Florida woman accused of drugging Haines City man she met on dating app
Sheriff Judd accuses woman of being 'black widow'
Deputies are calling an Orlando woman a "black widow." The Polk County Sheriff's Office is accusing a woman of trying to poison she met online. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
HAINES CITY, Fla. - An Orlando woman was arrested Tuesday for intentionally poisoning a Haines City man she met on a dating app.
Polk County investigation
What we know:
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Samantha Adams, 39, was arrested Thursday, August 27, at the Posner Park Shopping Center in Davenport after agreeing to meet the victim. Once she arrived in the parking lot, detectives moved quickly to box her vehicle in and take her into custody.
Officials said in an arrest affidavit that Adams intentionally mixed benzodiazepine into the 69-year-old victim's drink while at his Haines City home. The victim told investigators that he believed she may have also poisoned him at least three other times at her home in Orange County.
Disagreeing over money
The backstory:
Detectives said they began investigating on August 20 after the victim had an unexpected medical incident that landed him in the hospital. He told deputies that he thought the circumstances were suspicious.
The victim said he first met Adams through a dating app and only knew her as "Nala." According to PCSO, the victim and Adams had gotten into an argument about a vehicle he bought for her.
Authorities said that's when Adams went to the kitchen with her purse and returned with two glasses of whiskey — one for the victim. Officials said the victim drank from one of the glasses and things progressed romantically, but Adams suddenly stopped and told the victim he needed to pay her $1,000 to continue.
When the victim refused to pay, Adams left, according to deputies.
Pictured: Samantha Adams. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Later that evening, though, the victim passed out and was taken to the hospital, where medical staff determined he almost overdosed on benzodiazepine, which the victim didn't have.
Detectives also said they found that someone tampered with the victim's home security system. The victim told investigators that Adams was in the part of his house where the security system was located.
Dig deeper:
The man also told detectives that there were other suspicious incidents after drinking a shot with Adams at her Orlando home. He told them that he remembered being unsteady and falling at her home during one incident and another when he left her home and passed out in his vehicle.
He also remembered another incident on August 15 when he left her home and backed into a vehicle while feeling groggy, according to PCSO. The victim told authorities that each time he'd only had a small amount to drink.
When Adams was taken into custody on Aug. 27, she was found with a prescription bottle that belonged to someone else containing hydrocodone/acetaminophen pills, oxycodone hydrochloride pills, sertraline pills, a partial Adderall pill, and a partial alprazolam/xanax pill.
She's now facing multiple charges, including the following:
- Second-degree attempted murder
- Tampering with evidence
- Possession of oxycodone
- Possession of hydrocodone
- Possession of alprazolam
- Resisting without violence
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
- Possession of new legend drug without prescription
- Offering to commit prostitution
Sheriff Grady Judd statement
What they're saying:
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd released the following statement:
"It is possible that there could be more people out there who have been victimized by Samantha Adams. Her motivation is money, and as we have seen with this case, she is willing to go to great lengths to get money — including murder."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, who detailed the case.