Samantha Adams, 39, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly drugging a man she met on a dating app.
The Florida woman, whom Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd dubbed the “Black Widow,” is accused of spiking a 69-year-old man’s whiskey with Benzodiazepine during a visit to his Haines City home last month, according to an arrest affidavit. The victim, who met Adams on a dating app where she used the name “Nala,” was hospitalized days later for what medical staff determined was a Benzo overdose.
“If you meet this woman online, beware. We call her the ‘Black Widow,'” Judd said in a Facebook video.
“Her motivation is money, and as we have seen with this case, she is willing to go to great lengths to get money — including [attempted] murder,” the sheriff added.
The victim told investigators that the pair had argued about a vehicle he had purchased for Adams before she went into the kitchen carrying her purse and returned with two glasses of whiskey. After he drank from one glass and their evening “progressed romantically,” Adams abruptly stopped and demanded $1,000 to continue, the arresting documents stated. He later passed out and required hospitalization.
The 69-year-old bachelor does not have any Benzodiazepine medication, he told police, and had felt “there were suspicious circumstances that led up to his medical problem.” Investigators launched their probe on Aug. 20 after learning he had been admitted to the hospital three days prior.
Prior incidents had already raised red flags for the victim. After taking a shot with Adams at her Orange County residence sometime in August, he became unsteady and fell. In another encounter last month, he passed out in his vehicle while leaving her home. On Aug. 15, he felt groggy departing her residence and backed into another vehicle. Each time, he told investigators, he had consumed only a small amount of alcohol.
The older man also reported that someone had tampered with his home security system, and he had previously seen Adams near where the surveillance equipment is kept.
Adams was arrested on Aug. 27 at a shopping center in Davenport, Fla. At the time, she was found with a bottle of medication prescribed to someone else containing 19 Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen pills, two-and-a-half oxycodone hydrochloride pills, nine Sertraline pills, one partial Adderall pill, and one partial Alprazolam/Xanax pill.
She now faces charges including second-degree attempted murder, tampering with evidence, offering to commit prostitution, and possession of prescription drugs including oxycodone, hydrocodone and alprazolam. Authorities believe there may be additional victims who have encountered Adams through dating apps.
Adams is being held as she awaits court proceedings in Polk County.