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Last updated on Thursday, January 22, 2015
(SULLIVAN CO.) - Sullivan County officials say Tiffanie Adams was strangled by her step brother.
Johnus Orr has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, police said Adams was 8 months pregnant when she was killed. Orr is also being charged with the death of Adams' unborn son.
At this time, officials are not releasing any information in regards to what the motive behind the murder was.
Sullivan County Sheriff Clark Cottom stated that they have no information to believe that anyone else was involved in the murder and that Johnus Orr is the only suspect.
However Orr's father says they have the "wrong person in jail."
The coroner ruled that Adams died from strangulation..
According to a probable cause affidavit, Johnus Orr used Tiffanie's cell phone to call his wife around the time Tiffanie disappeared on November 5.
"Both Tiffanie and Johnus were using Tiffanie's phone which puts them together at the time of her disappearance," the probable cause affidavit stated.
Police say that Orr did not have an alibi for his whereabouts between 11:15 a.m. and 1:31 p.m. on November 5. Orr's wife stated he had left their home around 11:15 that morning.
Bruce Adams, Tiffanie Adams' stepfather, reported her missing on November 7. Bruce told police he thought he had to wait 48 hours before reporting her missing.
Bruce Adams told police that both Tiffanie and her boyfriend were at his home the morning of November 5 when he left for the store. When he got back, Tiffanie was gone. The boyfriend said she had gone to her mother's home about 75 yards away.
Cell phone records obtained by police show that Tiffanie's cell phone called Bruce Adams' home phone but Bruce stated he, "could not make out what was going on over the phone." The probable cause then stated Tiffanie's phone called Bruce Adams' home phone again at 12:59 p.m. on Nov. 5 and he heard what he described as, "carrying on." Bruce told police it sounded like Tiffanie's phone "got snatched out of her hand."
Brian and Tiffanie's mother, Christina Orr, told police that they were not home nor had they seen Tiffanie on November 5.
Brian Orr did report that a trail camera he used for security purposes on the front porch of his home was "operational on November 5 because when he and his wife returned home at approximately 1 p.m. to retrieve tools, he noticed the camera case door was still securely fastened by a piece of wire that he had placed there.
But, when Brian Orr got back around 4 p.m. the wire securing the door was missing and the SD card in the camera was gone. Police say a new card had been inserted into the camera on November 6.
Christina Orr told police she knew of allegations that Johnus Orr had raped Tiffanie when he was supposed to be giving her a ride home from a party in 2013. She also stated Johnus had previously attempted to rape her as well.
Early in the investigation, officials had requested Tiffanie's cell phone be 'pinged.' Verizon reported the the phone was in the area of County Road 300 North and County Road 175 East in Sullivan County.
On December 30, officials responded to that area after a farmer reported finding a body in a cornfield just east of County Road 325 East, just north of County Road 300 North. An autopsy was performed the following day at Terre Haute Regional Hospital and using dental records, the coroner was able to confirm the body was Tiffanie Adams.
The coroner's report states that Tiffanie was 32 weeks pregnant at the time of her death and that a male fetus was viable (meaning the child could have lived on his own outside of the womb). DNA testing to prove who fathered Tiffanie Adams' child is underway, but lab results could take months.
On January 20, Johnus Orr was arrested in Sullivan County. He now faces two charges of murder. He is being held at the Sullivan County Jail with no bond.
At this time, officials are not releasing any information in regards to what the motive behind the murder was.
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