Adam Lawson wept as he recalled his own grandmother’s death from cancer. But his denial of involvement in the brutal slaying of music teacher Deborah Lilies in March of 2017 was steady and emotionless.
Video of Lawson’s interrogation by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives shows him crying after they’ve told him about the family Liles left behind. Noticing that Lawson seems moved, a detective asks, “What’s that? What are you thinking? How’s that hitting you?”
Lawson replies that he lost his grandmother while in prison and “never got to say sorry for a lot of things I took her through growing up. And just the fact that I wasn’t there when she was probably needed me.” Lawson repeatedly wipes tears on a gray prison blanket.
The video, released this week as part of the prosecution’s required disclosure, documents Lawson’s eight hours in the homicide unit, much of it spent alone in an interrogation room. Wrapped in a blanket, the shirtless Lawson occasionally yells names – including his girlfriend's -- but declines a detective’s offers of pizza or coke.
Detectives tell him his live-in girlfriend has given a sworn statement that Lawson confessed to the murder. Lawson says she’s “full of shit” and denies knowing what detectives are talking about.
A second video week shows Lawson’s girlfriend speaking to detectives. The portion where she discloses what Lawson told her is redacted; by law, confessions are exempt from public records requests. But she cries and tells detectives she agreed to talk because she was afraid.
“It was on my chest. I couldn't really sleep, I was thinking about the lady … Just not knowing if he hurt her or not.”
Lawson denies knowing what detectives are angling at. “I don’t consider myself being in trouble now because regardless of what you guys may think, or what you guys may know, feel you know, like you said -- I’m just really now knowing what’s going on.” He adds that he’s been there all day, and has been “patient and respectful” but is getting “aggravated and tired.”
Detectives tell Lawson he should take the opportunity to tell them if he made “a terrible mistake .. an accident.”
“Basically, we were trying to establish a rapport with you, to see if you were willing to talk about what happened, to see if you’re willing to tell the truth -- if it bothered you if you have a conscience.”
Detectives appear to decide he does not. “Remember me talking about a guy who sits in the corner says nothing that’s because has “no conscience?” one detective chides Lawson. “That’s what they call a cold-blooded killer.”
Finally, Lawson says, “I would not like to speak anymore.” A detective replies, “Good because you’ve said enough to seal your fate. We’re going to find you a warm place to sleep.”
As they leave the interrogation room, Lawson asks if he can see his fiancé. “I’ll tell you this: She’s not your fiancé,” the detective fires back. “And she never wants to see you again.”
Lawson faces the death penalty. He is due back in court May 14.