Baxter County man pleads not guilty to murder charge

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Photo: Daniel Robert Adams

A man charged with murder after repeatedly smashing into a car in which his ex-girlfriend was a passenger causing the death of the male driver appeared in Boone County Circuit Court Tuesday.

Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Robert Adams, who shows addresses in rural Mountain Home and Ville Platt, Louisiana pled not guilty to the charges against him.

Adams is jailed in Boone County because the mother of the victim is employed at the Baxter County Detention Center.

The incident began at Adams’ home on Old Arkana Road where the female victim had been living. The pair was reported to have broken up and the woman was moving out. She had come to the residence to pick up her personal belongings.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a male, 30-year-old Philip Laurie, drove the woman, identified as 24-year-old Danielle Ann Lamphear, to Adams’ residence.

At some point, the trio departed, heading northbound on Old Arkana Road.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the first collision happened at a point on Old Arkana Road, where the gravel ends and pavement begins.

Laurie’s Ford Focus was pushed off the roadway by Adams’ truck.

Near Glade Hill Lane, tire marks indicate the car left the roadway on the right side, while the truck skidded sideways for about 200 feet before coming to rest off the side of the roadway.

Lamphear called 911 and reported what was happening. She identified Adams as the one smashing into the car in which she was riding.

As the call continued, Lamphear was reported to have started to scream hysterically – to the point the cell phone’s microphone was overpowered and deactivated.

Lamphere reported to 911 at one point, “We are in a ditch.” She told the 911 dispatcher, “I can’t get away from him.”

A witness told police that he and his grandchildren met the car and truck as they traveled along Old Arkana Road.

The vehicles were reported to have been traveling at “an extremely high rate of speed.” The witness said the truck appeared to be pushing the car or following so closely it seemed to be touching it.

The man said when he first met the truck and car; they were both coming at him in his lane of traffic.

He said he told his grandchildren to brace themselves, as he started to drive into a ditch to avoid a collision.

However, the vehicles involved in the chase swerved back into their lane.

The incident happened about a mile from the fatal crash scene.

The final ramming incident happened near 465 Old Arkana Road. Both vehicles were reported to have “violently” crossed and then left the roadway.

The truck reportedly struck the car from the rear knocking it into a ditch where it hit an embankment causing it to flip onto its side before coming to rest on its wheels.

The car careened through the ditch until it hit the edge of a driveway causing it to become airborne.

While in the air, the vehicle struck a tree, which reportedly caused the fatal injuries to Laurie and seriously injuring Lamphear.

After the final encounter, a male voice believed to be that of Adams is heard on the 911 tape asking, “Danielle, are you all right?”

When sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the final and fatal crash, it was “quickly determined” Laurie had died from his injuries.

Lamphear was taken to a trauma center out of the area for treatment of her injuries.

Adams is charged with first-degree murder, attempt to commit first degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault and driving on a suspended drivers license.

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