DOB: 02/25/1988

Case Number: 2023 304825 CFDB

Volusia County Defendant Convicted in Wife’s Murder

DELAND – After a two-day trial and only 17 minutes of deliberation, a Volusia County jury found defendant Shantell Adkins guilty as charged of First-Degree Murder (Firearm) and two counts of Aggravated Assault.

On October 19, 2023, Adkins was arguing with his wife at their Daytona Beach home. When the argument intensified, the victim called her parents and asked them to come help de-escalate the situation.

After they arrived, the defendant took out a rifle and shot his wife in the neck as she was walking out of the home with her parents.

The victim died from her injuries at the scene. Her father broke his leg while running away, but recovered from his injuries after medical treatment.

“It is every parent’s worst nightmare to lose a child,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “Adkins executed our victim in front of her parents and then threatened to do the same to them. Another domestic murder and another devastated family.”

The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak and Chief Assistant State Attorney John Reid successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Kathleen McNeilly presided over the case and is set to pronounce sentence on June 23, 2025. Adkins will be sentenced to mandatory life in prison for the First-Degree Murder conviction.