Florida | Prosecutors seek death penalty for Tampa rapper accused of killing pregnant girlfriend

TAMPA, Fla. – Opening statements are underway in the capital murder trial of Billy Adams, the Tampa rapper known as “Ace N-H,” accused of killing 22-year-old Alana Sims while she was pregnant with his child.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Adams in connection with Sims’ January 30, 2023, killing.

Sims’ mother, Shahlevi Sims, said the family lost both a daughter and an unborn child.

“We were expecting another beautiful soul, but it was taken from us,” she said. “So I didn’t lose one; I lost two.”

Police previously said they believed Sims’ pregnancy was a possible motive for the killing.

The case drew national attention because Adams had been acquitted in a separate double murder case just days before Sims was killed. Sims’ family said she believed she was going to a party celebrating Adams’ acquittal the night she died.

Authorities said Sims’ young child was sleeping in the backseat of a nearby car when witnesses found her body.

Court records show Adams changed his story several times before eventually admitting he killed Sims, while claiming he acted in self-defense. According to those records, Adams told detectives Sims pulled a gun on him and that he used that weapon to shoot her.

Now, with opening statements underway, a jury will hear both sides of the case as prosecutors seek the death penalty.

Source: wfla.com, Jenna Bass, August 26, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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