It was a beautiful summer evening in Warwick, Rhode Island, as two young couples enjoyed a night of conversation and dining out. When dinner ended on the evening of August 31, 1990, however, disaster ensued.

Following an unfortunate incident outside the restaurant, twenty-seven-year-old Adam Emery, a former Military Policeman in the Rhode Island National Guard, found himself on the other side of the law, having been charged with murder. Three years later, he became the center of one of Little Rhody’s biggest mysteries.

 

Adam Emery

Adam Emery worked for a plastic manufacturing company and had never previously been in any sort of legal trouble. His twenty-nine-year-old wife Elena was an accountant. They did not have children.

As an informal celebration of their second anniversary, Adam and Elena had spent the evening with Elena’s sister and brother-in-law at Warwick’s Rocky Point Amusement Park along the Narragansett Bay coast. After finishing supper at a seafood restaurant shortly before 9:00, the couples entered Adam’s 1985 Ford Thunderbird, parked along the restaurant’s curb; the driver’s side abutted the road.

A Casual Evening Of Dining For Elena And Adam . . .

As Adam, the driver, prepared to pull onto the road, a car sped by and sideswiped his car, breaking a tail light and leaving a large dent on the driver’s side. The driver did not stop and the car was soon out of view. An irate Adam gave chase to the vehicle. After a couple of miles, Elena believed she spotted the car.

As Adam sped up and pulled beside the car, both he and Elena yelled obscenities and pulled in front of the vehicle, forcing it to stop. After Elena gave Adam his military knife, he exited his car.

. . . Soon Takes A Drastic Turn

The other car, a 1975 Ford LTD, was driven by twenty-year-old Jason Bass. His cousin, Joshua Post, was a passenger, along with a friend. Joshua said that immediately upon cutting them off, Adam leaped out of his car, again yelled curse words at them, and began swinging the knife.

Joshua Post, Jason’s Cousin

Joshua and his friend say Jason then frantically shifted his car into reverse and attempted to speed away. As he did so, Adam jumped onto the car and lashed at Jason with the knife several times through the open window. One of the slashes struck Jason’s heart, killing him. The car crashed into some garbage cans.

Jason Bass

Neighbors who heard the commotion said Adam walked away from the scene as if he were in a trance. He was charged with second-degree murder and jailed for eight weeks before being released on a $270,000 bail. The money was posted by his parents, Alton and Bertha, and Elena’s parents, Domenic and Angelina, after they each put up their houses as collateral.

Kent County prosecutors offered Adam a deal: Plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a twenty-year sentence. With good behavior, he would likely be released after eight-to-ten years.

Adam refused the offer, contending the stabbing of Jason Bass was in self-defense.

Adam Turns Down A Plea Deal

After both cars had come to a stop, Adam and his brother-in-law exited Adam’s vehicle. As the latter was standing in front of Jason’s car, Adam contended he feared Jason was about to run over him and that he leapt onto the car to turn off the ignition. As he did so, Jason floored the car into reverse forcing him to cling to the car’s door while being dragged for 1,300 feet in a backward zigzag motion.

Adam was adamant that he feared for his life and believed the only way he could get Jason to stop the car was by stabbing him.

Adam’s Account

The jury rejected Adam’s claims. On November 10, 1993, his thirty-first birthday, they presented him with a guilty verdict of second-degree murder. He faced twenty-years-to-life in prison, but he was allowed to remain free on bail until his formal sentencing the following month.

Adam Is Convicted

Following the verdict, a news crew recorded footage of Elena speaking to Adam after they exited the courtroom. According to a lip-reader, she said, “We will do what we originally said. We should have done this before. You promised me.”

It appears Adam and Elena Emery had a plan for if a guilty verdict was rendered. What that plan entailed is still the subject of conjecture.

Elena and Adam After The Trial

Adam and Elena left the courthouse at 3:00 p.m. They were seen half-an-hour later at a sporting goods store in Cranston, seven miles north of Warwick. The store manager, Joel Smith, spoke with Elena. In stark contrast to her demeanor at the court house, she appeared relaxed.

The Emerys purchased sweat suits, athletic socks, and eighty pounds of strap-on exercise weights. Adam also seemed relaxed, although he was distressed by the cost of the merchandise.

Shortly thereafter, the couple was seen eating at a Burger King where they appeared to be enjoying themselves.

The Couple Are Seen Shopping And Dining

At 4:45, Adam and Elena were seen pulling onto to the two-hundred-nineteen-foot Claiborne Pell Bridge, more commonly called the Newport Bridge, overlooking Narragansett Bay. Motorists recalled seeing them on the bridge at 4:50. By 5:15, they had driven away but apparently returned later.

Shortly before 7:00, a bridge supervisor and a state trooper found an abandoned car blocking a westbound lane on the bridge. The engine was running and the headlights were on. Cash lay on the front seat, as did the couple’s cut up credit cards, checks, and driver’s licenses. On the back seat were several articles of neatly folded clothes, including those they had worn to court that day. A license plate check confirmed the car was registered to the Emerys.

The Emerys’ Car Is Found . . . 

Suicide notes signed by both Adam and Elena sent to several family members arrived in the mail the following day. No one, however, had seen the couple leaping to their deaths during the busy hour on the bridge, and a search of Narragansett Bay failed to find their bodies.

Authorities believe they purchased the weights at the sporting goods store in a false attempt to make it appear they were used to weigh their bodies down when they jumped into the water.

. . . But They Are Not 

Because Adam Emery was still technically free on bail, he could not legally be declared a fugitive until after he failed to show for his sentencing.

Several days after the disappearance, he was reportedly seen in Connecticut. Police deemed the sighting credible but could not confirm it.

A Possible Sighting Of Adam

No credible sightings of Elena were reported and with good reason.

In July 1994, nine months later, a Narragansett Bay fisherman found two human leg bones in his net. Dangling to one of them was a sock fragment identical to ones purchased by Adam and Elena at the sporting goods store. The bone was of a female; tests found it matched DNA samples of Elena’s mother and sister.

A month later, on August 30, a skull was recovered from the east passage of the bay. It was positively identified as that of Elena Emery after the extensive dental work done on the upper jaw was matched to the procedures performed on her.

Elena’s Remains Are Identified . . .

Another search of Narragansett Bay failed to turn up any trace of Adam.

. . . But Not Adam‘s

Adam Charles Emery has been convicted of second degree murder. He was last seen on November 10, 1993, the day he was convicted of the crime. At the time, he had black hair and blue eyes, stood six-feet-one-inches tall, and weighed approximately one-hundred-seventy-five pounds. He was legally declared dead in 1994, but the FBI still lists him as a wanted fugitive.

When last seen, emery had a lean, athletic build and was in good physical shape. He exercised often and was trained in the martial arts.

In addition to working in manufacturing, Emery had also worked as a construction company controller and a purchasing agent.

Legally Dead But Still Wanted 

Adam Emery’s family believes he lies at the bottom of Narragansett Bay. Authorities disagree.  In 2019, the FBI announced they believe he is still alive and may be living in Florida or abroad in France or Italy, the latter being the native country of Elena.

Will Police Again Get Their Hands on Adam Emery?

Adam Emery would today be sixty-two-years-old. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts please contact the Providence, Rhode Island, FBI office at (401) 272-8310. If you are from outside the United States, please contact your nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

The Unanswered Question

Jason Bass had previously worked at a Burger King; the last locale Adam and Elena Emery were seen before being observed on the Newport Bridge was a Burger King.

Only days before he was killed, Jason had quit his most recent job as a food concession manager . . . at Warwick’s Rocky Point Amusement Park, where a vehicle had hit Adam’s car, triggering the incident that lead to Jason’s death.

The ultimate tragedy and irony of Jason Bass’ murder is exacerbated by the finding that paint chips taken from his Ford LTD were determined not to match those on Adam Emery’s Thunderbird. The real hit-and-run driver was never found.

Jason Bass Was Not the Hit-And-Run Driver

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/162955309/jason_k-bass

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140197315/elena-l-emery

SOURCES:

• FBI
• Providence Journal
• Unsolved Mysteries
• Warwick Beacon
• Washington Post