By Roger Lanse

Ten Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies and detectives, four EMS personnel, and an OMI employee, responded at various times to 97 Quail Run in the Wind Canyon area on Sunday, Mar. 10, 2024, in reference to a medical call received about 11:14 a.m. The Grant County Regional Dispatch Authority advised that the an adult male and an adult female are saying, "Ow," a 5-year-old female is unresponsive, and a 7-year-old male has pain in his legs. Deputies first arrived at the address at approximately 11:19 a.m.

According to a GCSO offense report, a deputy who initially drove onto the scene encountered a male, later identified as Thadius Hawkins, who lives in a van on the property, walking toward him. When the deputy asked Hawkins what was going on, Hawkins responded, "Um, some of the people in there right here aren't responding." The deputy began to run toward the building to which Hawkins was pointing.

Entering the residence, which some deputies referred to as a 'shack,' the deputy originally observed three people; an adult female, later identified as Music Adame, lying on the floor without a shirt partially covered with a blanket; an adult male, later identified as Mathew Bynum, lying partially on a mattress on the floor next to the adult female; and a seven-year-old male sitting on a foldable chair across the room. Also seen, the report stated, were two brown dogs walking around the inside of the residence and so much trash and debris the deputy was unable to see the floor.

According to the report, neither the adult female nor the adult male nor the male child were able to stand from their positions. The deputy, not seeing an unresponsive person as GCRDA had advised, asked. "Who is not responsive?" Hawkins answered, "The girl in the middle." When Bynum moved a little at the deputy's command to stand up, the deputy was able to see a nose and long blond hair of another person, who appeared to be the five-year-old girl. As Bynum moved more, the deputy could see the unresponsive five-year-old, along with all kinds of trash, her body covered with a blanket with her legs showing. Both Adame and Bynum were partially lying on top of the girl who was lying between them. She was wearing only a black shirt. The girl had what appeared to be a dried liquid-like substance around her mouth. The deputy grabbed the girl to check for any signs of life. She was not breathing.

A deputy who pulled the unresponsive five-year-old female out from under Adame's legs described the child as "cold to the touch and significantly stiff." When he picked her up to take her outside, the report said he heard "a distinct sound to what seemed to me at the time as possibly a gurgling sound coming from the child's mouth," causing the deputy to run out of the house carrying the unresponsive girl, saying "She is still alive, start CPR." CPR was started, Narcan was administered, and other first aid was applied, but to no avail. EMS arrived on scene and care of the girl was turned over to those medical personnel, deputies running down the hill with the girl to meet the EMS truck.

According to the report, the male child was observed to be barefoot and struggling to breathe. He was complaining of leg pain. The deputy carried him out of the house, having to step over much debris on his way to his patrol unit. As the deputy was carrying the child, he heard him say, "I hope my sister doesn't die because she only turned five yesterday."

When Bynum was asked if they "had smoked dope or any fentanyl or anything like that.' Adame stated, "No, it's not fentanyl, we just fell asleep really hard and I'm really stiff."

One deputy stated, "While in the residence the smell coming from the inside of the residence was such a strong and potent smell it made me feel extremely nauseous to the point I had to put a face cover on to cover my nose from the smell. The floor of the residence could not be seen due to so much trash and dirty clothes scattered all over the floor. Deputies and detectives had to carefully walk in the residence and try not to step on any dog feces and dog throw up." He continued, "There was food scattered all over the floor and the walls of the residence. There was no running water in the house and nothing to store food in at this time. There was also no sign of any food in the house either. The only food that I observed was old pizza boxes and old fast food rappers(sic) that had old food that appeared days old. While in the residence I did not observe any source of potable water to be drank at this time."

All three, Adame, Bynum, and Hawkins, were placed into investigative detention. While placing Adame in a patrol vehicle, a deputy conducted a pat down and removed a safety pin from the left side of her shirt and observed a black substance on the edge of the pin and on her shirt where the pin had been.

EMS personnel checked the 7-year-old boy and reported to a deputy, "He is good. He said he hasn't eaten since Friday." EMS also checked on Adame and Bynum and decided they did not need to be transported to the hospital.

The 7-year-old male was transported by EMS to Gila Regional Medical Center and during his assessment, nurses, the report stated, noted his dirty condition and cleaned him. The boy expressed hunger saying he had not eaten since Saturday, along with complaints of leg and stomach pain and thirst. The report notes, "GRMC provided him with a meal and a Gatorade, which he consumed rapidly." Custody of the boy was transferred to CYFD.
While they were awaiting CYFD, a deputy watched a movie with the 7-year-old "to keep his mind occupied."

The visibly unemotional and disconnected attitude and blank stares of Adame, Bynum, and Hawkins during the investigation was noted several times in their reports by deputies.

A little after 5 p.m. at GCSO, Adame, Bynum, and Hawkins were released from investigative detention and told by deputies they were free to leave but would not be allowed to return to their residence nor to retrieve their belongings at this time. Case status is pending investigation results.