Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hailey Dunn: Elements of Sexual Homicide



by Peter Hyatt

On December 26th, 2010 at approximately 9PM David Dunn, 16, left his home where his mother, her boyfriend, and David's younger sister were alone.

It was the last time Hailey Dunn would be seen alive by a non Person of Interest. She was reported "missing" by her mother, Billie Jean Dunn, on December 28th. She said that on December 27th, Hailey left the home on foot, to stop at her father's house, and then off to a friend's for a sleepover and has not been seen since. The time she left her house? "3PM" according to the mother and her boyfriend, Shawn Adkins.  This is the same story that Billie Dunn read and downloaded from the Nancy Grace online library of true crime stories. 

Sexual Homicide by John Douglas, is an excellent work for those who wish to understand the dynamics of this insidious crime.


Understanding what happened to Hailey Dunn only comes through understanding what impacted or influenced the two Persons of Interest in the criminal investigation into her disappearance.  It also comes from understanding what her life was like growing up, which includes not only the mother and the mother's boyfriend, but the victim's father. This will be covered in separate analysis as it relates more to recovery efforts than the initial crime.

In February of 2011, the police affidavit was released in which the public learned that child pornography had been found on computers at different locations.  The email address and password used to download the images belonged to Shawn Adkins, the mother's live in boyfriend.  No arrest has been made as of yet.

Prior to that the public had learned that Billie Dunn and Shawn Adkins had both failed police administered polygraphs, after initially being sent home for attempting to take them while under the influence of narcotics, speaking to the need to 'beat' the polygraph.

Sexual homicide has unique characteristics where the sexual activity, along with violence, is perpetrated in such as way as to often provoke a need to silence the victim.  The violence can be under various classifications (and purposes), as we will see.  First, the elements:

1.  Violence
2.  Sexual deviancy
3.  Drugs

1.  Violence

Shawn Adkins and Billie Dunn collected as a "hobby" (Dunn) "true crime" material.  The public learned that they collected hundreds of documents about serial killers, family murders, thrill killers, etc. The "hobby" also consisted in what is called "blood lust" material; that is, material that is explicit in violence, so much so, as the viewer enjoys the pain and suffering of others.  What element of violence was present in the demise of the victim?

2.  Sexual Deviancy

Billie Jean participated in the pornographic videos, along with other women.
Child pornography (and bestiality) are forms of violence.
Acts of sexuality upon children are, exploitive and violent, by nature, as children are unable to consent, and who's bodies are not physically prepared.

In this sexual homicide investigation, there is a culture of drugs.  Drugs desensitize its users and drugs are used to bring the victims into submission.

The homicide aspect can come from the need to silence.  This is the most common.

However, in this case, we have the culmination of all possible worst case scenarios, which may lead the reader to wonder less about why Hailey was murdered, and think:

How did Hailey survive as long as she did?

Child pornography is the evidence of violence against innocence.  (see prior analysis).  When told of the child porn, a relative of Clint Dunn refused to condemn child pornorgraphy. 

Suffice for this article, is the question:

If Clint Dunn's spokesman  refused to condemn child pornography upon the initial police release of information, is this what Billie Jean may be holding against him, forcing him to public support her and Shawn Adkins?  Clint Dunn went back and forth, both accusing, and later, excusing Shawn Adkins and Billie Dunn.  Why did he fear Billie Jean Dunn?

The prospects of such are fearful.

Clint Dunn's silence could work against recovery of her remains, as any and every information is gathered for analysis to make a connection between the possible perpetrators and those people and places familiar with the alleged perpetrators in the "no stone unturned" manner of investigation.  Clint Dunn's lack of communication since his daughter's disappearance may have hindered the recovery efforts, just as his current seeking of donations has caused attention to be moved away from Scurry county and hidden locations, on to handing out of flyers to people to see if they have seen  Hailey.

In agreeing with Clint Dunn, Billie Jean Dunn said that they only wanted to search for a
"living breathing Hailey".  

Please note that prior analysis suggests that this term may be employed due to what may have been the victim's last breath; indicating that she may have been laid out on the couch, breathing her last perhaps from manual suffocation or from drug overdose.

But in the case of Hailey Dunn, we have dangerous elements; the worst of all possible equations, converging together at once:

1.  Sexual Perversion
2.  Drugs
3.  Sado-masochism or 'blood lust'

Drugs not only de-sensitize the soul of the perpetrator, but also are employed against the victim.  Perpetrators give drugs to victims to render them unable to defend themselves.  But prior to a homicide, a perpetrator may use drugs and alcohol to groom his victim, showing the victim pornography, 'soft' porn at first, with increasing intensity.

Depending upon the age, sometimes alcohol is mixed with fruit juices to make 'ice pops' given to the child.  This puts the victim in a position of ever increasing vulnerability.

Adkins lived with Hailey for approximately 2 years.  Prior to Adkins, Hailey grew up with her father's drugs, as well as her mother, and, apparently, a host of others including uncles and grandparents.  Drugs was an accepted norm for her life and not something that would be considered shocking.  It is likely that Hailey was shown pornography and given drugs by the very man who later talked about it:

When Shawn Adkins spoke of Hailey to the police, he did what is noted in guilty 911 domestic  homicide calls:

he spoke in a derogatory way towards the victim  (see analysis of 911 Calls by Dr. Adams, where the 'guilty caller' will often say something negative, even slightly, towards the victim, such as Adam Baker did when he called to report his daughter, Zahra, 'missing')

After initially calling her a "good girl" he went on to say that she was involved in drugs and then went from describing her as "sexually active" at only 13, but actually "promiscuous" (to 'prove' his assertion, he said that they could talk to Billie Jean to learn that she provided birth control to her child.  Was this said in reaction to the investigators' surprised looks?  Recall:  this was before child porn was discovered and they may not have expected such a thing to be said).

Drugs are sexual activity are mentioned regarding Hailey, by the suspect, early in the investigation.

The "blood lust" or sado-masichism "hobby" (as Billie Jean Dunn described it) speak of the rarest of sexual homicides and, perhaps, the most blood chilling:

the perpetrator who enjoys inflicting pain upon others. 

Before the release of child pornography information, we noted that the material Billie Dunn described (which showed deception) was "stuff" that Shawn did not "read" but "looked at".  This alerted the analysis to sexual arousal and pornography.

As more information came forward, we learned of bestiality, which is a form of sexual violence against animals; the child pornography, which is sexual violence against children,and then the "S&M" adds the element of 'enjoying' the pain inflicted upon others, that is in the form of sexual activity.  We saw in Adkins the need to frighten others, including as a grown man, wearing a scary mask and making home made videos with elements of drugs and violence (we later learned that he also made pornographic videos).  The combination of drugs to desensitize both perpetrator and victim, sexual perversion, and the sexual arousal culminate in the classification of worst-case scenario:

The suggestion is obvious:  that Hailey may have suffered for the enjoyment of her killer (s)

Adkins described his love of the victim using terms of "tickling" and "farting"; both of which, taken outside of context do not alarm.  Taken within the realm of child pornography, they take on an entirely different dimension.  Did Hailey suffer, even in small amounts, for the enjoyment of Adkins?  Was the tickling something that was 'too much', even to the point of cruelty?  Adkins can describe it from his point of view; but the victim cannot.  The victim cannot say that it was funny, or that it was something she hated, that scared her, and was not funny, often reducing her to tears.  That someone could describe a bodily function (passing gas) as a 'fond remembrance' of their relationship is strange, but when viewed through the lens of the affidavit, it becomes frightening.

What was the nature of the violence?

Most sexual homicide comes when the perpetrator fears that the victim will speak; particularly in the case of abductions of young children.  This is why the statistic of 'the first 48 hours' is often quoted.  The perpetrator cannot run the risk of prison as a child molester  should the victim speak, and therefore, kills the victim for the purpose of self-preserving silence.

Older victims, however, sometimes die in the struggle of resistance.  This falls into the category of both age and personality.

Hailey was 13 years old.  The size difference between her and Adkins was significant, but what about her personality.

If Hailey was assertive, outspoken and confident, it would increase the odds that she may have died as a result of either threatening to disclose the sexual assault, or that she died in a struggle.

The final element viewed here is that of the language of a hunter that entered Shawn Adkins' vocabulary shortly after Hailey was reported "missing".

In speaking of a deer, the imagery of 'butchering' a hunted and killed deer, was in his language during the highly sensitive period shortly after the police report was made.

This should indicate to searchers, along with the mother's confidence that there were be a 6 month anniversary of the searchers at the 3 month mark, and the smirking taunts from Akdins, that the victim's remains were likely disposed of after a form of butchery took place.

This would explain why the word, "coveralls" was such a sensitive topic to the  mother (the sensitivity is noted by the repetition of the word "coveralls" in her statement.

On the morning of December 27th, Shawn Adkins drove to his job, arriving at 6AM, only to leave at 6:10AM.

Billie Dunn told the world that he did this to turn in his coveralls.

As to any words she could have chosen, including "turn in his stuff", or "turn in his belongings" or "empty his locker",  instead she chose "coveralls" and repeated it.  Repetition shows that something is sensitive, or important. To Billie Dunn, while speaking of her "missing" daughter, the "coveralls" belonging to Shawn Adkins, was an important and sensitive issue.  This may indicate what was worn during the cleaning up of the night of December 26th, 2010, after 9PM when David Dunn left the home.  (see timeline analysis)  The concern is obvious:

If the coveralls were turned in at work, were they put in a large bin with others, for professional cleaning at the companies expense, washing away evidence?

The investigation into the death of Hailey Dunn continues in earnest.  We await arrests for the possession of child pornography with the hopes that one or the other will operate in self-preservation mode and trade the location of Hailey's remains in exchange for a lighter sentence.

















8 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are so many elements that this was a sexual homicide that they are almost too numerous to mention!

Everything Billie Jean & Shawn have done and said, and have NOT done and said, leads directly to a sexual homicide that they BOTH participated in, one as much as the other. Hailey's death and disposal couldn't be anything BUT a sexual homicide.

Poor sweet Hailey, there's no telling how long she had already been being sexually abused. I was SO in hopes that their homemade videos would reveal Hailey's violent sexual abuse.

It is SO sad granny Connie didn't take action to take her when she cried and begged her to come live with her granny, or when she begged her no-good low-down dope-head POS daddy Clint to let her stay with him. Nope. Couldn't stay there either. Pieces of s--t, all of 'em. NO ONE was paying attention to desperate, frightened to death, (going hungry) Hailey.

Billie & Shawn abused her like taking candy from a baby, and are NOW getting away with it. Hailey never stood a chance and STILL doesn't, not even in death. She is no more than a sack of garbage to LE, Billie & Shawn. My heart cries for her.

mommaklee said...

I have read "Obsession" by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker and it was pivotal in my understanding of sexual predators and in sexually violent crimes.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:38 AM,

I agree with everything you say, except for one point. I do not think Hailey looked like she was not being fed. Undoubtedly she was NOT being fed nutritious meals made by Billie, but I think she looks a bit chunky. It could just be her age, or she is eating too much of the wrong things, as no good food is being made at home, and school cafeterias these days just cater to the kids' desires for junk food. Anyway, JMO on that topic.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:23 p.m., 11/17; while it may appear that Hailey was being well fed, in actuality she wasn't. In the earlier days of the investigation it was revealed that frequently Hailey had no lunch money for school. She was being sent off to school with nothing to eat all day and no money for lunches in the cafeteria.

I cannot imagine how she stayed focused and made nearly all A's and was brilliant, and a cheerleader; yet she was, a VERY smart girl, sweet and beautiful. How I wish she COULD have run away but she had no place to go.

Hailey's counselor, and I believe one of her teachers, said that frequently Hailey had no lunch money and that sometimes one of them would give her money for lunch, otherwise she went without, and that it was humiliating to Hailey to have to ask. THAT is pathetic. She had grown able bodied doped up parents but there was no lunch money for her.

She frequently stopped by daddy Clints' HUD hunker-down free-loading dope den on her way to school; nope, no lunch money coming from pothead Clint. If she got any money from home, Billie would tell her to go ask Shawn, which put her in a bad position, so no money there either. The poor little girl. She went to school hungry for the day unless someone else saw her need and came to her rescue, or else she had to shamefully beg them for food money.

I wish they could ALL rot in jail and that particularly includes pothead Clint and his free-love bed partner HOG Naomi who had another baby with Clint, was jealous of Hailey and hated her.

I despise no-good Clint as much as I do Billie and Shawn. Hailey would BEG Clint to let her stay with him; nope, no room for Hailey. I don't believe for one second that Clint did not know Hailey was scared to death of Shawn; LIAR; he simply didn't care, like he didn't care if she had no lunch money. POS.

That also includes granny Connie, whom Hailey would cry too and BEG her granny to let her come stay with her, telling granny that she was scared to death of Shawn. Nope. Granny wouldn't take her either, wouldn't even go a few miles out of her way to take Hailey on vacation with her, and THIS was during the period Hailey was murdered by Shawn & Billie.

NOW she has some nerve telling Nancy disGrace she believes Shawn raped and killed Hailey; which he did, along with Billie's help; but where was GRANNY when Hailey cried, begged and needed her so badly? She could have saved Hailey's life had she cared about Hailey. I hope she suffers too. Low-life POS. NOBODY cared what happened to Hailey, or if she even had lunch money. She could go hungry all day for all they cared, and frequently DID.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:59 AM,

Whether or not Hailey was being well-nourished or not (and I'd agree, not well-nourished), it is still a fact that somewhere, sometime, she was eating, as evidenced by photos of her I saw on Nancy Grace. There were some I hadn't seen before, holding a baby I am assuming is Clint's daughter, Chloe. Hailey is NOT a thin or even average weight child. So she was eating. I don't mean that as disparagement of Hailey. We are talking about issues of abuse and neglect, and this is something that factors in to that discussion.

I am surprised that Hailey did not participate in her school's free or reduced price lunch program. It is a federal program, to ensure that no child goes hungry at lunch. It also is delivered in such a way that no one knows who pays full price, reduced priced, or nothing for their lunch. At my children's school, NO ONE goes without lunch. I have worked in the schools, too, and know that other kids really DO NOT know who pays what. I can't fathom Billie making so much money that Hailey wouldn't qualify for at least a reduced lunch. Whatever the cause, it was sad that she did not eat and even though it is the ultimate responsibility of her parents to see that her needs are being met, we know they failed her. Why didn't the school see that she have lunch? They do at our schools, even if you're in middle and high school.

Anonymous said...

what? huh? so if she went to her dad's and he wouldn't give her a joint, she would spend her lunch money on pot?

Anonymous said...

I'm saying I don't think ANYONE was giving her ANY money - to spend on lunch or anything else. I'm simply saying that Hailey should NOT have ever gone without lunch, for the reasons I described. It sounds like teachers were aware of her need. IF they did not bring it to the attention of the administration, who would see to it that Hailey ate lunch, then the school failed her, too, secondarily to her own parents.

Anonymous said...

I feel like what goes on in the wash comes out in the rinse and God will act in Haileys case i pray the best for her and everybody whoas stepped up to help find her i pray shes alive but if nor i pray that there is closer for her u cant say her family cause they all appear to b sick people and if shes a cheerleader surley she can afford lunch but that shouldnt b an issue at this day and time getting her home r figureing out whats going on is and should b the most important i just want to say GOD BLESS U HAILEY DUNN