Bradley Adcox, the man charged in 2013 with beating and forcing a 5-year-old Rhea County boy to drink dish soap and eat cigarette butts before he died, will face a jury in a murder and child abuse trial set for February.
Adcox, 24, will go before a jury Feb. 23, 2016, on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder and two counts of aggravated child abuse in the case that has already seen the little boy's 26-year-old mother plead guilty, according to Rhea County Circuit Court officials.
Assistant District Attorney Jimmy Pope said there had been some conversations with Adcox about a plea "but nothing fruitful."
"There's nothing we can offer him, so we've been listening for his offers," Pope said Tuesday. The state has filed notice that prosecutors will seek a sentence of life without parole, he said.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Adcox would face a minimum of a life sentence in prison with the possibility of parole. That means he would serve at least 51 years. A life without parole sentence means exactly that, officials said.
Former Spring City, Tenn., resident Jessica Robbins was sentenced to 60 years in prison in March on her guilty plea to charges of facilitation of murder and aggravated child abuse and neglect. Tennessee Department of Correction records show she is serving her sentence at the Tennessee Prison For Women in Nashville. Robbins will be eligible to seek parole in 2038, records state.
Matt Rose, right, with the Rhea County Sheriff's Department, walks Bradley Adcox into the Rhea County Courthouse before a preliminary hearing in the death of 5-year-old Landon Robbins.Twelfth Judicial District Attorney General Mike Taylor said in March that Robbins' plea included an agreement that she testify in Adcox's trial.
Landon Robbins, a pre-k student at Spring City Elementary School, died of blunt-force trauma and had been made to drink dishwashing liquid and eat cigarette butts as punishment for not going to sleep, according to testimony on Sept. 18, 2013, in a preliminary hearing in Rhea County General Sessions Court.
Landon had bruising and contusions all over his head and face and a bite mark on his back. Cigarette butts were found in his digestive tract during the autopsy. Adcox contended that Landon fell against a real estate sign while playing outside, causing the injuries.
Rhea County sheriff's Detective Rocky Potter testified during that hearing about statements given by Adcox and Robbins describing their life in a 25-foot-long camper with Landon and his two sisters, then 3 and 4. Adcox is not related to any of the children.
According to 2013 testimony, Robbins told detectives that Adcox "was the father figure. I let him do some spanking and set down the rules."
The night before he died, Landon and his sisters were punished for not going to bed by their appointed 7:30 p.m. bedtime.
Before Landon went to sleep that night, his mother told authorities that he told her and Adcox, "he loved us and we were the best parents he ever had."
Landon seemed to be becoming sicker, according to Robbins' statement read during the 2013 hearing. He was unable to control his bowels on several occasions through the night and into the morning, so he wasn't sent to school.
Robbins told police she checked on him again later and found he had another accident and had to clean him up.
"I jerked him up off the bed by his arm, but I didn't think I hurt him but maybe I did. I was aggravated at having to clean this up again."
Landon attempted to eat some breakfast and complained about pain in his arm.
The boy laid down again after he was given a Tylenol and told his mother "I can't do this," according to Potter's reading of the statement. She asked what he meant, but Landon didn't know.
When she checked on him again 30 to 45 minutes later, Landon had stopped breathing.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.