Inset, left to right: Brent Wellman (Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office) and Dennis W. Adams Jr. (Dove-Sharp & Rudicel Funeral Home). Background: A minimally dressed Wellman being apprehended in August (WXIX).
Indiana prosecutors aim to imprison a 33-year-old man for life for the murder of his former partner’s new companion. The suspect is accused of kidnapping and killing the 39-year-old victim before fleeing into the forest only partially dressed to evade police.
The Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office declared on Tuesday their “Notice of Intent to Seek Life Imprisonment” against Brent Wellman, accused of murdering Dennis W. Adams Jr., as indicated by court documents.
As detailed in a press release from the prosecutors, Adams had recently started dating Wellman’s former girlfriend, with whom he shares a child, before the fatal assault occurred early on Aug. 14. Just days prior, Wellman allegedly contacted his ex-girlfriend to see if he could store belongings at her residence since he was recently asked to leave his friend’s house and needed a place to stay. It remains unclear if he actually left any items there.
On Aug. 13, Wellman reportedly requested permission from the ex-girlfriend to visit their child for a birthday greeting. She advised against it because his work ended too late that day. Instead, she proposed he pick up their child from a family member the next morning and take the child to school, though it is uncertain if he agreed to this plan.
That same evening, Adams was spending the night at the former partner’s house when they were alerted by a noise resembling someone breaking in, according to the press statement. They inspected but saw nothing, attributing it to the air conditioner. Adams left for work at around 4:45 a.m. on Aug. 14.
Less than an hour after Adams left, someone called 911 to report hearing gunshots and seeing a vehicle stopped in the 11000 block of U.S. Route 50.
“The caller reported that he observed a blue vehicle, stopped in the high-speed lane of east bound US 50,” the release states. “The caller stated that he stopped and when he approached the vehicle, he observed that the driver’s door was open, observed blood on the pants and face of the male occupant in the driver’s seat and another male in the backseat crawling to the front seat via the center console. The 911 callers advised that he left the scene and believes that the vehicle traveled down Texas Gas Road.”
A deputy with the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department located the vehicle and attempted to speak to the driver, described as a “white, male adult with a dark beard” who “avoided eye contact,” before the suspect sped away. The suspect matched the description of Wellman, police said.
The vehicle, which authorities soon learned was registered to Adams, crashed a short distance away.
Authorities were canvassing the areas when an officer located a shoe just off of Route 50. A short distance away, officers located Adams’ body. He had suffered at least one gunshot wound to his upper back.
Officers searching the area of the crashed vehicle soon found Wellman in a nearby creek. He was said to be “dressed in his underwear” and “had redness” all over his body.
Wellman, who is also facing charges of resisting law enforcement and using a firearm in the commission of a crime, is currently being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 2 for a pre-trial hearing. Jury selection for his trial is slated to begin on Jan. 20, 2026, records show.
