Man pleads no contest to murdering his wife
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Aug. 19—A man charged with stabbing his wife in the neck pleaded no contest on Wednesday to first-degree murder, inflicting corporal injury to a spouse, and assault with force.
Bryan James Adams, 44, was arrested after his wife Christine Hix Adams, 44, of Visalia, was found dead in the guest room of a house in Challenge from a stab wound to the neck on March 10. Bryan Adams was taken into custody after he was released from a Sacramento-area hospital. He was in a car accident prior to being arrested.
On June 21, Yuba County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter reinstated criminal proceedings after the defendant's attorney had previously declared a doubt as to Bryan Adams' mental competency. Dr. Dom Stembridge recommended that criminal proceedings could continue because Adams was competent.
On Wednesday, Bryan Adams pleaded no contest to the murder count from March and two counts from November 2020 that occurred in Tulare County. Bryan Adams pleaded no contest to assaulting Christine Adams and her son in November 2020. He was out on bail from that case when he committed the murder in Yuba County.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Monique McDevitt said Bryan Adams admitted to several allegations and enhancements included with the murder count. The stipulated plea agreement means Adams will be sentenced to 43 years to life in state prison. Because the agreement was stipulated, the length of his prison term will not be argued at sentencing.
Bryan Adams is scheduled to be sentenced in Yuba County Superior Court on Sept. 13 at 9 a.m.
