Hailey Suspect, Part II: It's a Witch Hunt
By: Tiffany Tatro
Updated: February 8, 2011
"I feel like it's a stereotype. My main thought on it is that it's a witch hunt," said Adkins.
On Monday, Shawn Adkins broke his silence about the case in an exclusive interview with KTAB's Tiffany Tatro. Prior to this, Adkins had declined all media interview since reportedly failing a polygraph exam on Wednesday, January 5.
Adkins is the boyfriend of Hailey's mother, Billie Dunn. He's also the last person to see Hailey on the afternoon of December 27, 2010 in Colorado City.
Though Adkins is the only named suspect, authorities say they have several other persons of interest. As the suspect, Adkins feels he's being unfairly targeted.
"It's been chaotic. People have driven by this residence and screamed obscenities to me and it's been really hard," said Adkins.
For more than a month, Adkins has largely stayed indoors. He's traveled between Dunn and Big Spring, but hasn't ventured out much beyond that.
"I'm just tired of, you know, staying behind closed doors," said Adkins. "I'm just ready to get out there and live my life again."
KTAB News asked Adkins to clear up questions regarding disturbing 9-1-1 calls released earlier this year. In the calls, Billie Dunn claims Adkins threatened to kill her. Additionally, Adkins called authorities in Snyder and told them Billie was suicidal.
"Billie and I were having problems," said Adkins. "That same day, I do believe, we were just having problems and I just felt like Billie was going to harm herself. I just felt obligated to call the police and let them know and maybe do a welfare check."
"Me and Billie had a rocky relationship, but we always worked things out," added Adkins.
Adkins claims his problems with Billie were never taken out on Hailey. He says he and the 13-year-old girl had a good relationship.
"I love Hailey with all my heart, and she means a lot to me," said Adkins.
Last month, bigcountryhomepage.com released disturbing images of Adkins wearing a horror mask and acting out violent scenes. The images and video were picked up by Nancy Grace. Adkins says it's not hard to explain why the pictures were easy to track down.
"I took those pictures for Halloween," noted Adkins. "It was me and a family member taking those pictures. I don't dress up like that everyday."
KTAB asked Adkins if his collection of horror movie memorabilia was a reflection on his character.
"I wouldn’t say it does at all," said Adkins. "There's plenty of my friends I talk to on the internet. They're into the same thing. They take pictures like they found of me everyday and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
Despite claims of innocence, Adkins admits he can see why he would be looked at as a suspect.
"I have an idea, but I think it's unfair," noted Adkins. "This could happen to anybody -- what's happening to me. How would they feel if they were in my shoes?"
Tatro asked if Adkins knew anything about Hailey's disappearance he's not telling police. "If I knew anything, I would definitely tell them," said Adkins.
Adkins stands by his innocence and says he wants what everybody else does: to see Hailey come home.
"Shawn Adkins, did you have anything to do with Hailey's disappearance or do you know anything more?" asked Tatro.
"No ma'am, I don't," responded Adkins.
At noon Wednesday, bigcountryhomepage.com will release the second part of Tiffany Tatro's interview with Adkins in its entirety.
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