PAPILLION, Neb. (WOWT) – The Bellevue man convicted of smothering his two children to death three years ago was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
Price, 38, has been held in the Sarpy County Jail following the guilty verdict rendered Feb. 29. The jury ruled that he killed his 5-year-old daughter, Emily, and his 3-year-old son, Theodore, in their beds in May 2021 then fled to California. It took them about 2.5 hours to convict him.
On Friday, public defenders for Adam Price asked the court to push back the sentencing. His attorneys wanted Price to be evaluated to determine whether he is competent to be sentenced. Probation, in its pre-sentence report, said an evaluation of Price’s mental state might be helpful for corrections.
But Sarpy County District Court Judge George Thompson denied the request Monday. He called it a “unique situation” since there is no wiggle room for the judge in first-degree murder conviction case in terms of sentencing; Nebraska law requires it to be a life sentence.
The state argued that Price participated in his own defense and may be manipulating the situation now that he understands that he’ll be spending the rest of his life in prison.
During sentencing on Monday, Judge Thompson asked whether Price had anything to say. After about 15 seconds of silence, he said: “Just that I always have and always will love my wife and kids.”
TRIAL TIMELINE
Thursday Feb. 15: Jury selection begins. The jury is seated the following day.
Tuesday Feb. 20: The jury heard testimony from a friend of Mary Nielsen, mother of the children, who had been sent by Nielsen to do a wellness check at the home and found the children dead in their beds.
Wednesday Feb. 21: The jury heard from Nielsen and listened to the 911 calls she made after requesting friends enter the home to do a welfare check. They also heard testimony from a priest whom Adam Price had made contact with while in California and saw body-worn camera video of Price’s arrest.
Thursday Feb. 22: The jury heard a lot of testimony from the lead detective, who pieced together Price’s movements based on videos recorded in the days before the children were found dead. Price is seen walking home from the park with the kids a few hours before he is recorded withdrawing $1,500 cash from local ATMs, putting out the trash and recyclables days before the scheduled pick-up, and leaving the home. Then at the end of the day, a second California priest testified that Price — using a pseudonym — admitted to killing the children.
Friday Feb. 23: A California detective testified that Price had told him he felt betrayed by his church; but when the detective questions why he had chosen to seek out a priest, Price offered no clear answer. Meanwhile, the Bellevue detective testified that Price initially wasn’t very responsive to questions, answering most of them with just “no” or “I don’t know” and even diverting conversations to completely unrelated topics.
Monday Feb. 26: The jury heard from the forensic pathologist who performed autopsies on the children. Dr. Jeremy Berg of Physician’s Laboratories testified about how he determined cause of death and what was ruled out. The jury also heard from a DNA expert from UNMC, Mellissa Helligso, who testified about the material tested from under the fingernails of the children.
Tuesday Feb. 27: The state remains, and the defense proceeds with its witnesses before the public defender interrupted testimony from the second witness to ask the judge for a break. Later in the afternoon, the judge tells the jury that there was a “medical issue.”
Wednesday Feb. 28: Proceedings got underway about an hour later than previous days. The defense remains its case following much testimony about the forensic evidence, with questions about why certain tests weren’t conducted and why others were conducted so long after the evidence had been collected. Price did not take the stand, but that’s not unusual in a murder trial.
Thursday Feb. 29: Adam Price is convicted of killing his children.
CASE TIMELINE
May 16, 2021: Theodore Price, 3, and Emily Price, 5, are found dead at the Bellevue home of their father, Adam Price, 35, after friends of the family entered the home. Price and the children’s mother, Mary Nielsen of Illinois, were in the middle of a divorce and it was his weekend to have the children. Police had been there earlier on the request of their mother for a wellness check after she had n’t heard from them in days, but she said there was n’t enough evidence to allow them to force entry into the home.
Later that night, Price is arrested in Pacifica, Calif., just south of San Francisco after a license-plate reader caught sight of Price’s car Saturday morning as he traveled through Nevada. A map search shows it takes 23 hours and 31 minutes to drive to Pacifica from Bellevue.
Detectives with the Bellevue Police Department traveled there to talk with Price ahead of a hearing that would pave the way for his extradition back to Nebraska.
May 17, 2021: Bellevue Police confirmed they are investigating the deaths of the two Price children as homicides.
May 19, 2021: Adam Price his first court appearance, goes before a judge in San Mateo County, Calif., where he waives extradition. The Bellevue man said very little in the five-and-a-half-minute hearing; his responses, for the most part, were “Yes, sir.”
May 27, 2021: Adam Price is transferred into Sarpy County Jail. His bond was set at $2.5 million.
June 15, 2021: Adam Price waives his preliminary hearing, sending the case to trial.
Oct. 5, 2021: Authorities determine that Teddy and Emily Price had been smothered to death.
Oct. 19, 2021: Court documents reveal that Adam Price said during a police interview that if he had that May day he was watching his children to do over again, “I would do it again.” Price’s attorney argues to close the hearing.
Oct. 26, 2021: Charges against Adam Price are upgraded to first-degree murder after the judge determined there was probable cause. His trial is initially set for Dec. 6, 2021.
March 28, 2022: Adam Price’s trial is delayed at the request of the defense.
Sept. 27, 2022: Attorneys for Adam Price argue that his statements made to priests while he was in California should be withheld. The state makes plans to depose the priests.
April 17, 2023: Sarpy County District Court Judge George Thompson allows the priests’ testimony into evidence saying that, in his view, what Adam Price told the priests did not take place during confession, so it’s fair game.
April 23, 2023: Jury selection for Price’s trial is intended to start Sept. 12, 2023, in Sarpy County District Court.
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