Athena was first reported missing on January 10 after her sister, aged 5, was found walking alone near the town of Cyril by a postal worker.

Police arrested 31-year-old Alysia Adams, along with her husband Ivon Adams, on suspicion of child neglect. The charges against Ivon Adams were later updated to include first-degree murder.

On Tuesday the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said it had “recovered the remains of a child in rural Grady County outside of Rush Springs,” but was unable to confirm whether the body was Brownfield’s. The remains were sent to the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner’s Office for “positive identification.”

According to freshly released court documents, Alysia Adams admitted to police that Ivon Adams had beaten Brownfield immediately prior to her death, and later buried her body near the couple’s old home in Rush Springs.

This information was contained within the affidavit for Ivon Adams’ arrest, dated January 12, which used the acronym “A.A.K.A.” for Brownfield.

The document said that earlier in the day “Alysia confessed that on December 25, 2022, around midnight that night, Ivon beat A.A.K.A. and held her up by her arms, A.A.K.A. was not moving and her eyes were barely open.”

It continued: “He then laid her on the ground and punched her at least three more times in her chest. A.A.K.A. never moved after that.

“Ivon then left around 0100 hours on December 26, 2022, with A.A.K.A.

“When he arrived back, he told Alysia that he buried her near a fence line that was next to their old residence in Rush Springs. He informed her he placed a large broken branch over the burial site.”

According to CNN Ivon Adams is being held in custody with bond in Maricopa County, Arizona, and has yet to enter a plea. The network was unable to identify any attorney representing him.

Alysia Adams is accused of failing to properly care for a child and failure to protect a child from physical abuse, according to Caddo County District Court charging documents filed on Tuesday. A not-guilty plea has been issued on Alysia Adams’ behalf by her representative.

According to Alysia Adams’ affidavit, she and her husband took care of the two children from their biological mother two years ago, but had yet to take them for a doctor’s checkup or enroll them at school.

Alysia Adams is still being held in Caddo County, with her bond being set at $500,000 by an Oklahoma judge on Tuesday.