Court denies Adams' appeal
Beunka Adams remains on death row for killing Rusk man

BEUNKA ADAMS

The state's high court refused to consider an appeal made by a Rusk man sentenced to die for capital murder.

On Nov. 21, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Beunka Adams' state application for writ of habeas corpus, a challenge to the legality of the sentence.

Previously on June 26, the court reaffirmed Mr. Adams' conviction on direct appeal.

Mr. Adams was sentenced to death in August 2004 for the Sept. 3, 2002, capital murder of Kenneth Vandever, 37, of Rusk.

An Anderson County jury sentenced Mr. Adams to death Aug. 30, 2004. The case was transferred from Cherokee County to Anderson County on a change of venue granted by District Judge Bascom Bentley III. Mr. Adams was 19 at the time of the murder.

Also, convicted for the murder and sentenced to death was Richard Cobb. Mr. Cobb's conviction on a direct appeal was affirmed Jan. 31.

Execution date for both men is expected to be within three to five years.

The two men were convicted of taking Mr. Vandever and two females to a pea field near

Alto. The women were shot and wounded and Mr. Vandever shot and killed.

Evidence presented in the court hearings revealed that on the night of the murder the men entered BDJ's convenience store wearing masks and demanding money. One of them was armed with a shotgun.

After taking the money from the cash register they demanded the keys to a Cadillac parked outside. The two women were employees of the store. Mr. Adams and Mr. Cobb forced the three into the car.

After arriving at the secluded field, one female and Mr. Vandever were told to get into the trunk of the car. The other female was taken away and sexually assaulted. Both women were wounded.

Mr. Adams will now pursue federal habeas corpus relief. He was represented at the trial by Don Killingsworth and Sten Langsjoen. He was represented on direct appeal by Stephen Evans. Jeff Haas represented him on his state writ of habeas corpus.

The state was represented at the trial by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth and Assistant District Attorney Dave Sorrell. Mr. Beckworth represented the state on the direct appeal and the state writ of habeas corpus.

Judge Bentley presided at the trial and made findings on the state writ of habeas corpus.