A man accused of a fatal Houston stabbing in 2021 entered a guilty plea Monday to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, a felony.
The appearance of Adam Reams, 40, in Texas County Circuit Court came after a jury trial this week was canceled. He had originally been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse, all felonies. Reams’ St. Louis attorney, C. Christopher Lozano, appeared in court with him. A sentencing is set for Nov. 21 in Texas County Circuit Court before Judge John Beger.
Authorities alleged Reams stabbed Billy Jack Hayes, 30, multiple times at a Broadway Street residence not far from the downtown business district. Upon arrival, officers observed a man lying dead on the floor in a bedroom with stab wounds to the face, neck and significant amounts of blood in several locations in the house.
Reams is already in prison related to charges of driving while revoked/suspended and leaving the scene of a Texas County accident with a physical injury on Feb. 4, 2021. That wreck occurred before the murder.
Reams was already in a jail on another unrelated crime when officers questioned him about the murder. Both occurred within a 24-hour period.