In the quiet community of Fallston, Pennsylvania, a grim discovery was made on a November morning in 1977 that would shatter the peace and leave a family torn apart. William Adams Jr., a 31-year-old White male, was found deceased in his home, the victim of a brutal crime that would remain a painful mystery for decades. His two young children, aged 4 and 7, made the harrowing discovery of their father's body and, unable to find their mother, 29-year-old Nancy, they called their grandmother for help.
When authorities arrived at the Adams' residence on November 20, 1977, they found William Adams in the master bedroom, dead from a shotgun blast to the chest. A search for his wife, Nancy, ensued, but she was nowhere to be found, and her disappearance added another layer of tragedy and complexity to the investigation. For years, the case of William's murder and Nancy's disappearance remained unsolved, leaving their loved ones with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss. Nancy Adams has never been found.
The case grew cold, but investigators never gave up hope of bringing justice to the Adams family. Decades later, a breakthrough emerged from a Florida prison. In 2018, Pennsylvania State Police began communicating with Edward A. Surratt, a man already serving two life sentences for a series of violent crimes in Florida and a murder conviction in South Carolina. Surratt, a former long-haul trucker with roots in Aliquippa, had long been a suspect in a string of 18 killings across Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio during 1977 and 1978.
In March 2021, investigators traveled to the Raiford Correctional Facility in Florida to interview Surratt. During that interview, the 71-year-old inmate confessed to the murders of William and Nancy Adams. His confession finally provided the long-sought-after answers to the brutal events of that November night in 1977. Surratt's pattern was to kill the husband and then either assault and kill the wife or abduct her, a chilling method that mirrored the fate of the Adams couple.
Due to Surratt already serving multiple life sentences for his other crimes, the district attorneys in Pennsylvania agreed not to prosecute him for the murders of William and Nancy Adams. While there will be no new trial or conviction, the confession from Edward Surratt has officially closed the case, bringing a measure of closure to a family and community that had waited over four decades for the truth.
