February 22, 2024 • 18 mins
October 30th, 1882, the night before Halloween in Cheektowaga, New York.
James Adamski gets dressed up to go out on the town and celebrate. James would be seen enjoying himself at a local bar until 3:30 am.
That would be the last time anyone saw James alive. What happened to James? Pack your bowl and join us for Season 2 Episode 2 - James Adamski
Short episode so we dropped TWO! Make sure to check out both and THANK YOU for the support!
Instagram: @stonedcoldmurder
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Happy 420, I'm Kai and you are listening to Stone Cold Murder.
(00:08):
Thank you for tuning in for season 2, episode 2, The Murder of James Adamski.
Just a PSA, if you have any information to help solve a crime, you can go to www.crimestoppers.com
to report any information anonymously.
This podcast contains material that may not be suitable for all audiences.
(00:29):
Listener discretion is advised.
Hello, my beautiful people, we are here in St. Louis, here on this road trip.
We are here with Christian, our guest.
So who died?
So who died?
Well, I'm going to let you know.
Are you ready for this?
I'm ready.
We're here in St. Louis, visiting Christian because we're going to see fucking Metallica.
(00:53):
We're seeing them tomorrow.
Fuck yeah we are.
Are you going to fucking die?
I hope not.
I want to see it.
I feel that.
I also remember it as well.
I hope I don't fucking die.
Are you going to cry?
(01:17):
I'll weep if they play sanitarially.
He's going to weep, you hear this audience?
We're going to cry.
We have both, B and Matt here too.
Yeah, so this is a Halloween case.
Okay.
What was your favorite Halloween candy as a kid?
I don't know.
I'm going to be a psychopath and say candy corn.
Candy corn is good.
I like candy corn.
(01:37):
I like Snickers.
Snickers is bad.
They do and they don't like that.
I'm not a big fan of Snickers.
Why?
I don't like them.
Do you like Twix?
Overrated.
Do you like Kit Kat?
Fuck yeah.
Well it's Halloween.
I was thinking what was your favorite Halloween candy as a kid and is it the same as the adult?
Oh you guys are talking about chocolate and you're forgetting about banana Laffy Taffy.
(02:00):
Phew.
Banana Laffy Taffy is foul.
Banana Laffy Taffy is stuff you get at Epcot.
No, no, no, no, no.
Shut up.
It's delicious.
No, you can only buy that by Florida people in Epcot.
Whatever.
I'm a Florida person in Epcot.
So you're saying banana Laffy Taffy for Halloween and that was as a kid and to this day?
(02:23):
Yes.
That's like a summer candy.
No.
All year.
I love it.
Bananas are always in season in Taffy Fall.
In fact I wish we had some banana Laffy Taffy.
Bitch we fucking do.
Where?
In that bag that Matt brought.
I would propose a change in the Halloween tradition of doing savory treats.
(02:49):
I'm here for that.
I love savory.
Like filling up your sack full of jerky.
A sack of jerky.
A sack of jerky.
I saw someone was giving out chili dogs.
Really?
Yeah dude.
Chili dogs are fat.
And pierogies.
What's a pierogi?
A pierogi is like a...
Isn't that a dog?
No, it's like a dumpling.
A horse.
But it has mashed potatoes inside.
(03:10):
They're fucking amazing.
Interesting.
They're really good.
I would like...
Your popular Michigan.
Chinese food.
Halloween.
But they give you Chinese food like takeout.
And it's just filled with orange chicken.
You can open them real quick we'll stop.
Alright so this is the murder of James Adams Key.
(03:34):
James Adams Key.
Yes have you heard of this case?
No.
Alright.
Let's fucking get into it then.
Ready?
Was he married?
No.
So this takes place on October 31st.
Well this is October 30th of 1982 in Cheek-Towaga, New York.
(03:57):
I don't think I said that right.
No.
It's spelled Cheek-Towaga.
Cheek-Towaga.
So James Adams Key was 18 years old on the evening of October 30th.
He got dressed up in his costume and there was a party at this bar that was called Fifth
(04:20):
and 23rd and it was a costume party.
At this time I guess the legal age of drinking was 18.
So he was able to get in the bar and drink.
All he had to do was pay this one time fee.
Thanks Bill Clinton.
Thanks for fucking it all up.
Thanks for ruining a good time.
A fucking good time.
(04:41):
Thanks for ruining getting drunk at 18.
18.
That's what James was going to do.
James seemed cool honestly.
What costume was he in?
So it said that James was dressed in American Jiggle-O costume.
Oh.
Which was a movie at the time.
American Jiggle-O.
Yeah, it's about a man who's...
(05:02):
Bruce, what was the actor?
Rob Schneider.
What movie was he in?
In a Carrot.
Deuce Bigelow, Male Jiggle-O.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's the same vibe except this one was like not a comedy.
This was like a sexy one.
Very depressing.
Well, it's a sexy one because he's this hot.
(05:23):
It's sexy depressing.
Sexy depressing, sure.
Yeah, I'm sure it is depressing in a way.
I haven't seen the movie.
Okay.
But he was dressed up as this, the male sex wukka called the American Jiggle-O.
So that's what he was dressed up as.
This bar was located on the corner of Transit Road and Weldon Avenue in Depew, New York.
And it was about four miles from where James' home was.
(05:47):
So since the bar was so close, James was just thinking he was just going to walk to the bar.
And he's going to celebrate Halloween and drink and all of that good stuff.
Yeah, that's the American Jiggle-O costume right there.
See it?
So he's dressed up snazzy.
He's feeling his oats.
(06:08):
You know, he's looking good.
Before he goes to the party, he made sure to tell his younger brother that he hopes he has a good time trick-or-treating.
He's like, I hope you have a good time trick-or-treating, kid.
And then gave him a kiss on the forehead.
And Andy said this was unfortunately the last time he saw his brother James.
How old was his younger brother?
(06:30):
I don't know. I didn't look...
I didn't see any of the articles.
But young enough to still go be trick-or-treating.
So at least...
Under 18.
That's how old James is.
I think that's so cute and wholesome as pie.
We call it deductive reasoning.
(06:51):
At least under 18.
He's the younger brother.
He's the younger brother.
First of all, I think that's f**king wholesome as f**k.
And heartbreaking at the same time that he made sure that he at least talked to his younger brother.
Gave him a little kiss on the head.
And was like, I hope you have a good time too, buddy.
Like that's sweet.
So James is making his way to the party.
(07:13):
And he is seen by other friends and people at the bar.
Most people mentioned that he was really drunk.
And that he had actually gotten into a little fight at the bar.
So nobody knew what the fight was about.
But it didn't seem like it was a fight fight.
But maybe just a little bit of an argument.
And things were figured out before they got physical.
Yeah, what's up?
(07:35):
I'm just making sure I have a question.
Who did they get in a fight?
Someone at the bar.
But nobody specific?
And these guys were later interrogated.
Because I guess they were able to find who they were.
But they were able to like brush things off and co-exist at the bar for the rest of the night.
(07:57):
After this altercation happened.
So it didn't seem like it was a big deal.
The last time James was seen at the bar was about 3.30am on October 31st.
So Halloween morning.
He was seen leaving with a girl that he was drinking with at the bar.
And the two left the bar together and continued to walk down Transit Road.
(08:19):
Which is a road that the bar is on.
Until they eventually ended up splitting ways at some point down the road.
So James continued his walk down Transit Road.
And this girl would be the last person to see James alive that night.
And we're going to take a smooth break.
And we're back.
Alright, we're going to talk about James' parents.
(08:41):
On the morning of October 31st they realized that he wasn't home.
And this is like really not like James at all.
And immediately they were like fuck.
He doesn't normally stay out and not let us know.
So they immediately went to the police.
With that sick to their stomach feeling that's every fucking parent's worst nightmare.
(09:05):
And she just, James' mother felt that overwhelming fear.
Just like consumed her immediately and knew that it was wrong.
And they immediately went to the police station to make a police report.
And the search for James began immediately.
So weeks went by with absolutely zero sign of him anywhere.
(09:26):
And his family's fears and pain grew with each passing day without him.
But finally on December 26th, so the day after Christmas,
two men who were out hunting for rabbits stumbled on what looked like just a pile of leaves and rocks.
This was right near the railroad tracks just off the road in kind of like a wooded area.
(09:49):
James' body was found in a shallow grave with twigs and leaves on top of it.
James' remains were found just four miles away from where he went missing on Ransom Road in Lancaster.
James was still wearing his Halloween costume when he was found.
So the official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
He was likely beaten to death with some type of blunt instrument.
(10:12):
And he had numerous wounds from blows to his forehead.
The injuries were described as severe damage to the front and side of the skull,
inflicted by at least a dozen separate severe blows by blunt and semi-blunt objects.
So a very fucking brutal death.
So the medical examiner suspects that the murder weapon was possibly a baseball bat
(10:39):
or a two by four plank of wood or maybe even a tire iron, which is absolutely horrifying.
But it says by a blunt and a semi-blunt object.
So it sounds like maybe more than one.
So like a group. Could be.
Interesting. Very right. Is that sad?
(11:02):
Interesting.
Other than James being seen like drunk at the bar and having that one little altercation
and the walk home with the girl, not much is known from that night from him.
The girl was questioned along with the people he was seen in altercation with
and neither of them were considered suspects after the initial questioning.
Police can only really theorize on what happened that night because they don't really have any other information.
(11:26):
Their theory is that James was possibly picked up as he was headed home,
still very intoxicated by either a stranger or someone he knew.
And it's possible that he either willingly got into the vehicle or was forced into the vehicle.
After getting in it, it was believed that James possibly got into an altercation
with the driver or multiple passengers or they already had.
(11:47):
Wait, how did they determine it was a car?
That's what I want to know.
They didn't?
Uh uh.
They're just guessing.
I think they're just theorizing.
So you have nothing.
But they're like, well maybe either they already had it planned that they were going to kill him or
I just think I'm gonna find it.
I don't know if you can jump to that conclusion immediately.
(12:09):
Fun fact, Christian. Police do it all the time.
I mean, I'm not, yeah, I can see that.
It's fucking bullsh-
Did you listen to the West Memphis 3 case?
I didn't.
Go back to that one. You'll be very fucking upset with that fucking case.
It's a two hour episode, so be prepared.
But you want to see some police?
Just like, absolute, just the worst police work you'll ever see.
(12:37):
Go listen to any podcast on that.
It doesn't have to be mine, but it would be cool if you listened to mine.
I'll listen to it.
Or even the Paradise Lost documentaries on the case.
You're getting it?
Paradise Lost.
Yeah, that's what it's called.
It's a case about three teenage boys who get convicted of a murder that they didn't do.
(13:01):
And they spent 18 years in jail.
Oh, that's what I'm saying.
And they had zero information on these guys.
I never said a thing.
Alright.
The woman with the hood.
So they either think that the driver or multiple passengers had it in for them to harm James.
And James was then beaten to death.
(13:24):
And his killer, or killers, drove his body to where it was found and buried it.
That's so sad.
It's horrible. It's really, truly horrible.
He was just trying to have a good night, party, have a good time in his nice costume.
The shallow grave is always a recurring theme.
Yeah, we don't like a shallow grave.
(13:45):
Why not?
It's disrespectful.
Why wouldn't you plan ahead?
Have a deeper hold of.
That's a thought.
I mean, I think that's the thing with all of these is they're not planned.
This one is not planned.
You need to tell me someone who's going to kill somebody doesn't think ahead?
Some people don't.
How does that happen?
It's like in five minutes, you're like, yes, murder.
(14:09):
Yes, murder.
I don't understand it, honestly.
Sometimes it just happens.
Yeah, maybe he was with a girl that was with, you know, maybe it was like a girl's boyfriend or something stupid, you know?
I think these people have thought about it, that someday they're going to kill.
And then they just snap.
And they do it.
And they fucking snap.
Remember that episode of South Park?
(14:32):
Which one?
Yeah, butters reads a picture of the riot.
Yeah.
Kill John Lennon.
Kill John Lennon.
Kill John Lennon.
Yeah, that's a good episode.
That's what happens, it seems like.
So Lancaster police interviewed hundreds of people, but every lead went cold and no arrests have ever been made in this case.
(14:56):
James's brother, Andy, stated that the murder caused a lot of pain in his family.
He says his mother was never the same afterwards, always terrified that the person who killed James would also kill Andy.
Both of James's parents passed away in the 2000s without ever knowing killed their son.
Police believe that James's murder will only be solved if someone who knows something about the murder comes forward.
(15:20):
However, I believe with the same amount of advanced technology in the world that there is a chance that we could get more information about James's murder and eventually find out the truth.
In 2017, Lancaster police and Flynn put a spotlight on the case by announcing an $11,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
But still, nothing of value has come to light in this case.
(15:44):
We want the family to know that on no uncertain terms will this case remain open until we find the person responsible for it, said Gerald Gill, chief police at the Lancaster police department.
So other than that, we really don't have anything about James or nobody's come forward.
Nobody's been arrested. Nothing.
(16:06):
It's pretty sad because it's been quite a long time since 1982.
I couldn't imagine like my son just like not knowing anything that happened to him for so long, you know.
Before we end the podcast, we're going to go ahead and get a little bit into who James was as a person and who was James Adamski.
(16:30):
In 1982, James was 18 years old and he lived in Cheek to Wagah, New York with his mother and father and younger brother.
A Depew High School senior went missing on Halloween night.
From all accounts, he was a super friendly guy, well liked in high school.
He loved art, bowling and hanging out with his friends.
(16:53):
He also loved Halloween. He was described as the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back.
James didn't have any known enemies.
Anyone with information regarding this crime can report anonymous tips to CrimestoppersBuffalo at 716-867-6161 or through the CrimestoppersBuffalo website at CrimestoppersBuffalo.com
(17:20):
or email the information to info at CrimestoppersBuffalo.com.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
No, we want you to leave.
Thank you so much for being on this episode with us, Christian.
It was fun road tripping out here to be with you. We're really excited to go to Metallica tomorrow and thank you again for being on the show.
(17:41):
Appreciate it.
Mm-hmm.
Until next time, stay high.
Stay safe.
And thank you for listening.
Bye.
Bye.
Happy 420, I'm Kai and you are listening to Stone Cold Murder.
(00:08):
Thank you for tuning in for season 2, episode 2, The Murder of James Adamski.
Just a PSA, if you have any information to help solve a crime, you can go to www.crimestoppers.com
to report any information anonymously.
This podcast contains material that may not be suitable for all audiences.
(00:29):
Listener discretion is advised.
Hello, my beautiful people, we are here in St. Louis, here on this road trip.
We are here with Christian, our guest.
So who died?
So who died?
Well, I'm going to let you know.
Are you ready for this?
I'm ready.
We're here in St. Louis, visiting Christian because we're going to see fucking Metallica.
(00:53):
We're seeing them tomorrow.
Fuck yeah we are.
Are you going to fucking die?
I hope not.
I want to see it.
I feel that.
I also remember it as well.
I hope I don't fucking die.
Are you going to cry?
(01:17):
I'll weep if they play sanitarially.
He's going to weep, you hear this audience?
We're going to cry.
We have both, B and Matt here too.
Yeah, so this is a Halloween case.
Okay.
What was your favorite Halloween candy as a kid?
I don't know.
I'm going to be a psychopath and say candy corn.
Candy corn is good.
I like candy corn.
(01:37):
I like Snickers.
Snickers is bad.
They do and they don't like that.
I'm not a big fan of Snickers.
Why?
I don't like them.
Do you like Twix?
Overrated.
Do you like Kit Kat?
Fuck yeah.
Well it's Halloween.
I was thinking what was your favorite Halloween candy as a kid and is it the same as the adult?
Oh you guys are talking about chocolate and you're forgetting about banana Laffy Taffy.
(02:00):
Phew.
Banana Laffy Taffy is foul.
Banana Laffy Taffy is stuff you get at Epcot.
No, no, no, no, no.
Shut up.
It's delicious.
No, you can only buy that by Florida people in Epcot.
Whatever.
I'm a Florida person in Epcot.
So you're saying banana Laffy Taffy for Halloween and that was as a kid and to this day?
(02:23):
Yes.
That's like a summer candy.
No.
All year.
I love it.
Bananas are always in season in Taffy Fall.
In fact I wish we had some banana Laffy Taffy.
Bitch we fucking do.
Where?
In that bag that Matt brought.
I would propose a change in the Halloween tradition of doing savory treats.
(02:49):
I'm here for that.
I love savory.
Like filling up your sack full of jerky.
A sack of jerky.
A sack of jerky.
I saw someone was giving out chili dogs.
Really?
Yeah dude.
Chili dogs are fat.
And pierogies.
What's a pierogi?
A pierogi is like a...
Isn't that a dog?
No, it's like a dumpling.
A horse.
But it has mashed potatoes inside.
(03:10):
They're fucking amazing.
Interesting.
They're really good.
I would like...
Your popular Michigan.
Chinese food.
Halloween.
But they give you Chinese food like takeout.
And it's just filled with orange chicken.
You can open them real quick we'll stop.
Alright so this is the murder of James Adams Key.
(03:34):
James Adams Key.
Yes have you heard of this case?
No.
Alright.
Let's fucking get into it then.
Ready?
Was he married?
No.
So this takes place on October 31st.
Well this is October 30th of 1982 in Cheek-Towaga, New York.
(03:57):
I don't think I said that right.
No.
It's spelled Cheek-Towaga.
Cheek-Towaga.
So James Adams Key was 18 years old on the evening of October 30th.
He got dressed up in his costume and there was a party at this bar that was called Fifth
(04:20):
and 23rd and it was a costume party.
At this time I guess the legal age of drinking was 18.
So he was able to get in the bar and drink.
All he had to do was pay this one time fee.
Thanks Bill Clinton.
Thanks for fucking it all up.
Thanks for ruining a good time.
A fucking good time.
(04:41):
Thanks for ruining getting drunk at 18.
18.
That's what James was going to do.
James seemed cool honestly.
What costume was he in?
So it said that James was dressed in American Jiggle-O costume.
Oh.
Which was a movie at the time.
American Jiggle-O.
Yeah, it's about a man who's...
(05:02):
Bruce, what was the actor?
Rob Schneider.
What movie was he in?
In a Carrot.
Deuce Bigelow, Male Jiggle-O.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
It's the same vibe except this one was like not a comedy.
This was like a sexy one.
Very depressing.
Well, it's a sexy one because he's this hot.
(05:23):
It's sexy depressing.
Sexy depressing, sure.
Yeah, I'm sure it is depressing in a way.
I haven't seen the movie.
Okay.
But he was dressed up as this, the male sex wukka called the American Jiggle-O.
So that's what he was dressed up as.
This bar was located on the corner of Transit Road and Weldon Avenue in Depew, New York.
And it was about four miles from where James' home was.
(05:47):
So since the bar was so close, James was just thinking he was just going to walk to the bar.
And he's going to celebrate Halloween and drink and all of that good stuff.
Yeah, that's the American Jiggle-O costume right there.
See it?
So he's dressed up snazzy.
He's feeling his oats.
(06:08):
You know, he's looking good.
Before he goes to the party, he made sure to tell his younger brother that he hopes he has a good time trick-or-treating.
He's like, I hope you have a good time trick-or-treating, kid.
And then gave him a kiss on the forehead.
And Andy said this was unfortunately the last time he saw his brother James.
How old was his younger brother?
(06:30):
I don't know. I didn't look...
I didn't see any of the articles.
But young enough to still go be trick-or-treating.
So at least...
Under 18.
That's how old James is.
I think that's so cute and wholesome as pie.
We call it deductive reasoning.
(06:51):
At least under 18.
He's the younger brother.
He's the younger brother.
First of all, I think that's f**king wholesome as f**k.
And heartbreaking at the same time that he made sure that he at least talked to his younger brother.
Gave him a little kiss on the head.
And was like, I hope you have a good time too, buddy.
Like that's sweet.
So James is making his way to the party.
(07:13):
And he is seen by other friends and people at the bar.
Most people mentioned that he was really drunk.
And that he had actually gotten into a little fight at the bar.
So nobody knew what the fight was about.
But it didn't seem like it was a fight fight.
But maybe just a little bit of an argument.
And things were figured out before they got physical.
Yeah, what's up?
(07:35):
I'm just making sure I have a question.
Who did they get in a fight?
Someone at the bar.
But nobody specific?
And these guys were later interrogated.
Because I guess they were able to find who they were.
But they were able to like brush things off and co-exist at the bar for the rest of the night.
(07:57):
After this altercation happened.
So it didn't seem like it was a big deal.
The last time James was seen at the bar was about 3.30am on October 31st.
So Halloween morning.
He was seen leaving with a girl that he was drinking with at the bar.
And the two left the bar together and continued to walk down Transit Road.
(08:19):
Which is a road that the bar is on.
Until they eventually ended up splitting ways at some point down the road.
So James continued his walk down Transit Road.
And this girl would be the last person to see James alive that night.
And we're going to take a smooth break.
And we're back.
Alright, we're going to talk about James' parents.
(08:41):
On the morning of October 31st they realized that he wasn't home.
And this is like really not like James at all.
And immediately they were like fuck.
He doesn't normally stay out and not let us know.
So they immediately went to the police.
With that sick to their stomach feeling that's every fucking parent's worst nightmare.
(09:05):
And she just, James' mother felt that overwhelming fear.
Just like consumed her immediately and knew that it was wrong.
And they immediately went to the police station to make a police report.
And the search for James began immediately.
So weeks went by with absolutely zero sign of him anywhere.
(09:26):
And his family's fears and pain grew with each passing day without him.
But finally on December 26th, so the day after Christmas,
two men who were out hunting for rabbits stumbled on what looked like just a pile of leaves and rocks.
This was right near the railroad tracks just off the road in kind of like a wooded area.
(09:49):
James' body was found in a shallow grave with twigs and leaves on top of it.
James' remains were found just four miles away from where he went missing on Ransom Road in Lancaster.
James was still wearing his Halloween costume when he was found.
So the official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
He was likely beaten to death with some type of blunt instrument.
(10:12):
And he had numerous wounds from blows to his forehead.
The injuries were described as severe damage to the front and side of the skull,
inflicted by at least a dozen separate severe blows by blunt and semi-blunt objects.
So a very fucking brutal death.
So the medical examiner suspects that the murder weapon was possibly a baseball bat
(10:39):
or a two by four plank of wood or maybe even a tire iron, which is absolutely horrifying.
But it says by a blunt and a semi-blunt object.
So it sounds like maybe more than one.
So like a group. Could be.
Interesting. Very right. Is that sad?
(11:02):
Interesting.
Other than James being seen like drunk at the bar and having that one little altercation
and the walk home with the girl, not much is known from that night from him.
The girl was questioned along with the people he was seen in altercation with
and neither of them were considered suspects after the initial questioning.
Police can only really theorize on what happened that night because they don't really have any other information.
(11:26):
Their theory is that James was possibly picked up as he was headed home,
still very intoxicated by either a stranger or someone he knew.
And it's possible that he either willingly got into the vehicle or was forced into the vehicle.
After getting in it, it was believed that James possibly got into an altercation
with the driver or multiple passengers or they already had.
(11:47):
Wait, how did they determine it was a car?
That's what I want to know.
They didn't?
Uh uh.
They're just guessing.
I think they're just theorizing.
So you have nothing.
But they're like, well maybe either they already had it planned that they were going to kill him or
I just think I'm gonna find it.
I don't know if you can jump to that conclusion immediately.
(12:09):
Fun fact, Christian. Police do it all the time.
I mean, I'm not, yeah, I can see that.
It's fucking bullsh-
Did you listen to the West Memphis 3 case?
I didn't.
Go back to that one. You'll be very fucking upset with that fucking case.
It's a two hour episode, so be prepared.
But you want to see some police?
Just like, absolute, just the worst police work you'll ever see.
(12:37):
Go listen to any podcast on that.
It doesn't have to be mine, but it would be cool if you listened to mine.
I'll listen to it.
Or even the Paradise Lost documentaries on the case.
You're getting it?
Paradise Lost.
Yeah, that's what it's called.
It's a case about three teenage boys who get convicted of a murder that they didn't do.
(13:01):
And they spent 18 years in jail.
Oh, that's what I'm saying.
And they had zero information on these guys.
I never said a thing.
Alright.
The woman with the hood.
So they either think that the driver or multiple passengers had it in for them to harm James.
And James was then beaten to death.
(13:24):
And his killer, or killers, drove his body to where it was found and buried it.
That's so sad.
It's horrible. It's really, truly horrible.
He was just trying to have a good night, party, have a good time in his nice costume.
The shallow grave is always a recurring theme.
Yeah, we don't like a shallow grave.
(13:45):
Why not?
It's disrespectful.
Why wouldn't you plan ahead?
Have a deeper hold of.
That's a thought.
I mean, I think that's the thing with all of these is they're not planned.
This one is not planned.
You need to tell me someone who's going to kill somebody doesn't think ahead?
Some people don't.
How does that happen?
It's like in five minutes, you're like, yes, murder.
(14:09):
Yes, murder.
I don't understand it, honestly.
Sometimes it just happens.
Yeah, maybe he was with a girl that was with, you know, maybe it was like a girl's boyfriend or something stupid, you know?
I think these people have thought about it, that someday they're going to kill.
And then they just snap.
And they do it.
And they fucking snap.
Remember that episode of South Park?
(14:32):
Which one?
Yeah, butters reads a picture of the riot.
Yeah.
Kill John Lennon.
Kill John Lennon.
Kill John Lennon.
Yeah, that's a good episode.
That's what happens, it seems like.
So Lancaster police interviewed hundreds of people, but every lead went cold and no arrests have ever been made in this case.
(14:56):
James's brother, Andy, stated that the murder caused a lot of pain in his family.
He says his mother was never the same afterwards, always terrified that the person who killed James would also kill Andy.
Both of James's parents passed away in the 2000s without ever knowing killed their son.
Police believe that James's murder will only be solved if someone who knows something about the murder comes forward.
(15:20):
However, I believe with the same amount of advanced technology in the world that there is a chance that we could get more information about James's murder and eventually find out the truth.
In 2017, Lancaster police and Flynn put a spotlight on the case by announcing an $11,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
But still, nothing of value has come to light in this case.
(15:44):
We want the family to know that on no uncertain terms will this case remain open until we find the person responsible for it, said Gerald Gill, chief police at the Lancaster police department.
So other than that, we really don't have anything about James or nobody's come forward.
Nobody's been arrested. Nothing.
(16:06):
It's pretty sad because it's been quite a long time since 1982.
I couldn't imagine like my son just like not knowing anything that happened to him for so long, you know.
Before we end the podcast, we're going to go ahead and get a little bit into who James was as a person and who was James Adamski.
(16:30):
In 1982, James was 18 years old and he lived in Cheek to Wagah, New York with his mother and father and younger brother.
A Depew High School senior went missing on Halloween night.
From all accounts, he was a super friendly guy, well liked in high school.
He loved art, bowling and hanging out with his friends.
(16:53):
He also loved Halloween. He was described as the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back.
James didn't have any known enemies.
Anyone with information regarding this crime can report anonymous tips to CrimestoppersBuffalo at 716-867-6161 or through the CrimestoppersBuffalo website at CrimestoppersBuffalo.com
(17:20):
or email the information to info at CrimestoppersBuffalo.com.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
No, we want you to leave.
Thank you so much for being on this episode with us, Christian.
It was fun road tripping out here to be with you. We're really excited to go to Metallica tomorrow and thank you again for being on the show.
(17:41):
Appreciate it.
Mm-hmm.
Until next time, stay high.
Stay safe.
And thank you for listening.
Bye.
Bye.
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