Settlement reached in wrongful death lawsuit of MU student in case of woman accused of stabbing, burning body
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A settlement was reached Monday in the wrongful death lawsuit of a University of Missouri student who was found dead at the residence of a woman accused of stabbing him and burning the body.
The mother of Samuel Clemons, Jennifer Riley, filed the wrongful death petition against on Feb. 2. The lawsuit was filed against Emma Adams, 22, of Columbia, and her parents Russell Adams and Carrie Cannaday. Court documents filed on Tuesday did not list the terms of the settlement.
Emma Adams is facing a criminal case in the death. She is charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandoning a corpse. A status hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Adams was committed to the DMH in November, but has been waiting for a mental health evaluation as of Wednesday afternoon. She is still listed in on the Boone County Jail roster and has been held on a $1 million bond since her arrest.
Adams was arrested and charged in January 2023 after an investigation that started at the University of Missouri led to police finding a burned body in a residential area far from campus.
Police initially couldn't identify the body because of its condition. Clemons was eventually identified. He was 21.
Previous reporting indicates the investigation started when University of Missouri police officers were sent to Hudson Hall at about 5:30 p.m. Jan. 11, 2023, for a welfare check, which led them to the 2400 block of Bentley Court in north Columbia.
Officers found Clemons’ body there and called Columbia police for a homicide investigation. Adams allegedly told police she stabbed Clemons in self-defense.
