Robert “Bob” Adair was a master woodworker and musician. He never met a stranger and would do anything for anyone.
Children and dogs were drawn to his kind spirit. He cracked jokes often and shared stories from his colorful life.
On Sept. 16, 70-year-old Adair’s life was ended on a road he had called home for decades. Police say it was at the hands of a neighbor who shot Adair over a mailbox dispute while Adair sat in his truck.
Randy Small, 56, was formally charged with murder on Sept. 22. He is being held in the Brown County jail on no bond.
Just after midnight Sept. 16, deputies with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to the 4500 block of Helms Road for a report of someone who had been shot. A relative of Small’s said that the homeowner was wishing to commit suicide by police, according to a probable cause affidavit filed last week.
Officers surrounded the home and gave commands for Small to come out. After about 30 minutes, Small complied. He walked over to Sheriff Scott Southerland and asked if he was going to jail. When Southerland asked what he would be going to jail for, Small said he would not answer questions without a lawyer present. Police detained him.
Officers searched Small’s home and could not find an injured or deceased person. They asked EMS to have him evaluated for an involuntary mental health commitment based off his suicide comments.
While Small was being transported to the hospital, Capt. Mike Moore spoke with one of his relatives. The relative said that Small told him he had shot Adair the afternoon of Sept. 15 over a property dispute about the location of a mailbox, the affidavit states.
Deputy Nicholson Briles headed toward Adair’s driveway and found a red pickup truck in the grass alongside Helms Road. Adair was inside the truck, deceased. A mailbox and post were lying on the ground nearby.
Small’s relative told another relative about the shooting and both decided to notify Indiana State Police, who contacted the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
Small had told his relative that he shot Adair in self-defense and that he’d planned to commit suicide by police. The relatives told him to turn himself in, and after he did not, they called police, according to the affidavit.
Small had told his relatives that he’d pulled up beside Adair, and that Adair allegedly opened his truck door. His dog came out of the truck and Small said he thought Adair had a gun and was going to shoot him, so he shot him first, the affidavit states.
No gun was found in Adair’s vehicle. Based on evidence found at the scene, police believe Small shot Adair from an elevated position. They also found tractor tire prints appearing to have run over the mailbox post that was next to Adair’s truck.
Police reported seeing blood spots on Small’s left shoe.
A tractor in Small’s barn had blood evidence on it, the police report said. A neighbor reported hearing Small’s tractor drive past her residence the afternoon of Sept. 15 and hearing at least two gunshots. Small then drove back past the neighbor’s house. The neighbor reported seeing him with a rifle that had a black handle, according to the affidavit.
That neighbor told police that Small did not like anyone touching his property and would drive Helms Road often checking on his land.
Another neighbor called dispatch the morning of Sept. 15 to report that his and another neighbor’s mailboxes had been pulled from the ground. The neighbor’s mailbox had been placed right in front of his driveway.
Det. Brian Shrader noted in the probable cause affidavit that there had been history on Helms Road with Small and his neighbors.
A jury trial has been scheduled for Feb. 2. Small appeared in court on Sept. 22 for an initial hearing and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. He is being represented by three attorneys from Franklin: Carrie Miles, Andy Baldwin and Mike Auger.
Last week, Miles said that it was too early in the process to say anything specific with regards to their defense since they had been retained as Small’s attorneys the same week for his initial hearing.
“We’re all working together as a team on this,” she said.
Remembering Bob
Bob Adair was his daughter’s favorite person.
“Everybody loved him. He gave so many people joy and he would do anything for anyone,” said Lauren Adair-Horace.
“He was my person.”
Since her father was older, she knew she could not have him around forever, but she was not prepared for his death to happen like this.
“I just hope that justice prevails,” she said.
Like her father, Lauren can carry on a conversation with anyone about anything. “That is ingrained in me as well,” she said.
Since her father’s passing, Lauren said it is even more evident how much he loved and how many loved him. Friends from every chapter of his life have reached out with prayers and positive energy.
“That’s really the only reason I’ve been able to keep going because so many people are lifting me up in prayer and sending me that energy,” she said.
Lauren lives in Indianapolis with her husband J.J. and two children. The last time she and her son 7-year-old Tyrion visited with Bob was Labor Day weekend when they brought pizza to his house for a surprise visit.
“I said goodbye. I didn’t think that would be the last time I saw him,” she said.
Bob would always tell her son about the beavers that lived near a lake not far from his house. “Every time we’ve been down, we drive up to that lake and we would say, ‘We’re not going back up into the woods yet, but next time we come we will,’” Lauren said.
After her son learned of his grandpa’s passing, he had a question: “He was like, ‘Are you going to take me to see the beavers?’ I was like, ‘Yes, 100 percent. We will hike back there to see the beavers because that’s what grandpa told you we were going to do,” Lauren said.
Bob would drive to Indianapolis to see his grandson play baseball and basketball. “That’s something I’m sure my son will always cherish,” she said.
Dogs loved Bob and they were drawn to him, just like children were.
“My best friend said that he has at least seven to 20 dogs following behind him (in Heaven) with no leash. He definitely had a gaggle of dogs, walking around, leash-free. I don’t think any of his dogs have ever seen a leash,” she said.
“His spirit and his energy were so pure. That’s why it was so shocking when everything happened. You’ll never be able to understand why, but you just have to keep pushing forward.
“I know he wouldn’t want me to be sad every day, but I probably will be for a while.”
Martha Burton began dating Bob after they met at the Bluebird in Bloomington in 1976. They lived together for two years and then Lauren was born during their four-year marriage. After separating, they remained friends for more than four decades. Martha had just seen Bob a day or two before he was killed.
“Before he’d leave we’d always hug each other, but the last time I saw him, he hopped into the truck with his dog before we hugged, so I blew him a kiss and he blew me a kiss,” she said.
“We’re not the normal divorced couple. He would help me out and I would send food home with him.”
The two helped to start the Brown County Craft Gallery. She described Bob as multi-talented and an excellent woodworker. “He was kind and generous and open and funny — all of the good qualities anybody can have. He’s probably the best person I know.”
Bob had lived in Brown County since 1972. Martha and Bob began building their house around 1977. At first, they had a summer kitchen attached to a tree by the creek. A part of the wooden structure was screened for a shower and bed.
“We’d have people over for dinner and our living room was around a campfire. People would come over and play music. Then we moved into a tipi,” she said.
When it was cold, Martha’s parents let them borrow their airstream trailer. One night in April 1978, the trailer caught fire and blew up. Bob went back into the fire to save a friend’s guitar that he’d borrowed and left his own guitar behind.
The couple sustained severe burns all over their bodies. While in the ambulance, Martha proposed to Bob. “I said, ‘We’re going through this; don’t you think we ought to be married?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ The EMTs loved it. We were in the hospital for awhile,” she said.
Once they were healed, they lived in the basement of the home they were building. They were married on the property. After celebrating their wedding into the night, friends drove them to Indianapolis and dropped them off at the Hyatt. The next morning they didn’t have a ride home and they had to hitchhike back to Brown County.
The first house they built on Helms Road burned down, but Bob rebuilt it. “That’s the house now. It’s beautiful,” Martha said.
He was in the process of selling the house and some of his land to a friend when he was killed. He had planned to keep a little over five acres and his woodshop. He was working on adding a small apartment to the woodshop.
Dave Seastrom described Bob as a “lifelong friend who was kindhearted and industrious.”
In addition to his highly skilled woodworking and musical abilities, Bob was known for “his mischievous nature that landed him in hot water more than a few times in his life,” Seastrom said.
“Bobby loved his life and he freely shared his heart with all he encountered. He was a man full of advice, and most of it was good,” he said.
“So many of us loved this man, and all of us are in shock about what happened. It’s just so wrong in every way.”
Doug Harden had known Bob for years and they had played at the same shows numerous times.
Bob played the dobro with the White Lightning Boys.
“He just wanted to live a simple life and enjoy his time here. The way he lost his life will leave a scar on the community for years,” Harden said.
Dan Bilger, or “Picker Dan,” played music with Bob socially and professionally with the White Lightning Boys for years. He remembers picking music around Bob’s kitchen table often.
“Many of the beautiful shop doors around town were made by Bobby,” Bilger said.
“He left the world better than he found it.”
Lauren said her father would want people to mourn him, but he would not want that to last very long.
Bob was one of the constants in Brown County, said Rainey Wyatt, Lauren’s best friend.
“His loss is made even more poignant because of both the way he died and how deeply he represented the best of what Brown County is and has been,” she said.
“He was an artisan and musician, a nature-loving hippie and a country boy. He worked hard, played hard, had a wicked sense of humor, and loved and appreciated life and the beauty around him. His essence was the same one that runs through the veins of the county.”
