New details about axe murder revealed in court

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By Michelle Paynter - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Gruesome details were released in court Thursday about the axe murder of a Chatham County man.

Prosecutors say the victim's girlfriend is his suspected killer, 61-year-old Laura Adams. They say she murdered Ted Bala on July 15 in their home at Marsh Point Mobile Estates off Ferguson Avenue.

Savannah-Chatham police lead detective Alex Tobar said in court today that Adams used an axe, a shovel and a 2x4 to murder Bala.

Tobar even showed the judge where Ted was struck. "Two massive wounds to the head, massive wounds all along his body, all the way down to his ankle," he described.

Members of both families were in court for this graphic testimony. Theresa Bala said murder doesn't begin to describe what happened to her dad. "For somebody to be chopped up with an axe, it is just beyond," she said.

Police found Ted Bala dead on the bed and police say Adams was wearing a blood stained nightgown.

Theresa said they had a long history of domestic violence. "The relationship was always fighting with each other, she would hit him, he would hit her, the drinking was both," she said.

Police had been called to that home before and arrested both Adams and Bala. But Theresa says she doesn't know why things escalated on the night of July 15 or why it ended in bloodshed.

"For what happened to him is unbelievable, no matter what a person does, they don't deserve to die that way," Theresa said.

Adam's attorney, Asst. Public Defender Todd Houston Martin waived her appearance at her preliminary hearing Thursday. He released a statement saying, "It is clear that Laura Adams is a very sick woman suffering from documented mental illness. It is also abundantly clear that she demonstrates the classic hallmarks of a battered woman. I will vigorously pursue these defenses in Laura's case."

Adams had been previously treated by a psychiatrist. Police say she called that doctor the night of the murder and told him she chopped up Bala with an axe. In fact, that doctor is the one who called 911.

Recorder's Court judge Lawrence Dillon found there was enough evidence against Adams and sent the case to a grand jury.