BRYANT, Ark. (KTHV) - A local mother has a message for someone she hopes is paying attention: turn yourself in, because today, Aug. 15, marks 10 years since her daughter’s killer evaded the police.
Danick Adams was murdered on Aug. 15, 2008. Her mother, Amy Stivers, wants the murderer to know she has not forgotten and never will.
“And I know that seems like, ‘Oh, 10 years, you should be over it by now,’” Stivers said. “But a parent is never over it. There’s no such thing as closure.”
Adams was shot and killed in the parking lot of Ultimate Fitness in Jacksonville. The spot is currently a Hardcore 24 fitness center. Minor cosmetic changes have altered the building’s appearance compared to when Adams was murdered there. Life also makes similar changes over time, though Stivers said the approach of the anniversary of Adams’ death always affects her.
“It almost brings you back, like to the very first day,” she said. “And the pain that you feel is just so excruciating that you just don’t even want to go there. Like, I could cry at any moment and I’m just really trying not to.”
Adams was just 18 years old at the time. THV11 has interviewed Stivers several times over the years, both about Danick and all the other families with similar pain that she tries to help through Parents of Murdered Children, but being a victim’s advocate only helps so much.
“The grief bursts that kind of come out of nowhere are a reminder that she’s not coming back,” Stivers said.
She still regularly calls the detectives from the Jacksonville Police Department who are responsible for Adams’ case, but Stivers said the calls are usually brief. She believes it may take a long-awaited moment of compassion from Adams’ killer to finally get answers.
“Even if I don’t find who killed Danick, I think that they know who they are,” she said. “And, it’s not that I’m going to be a mean person, but I’m hopeful that they have a conscience, that their God is somewhere in their heart, and that it’s bothering them on a daily basis, and it’s bothering them so bad that they can’t eat, sleep, think or do any of those kinds of things that I have trouble doing.”
Stivers created a garden in Adams’ honor in her backyard this summer. It has a rock border in the shape of a D and is full of pink -- Adams’ favorite color. Stivers mentioned that she often wonders what kind of person Adams would be at the age of 28 and what kind of mother she would be.
“I think, tonight, she would be with me,” Stivers imagined. “And we would probably be just hanging out and cooking dinner, and just hanging out with each other.”
But 10 years have passed, and those mother-daughter moments cannot happen. Stivers said she has found a way to move forward through her leadership of the Central Arkansas Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. The group hosts support meetings twice a month in Little Rock, provides counsel and accompanies families of victims through court proceedings.
“And I’m excited about that part,” she said. “Because it gave me a purpose in life, and it gave me a means to do something, to do something in our state.”
She acknowledged, however, that her thoughts often drift to Adams while she guides other grieving families through the court process, wondering what it would feel like if her daughter’s killer ever faces justice. She mentioned that many families have to look at gruesome photos of their slain relatives.
“I just wouldn’t want that to be the last image that I have of Danick inside my head,” Stivers said. “When I read the first page of the autopsy, and where it said, ‘numerous ants were eating,’ you know, I just threw it because I couldn’t get past the first page.”
Stivers said it bothers her that attention for murder victims often fades quickly after their deaths. Some will receive additional interest when their killers are sentenced, but Stivers said the victims’ families never stop thinking about them.
“There’s always that empty chair at the table every Christmas,” she said. “You know, all the holidays. And they’re noticed. Every single day, and every single night, and not a moment goes by that you don’t think about them, and they’re just in your heart. The pain that’s inside is just so excruciating, the pain. You try to, like, stay away from it, because if you stay there too long, then it’ll just take you down.”
Stivers claimed that only those who have lost a loved one can understand the constant pain and longing they feel. But hoping and helping get her through the days and years that pass since her daughter was murdered.
“At this point, I’m hopeful that somebody will come forth,” she said. “Very hopeful for that. But until then, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.
“I’m not giving up, and I’m fighting for her every single day of my life. And I think of her every single day of my life, and I’m not going to stop. I really will not stop searching for who killed her,” she said.