Florida woman sentenced for murdering man who she says was angry at her 8-year-old son because he had an accident in his pants

Content warning: This article describes child abuse, intimate partner violence, and murder. Please take care while reading.

In likely not an isolated incident of intimate partner violence, Laurie Adams of Winter Springs, FL, will spend 25 years in prison for shooting and killing a man she lived with. She says he was angry at their 8-year-old son with autism because the boy had an accident in his pants.

According to official documents, Adams called 911 in June last year and said she’d just shot a man in the head, 51-year-old Adel Tawfeek, the father of her 8-year-old boy. According to Adams, Tawfeek came home around 11:30 pm that night, discovered their son had soiled his pants, and grew angry, shouting at Adams and the boy for several minutes.

Adams said she cleaned up their son and put him to bed and tried to calm down, but Tawfeek continued shouting at her and pushed her against a wall before he grabbed a beer and sat on the back porch of the home to smoke a cigarette.

Adams then said she got a gun from Tawfeek’s closet, loaded it, and shot him in the head. Adams called the police, telling them what she’d done. When police and EMTs arrived, they found Tawfeek on the back porch. He later died in the hospital.

Other evidence of domestic partner violence in the home

Laurie Adams, 38, of Florida, was indicted on first-degree in connection with the June 5 death of Adel Tawfeek, 51, who she shot in the head with his gun after he became upset when their 8-year-old autistic son pooped his pants

Adams confessed to police & is held without bond pic.twitter.com/Bvq2Uuw5jY

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) July 19, 2024

Notably, Adams had texted her mother just a few days before killing Tawfeek, asking her to take care of the boy if “anything were to happen,” suggesting it was not the first time Tawfeek had an angry outburst or was physically violent with Adams and their son. At the time of Adams’ arrest, their son was put in the care of Florida’s Department of Children and Families. His current whereabouts are unclear.

In a deal, Adams agreed to plead guilty to Tawfeek’s murder, and she received her 25-year prison sentence in February this year. At the time of the initial 911 call, police said they’d been to Adams and Tawfeek’s home before but not for anything as serious as what happened that night.

Winter Springs Police Captain Doug Seely urged individuals experiencing intimate partner violence to seek help before it’s too late. “Call us. You know we’re there,” Seel told Orlando’s WESH. He added, “There are times people might go to jail, but it’s better to go to jail due to violence between two people than doing this and now being charged with murder.”

The intimate partner violence complicated the matter, in the view of one social media response to news Adams had been indicted. “Hopefully she gets pardoned,” the comment said, “because the only reason any real sane person would go that extreme would be in self defense to save herself and her son because she was afraid that he might kill them both with his gun and she couldn’t take the abuse or the age gap or the culture clash.” (Tawfeek’s cultural background has not so far been reported.)

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788