2012.

Mayes reportedly used aliases of Christopher Zachery Wylde or Paco Rodrigass, according to the FBI.

Mayes was believed to have connections to Arizona, Texas, Florida and the Carolinas.

A statement attributed to FBI spokesman Joel Siskovic said there were conflicting reports about whether Mayes was dead or alive after he reportedly shot himself in Union County, Mississippi.

The two surviving sisters were described as “alive and unharmed” and were suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, and from the experience of being out in the woods and from being kidnapped.

Bain’s relatives and family friends discussed the disappearance and response, including remarks about an Amber Alert being issued sooner:

"I pray for Jo Ann and the girls to be OK and for them to come home," Beverly Goodman said.
"What would it have hurt to put an Amber Alert out?" Beverly Goodman said. "They might have saved a couple of lives."

Linda Kirkland said Jo Ann Bain and her daughters were moving because two of the girls had asthma and said:

"Jo Ann and the kids, everyone loves them. We're just hoping to hear that they're safe," she said.