MUS-2026-0062
Archive card
MUS-2026-0062
Suspicious death
- Incident
- 1996
- Indexed
- Oct 3, 2026, by MuseUnsolved
- Agency
- Knox County Sheriff's Office
- Location
- Knoxville TN
Public record. Index entry.
Index entry. Case details compiled from public reporting; our researchers have not verified this file yet.
Summary
What happened, as the record shows.
Robert Dennis Blair Adams, 31, a Canadian from Surrey, British Columbia, was found half-naked and beaten to death in the parking lot of an under-construction hotel off I-40 in Knoxville, Tennessee on July 11, 1996; the cause of death was abdominal perforation. In the days before, he withdrew his savings, emptied his safe-deposit box, told friends someone was trying to kill him, and crisscrossed the US border by rental car and plane to reach Knoxville, a city where he knew no one. About $4,000 in mixed currencies, gold, platinum, and jewelry were scattered untouched around his body; a strand of hair clutched in his hand yielded DNA with no match. No suspects were ever named and the case sits on the Knox County Sheriff's cold-case homicide page.
Timeline
What the record establishes.
- 1996
Blair Adams, 31, withdraws his savings and tells friends someone is trying to kill him.
- 1996
He is found beaten to death in a Knoxville hotel parking lot on July 11; money and jewelry lie untouched around his body.
- 2026
His murder remains unsolved; investigators have exhausted most of their leads.
Key people
The people in the file.
31, of Surrey, British Columbia. Found dead in Knoxville, Tennessee on July 11, 1996.
Contact details change over time; confirm the current assignee before publishing.
Investigating agency
Where tips go.
This case is with the Knox County Sheriff's Office. If you know something, say something to them. For public-record leads for our researchers, use the tip line on any open file.
Coverage
Coverage and further reading.
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