HAINES CITY, FLA. — An Orlando woman was arrested on Aug. 27 after Polk County deputies said she tried to poison a Haines City man, possibly several times, officials said.
Samantha Adams, 39, was charged by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) with second-degree attempted murder.
Adams was arrested at the Posner Park shopping center in Davenport, after she agreed to meet the 69-year-old victim there.
According to the arrest affidavit, Adams intentionally mixed Benzodiazepine into the victim's drink while at his home in Haines City.
The victim believed that she may have poisoned him on at least three other occasions at her home in Orange County, PCSO officials said.
Detectives began their investigation on Aug. 20, after the victim was admitted to the hospital with an unexpected medical incident. He believed there were suspicious circumstances that led up to the medical incident, officials said.
The victim first met the suspect through a dating app, and he only knew her as Nala. Detectives were eventually able to determine her identity as Adams.
The victim had gotten into an argument with Adams about a vehicle he had purchased for her. After the argument, she went to the kitchen carrying her purse. She returned to the victim with two glasses of whiskey. He drank from one of the glasses before they became intimate. But Adams suddenly stopped it and said he would need to pay her $1,000 to continue. The victim refused, and Adams left.
Later in the evening, the victim passed out and he was taken to the hospital. Medical staff determined he had suffered a Benzodiazepine overdose, but the victim said he does not have any Benzodiazepine.
The detectives also learned that someone had tampered with the victim’s home security system. The victim said that he saw Adams in the part of his house where the security system is located.
The victim also told detectives that he had had other suspicious incidents after drinking a shot with Adams at her Orlando home in August. He said he became unsteady and fell at her home after having a drink there. In another incident, he passed out in his vehicle after leaving her home.
He also reported an incident that occurred on Aug. 15 when he felt groggy after leaving her home. Each time, the victim said he only had a small amount to drink.
When Adams was taken into custody, she had a prescription bottle (prescribed to someone else) containing 19 pills of Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, 2.5 pills of oxycodone hydrochloride, 9 pills of Sertraline, 1 partial pill of Adderall, and 1 partial pill of Alprazolam/Xanax.
Adams also was charged with 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 and offering to commit prostitution.
"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," said Polk
County sheriff Grady Judd.
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