Police search for Wis. father linked to 4 slayings

[December 05, 2009]  MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin authorities on Saturday searched for a father who they say is linked to the deaths of his two young daughters and their mothers. The man has been charged in two of the slayings and police have warned that he is armed and dangerous.

Tyrone Adair, 38, of Middleton, was charged Friday with first-degree intentional homicide in the deaths of his 33-year-old girlfriend, Tracy Judd, and their 23-month-old daughter, Deja Adair. Judd's older daughter told detectives Adair called her Thursday to say her mother and Deja would not be home because they had been in a bad accident.

Their bodies were found that night in Middleton inside the trunk of Adair's car, less than three hours after another of Adair's daughters and that girl's mother were found shot to death in Madison, authorities said. The coroner identified those killed in Madison as Amber Weigel, 25, and Neveah Weigel-Adair, 2.

Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain called Tyrone Adair armed and dangerous Friday. His photograph was distributed to law enforcement nationwide.

"At this point in time we don't know where this guy has gone," DeSpain said.

Court records indicate Adair was involved in paternity cases with Judd and Weigel, whose family issued a statement late Friday through Madison police saying they were "deeply devastated" and asking friends to "help ensure the safety of the rest of this family by refraining from making any comments or releasing any information."

Police were called to Weigel's duplex on Madison's southwest side around 6 p.m. Thursday and found the bodies of Weigel and her daughter inside a vehicle in the garage.

Around 8:30 p.m., Madison police asked officers in nearby Middleton to locate another vehicle. Officers found it in an apartment complex parking lot with the bodies of Judd and her daughter in the trunk, according to a court documents.

Judd had suffered a head injury, Middleton Police Lt. Noel Kakuske said. The Dane County Coroner's Office did not release specifics about how she and her daughter died, other than to say Friday that they were "victims of homicidal attacks that were not related to firearms."

No charges had been filed in the Madison case Friday, but Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said he filed the charges in the case of Judd and her daughter so police could issue a warrant for Adair's arrest.

According to a criminal complaint, Judd's older daughter told detectives Adair had moved into their Middleton house a few days before Christmas Day 2007 - Deja Adair's birthday. She said she last saw him about 4 p.m. Thursday.

The girl said Adair called her about 7:20 p.m., told her he was behind a Wal-Mart in Dodgeville, about 50 miles from Middleton, and said her mother and Deja wouldn't be home because they'd been in a bad accident.

When Madison detectives investigating the shootings there learned of the phone call, they asked Middleton police to find Adair's vehicle, leading to the discovery of the bodies in the trunk. Police released a still shot from a camera inside a bar next to the parking lot that shows Adair was there Thursday afternoon.

"It's possible it was just a random location to leave the vehicle," Kakuske said.

Court records show Adair and Judd reached a court settlement in 2008 acknowledging Adair was Deja's father. A family court commissioner ordered Judd, who also used her married name of Tracy Graser, and Adair to share custody of the child because they were living together.

Police tape encircled Judd's ranch-style home Friday morning. Sheriff's deputies came and went from the house. All the blinds were drawn. A child's plastic playhouse sat in the backyard.

In the other paternity case, a court commissioner ruled in March 2008 that Adair was Neveah's father after Amber Weigel petitioned the court for a paternity judgment. The two were ordered to share custody and Adair to pay Weigel child support and birth expenses.

Weigel, who was an assistant teacher for the toddler class at Montessori Children's House, was "so proud of what she had become and what she did with her life," her family's statement said.

The family also offered prayers to Adair's family, "particularly to Tyrone's mother because she has also lost a granddaughter, and they have lost a cherished family member."

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Associated Press writers Scott Bauer and Ryan J. Foley contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By TODD RICHMOND]

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