Amber Lynn Adams (Fox 19 screengrab), Dustin Lykins (Butler County jail)
Authorities in Butler County, Ohio, allege that the suspect who feloniously assaulted and murdered a 25-year-old mother on her front balcony back in February was her boyfriend, an individual who has been booked into jail numerous times since 2015.
According to the indictment, Dustin Scott Lykins, 27, murdered Amber Lynn Adams in Middletown on Feb. 11. When the story was first reported locally, the Journal-News said that the shooting occurred on a Saturday night at an apartment on Flemming Road. A man at the residence, Middletown Police said, was initially hauled in on drug charges after he allegedly admitting smoking meth. The Lykins indictment made no mention of drugs, however.
“Dustin Scott Lykins did cause the death of Amber Lynn Adams as a proximate result of the offender’s committing or attempting to commit an offense of violence that is a felony of the first or second degree […] which constitutes the offense of MURDER […] against the peace and dignity of the State of Ohio,” the indictment began. “The Grand Jurors further find and specify […] that the offender had a firearm on or about the offender’s person or under the offender’s control while committing the offense and displayed the firearm, brandished the firearm, indicated that the offender possessed the firearm, or used it to facilitate the offense.”
The other two counts of the indictment charge the defendant with felonious assault for “knowingly” causing “serious physical harm” to Amber Adams and for felonious assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm.
Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Michael T. Gmoser said that the indictment remained sealed until Lykins’ arrest by the feds on Wednesday.
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“These charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on February 11, 2023, in the City of Middletown, Ohio. The indictment against Mr. Lykins was sealed pending his arrest which was accomplished by federal marshals from the Cincinnati office of the U.S. Marshal Service (SOFAST),” the prosecutor’s office said. “The arrest of Mr. Lykins took place in Madison Township, Butler County, Ohio on June 21, 2023, at approximately 10:00 a.m. where Mr. Lykins was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals without incident.”
According to WXIX, the suspect was spotted walking near a Madison Township fire department when he was arrested.
Butler County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show that he was booked into jail around 11:06 a.m. on Wednesday. The same jail’s records show numerous past bookings for Lykins dating back eight years. Those arrests were for anything from a failure to appear in court, probations violations, and a 2015 criminal case for allegedly obstructing official business, possessing criminal tools, criminal trespass and receiving stolen property.
Amber Adams, the mother of a young son who worked as a manager at Dollar General and Taco Bell, died in the city where she was born and lived her whole life, her obituary said. She is survived her son, parents, siblings, and “many” extended family members and friends.
“Amber was the life of the party, making everyone smile, and was loved by everyone,” Amber’s loved ones said.
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