Man Who Lured Girl, 17, To His House To Buy Disney Cups Before Strangling Her Is Sentenced To 50 Years

Arthur Jensen, aged 53, has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the tragic demise of 17-year-old Adara Bunn, as reported by Fox News on Monday. The incident took place in August 2019.

Iroquois County Sheriff

Adara Bunn lost her life in Artur Jensen's residence in Sheldon, Illinois, where she had gone to purchase Disney memorabilia during a garage sale. The meeting turned into a horrific tragedy, resulting in her untimely death.

According to Iroquois County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Quinlan, Sheldon is a "very small town" known for hosting a weekend-long garage sale event.

Jensen and his wife organized their own event, where they were selling various items. Bunn attended the event and bought a set of "Pocahontas" cups. Later, she revisited their place, expressing an interest in exploring additional Disney-themed items available for sale.

“They had a bit of a conversation, and Jensen had told her that she could come back the following day and see if they had any more Disney memorabilia,” Quinlan explained. 

Obituary

During the incident, Jensen's wife was away, attending a high school reunion. The following day, Bunn came back to Jensen's residence, where he lured her inside. Tragically, he proceeded to strangle her to death using a nylon cord.

As two witnesses were passing by Jensen's house, they overheard Bunn's desperate cries pleading, "Stop," "Let me go," and "I won't call the police."

A concerned neighbor called 911, reporting to the dispatcher that they could hear screams coming from Jensen's residence.

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Upon arrival at the scene, officers were confronted by Jensen, who wasted no time in delivering a haunting confession.

“There’s a girl inside, and I strangled her,” he told law enforcement.

According to Quinlan, the crime had a sexual motive. The day before the incident, after Bunn had left Jensen's house, her boyfriend visited and engaged in a conversation with Jensen. During their interaction, Jensen reportedly asked about Adara and made inappropriate sexual comments, as stated by the prosecutor.

“I believe it was sexually motivated,” Quinlan said. “Now, he didn’t sexually assault her. He never got the chance. But it was clear the day before, he had made and expressed statements of a sexual nature, and I argued to the jury that when she came over, he likely made advances towards her. She rejected those advances.”

The horror murder shocked the local community, which had not witnessed such a violent act since 2016.

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Ray Huff, a resident of the area, shared with WAND News that Jensen had always seemed like “just a nice easygoing fellow”.

Assistant State's Attorney Michael Quinlan expressed to People magazine that this particular murder case stands out as one of the most severe and appalling he has ever encountered.

“This is one of the worst murder cases I have ever seen”

In an online obituary, Bunn, affectionately known as Sissy, was fondly remembered as a source of happiness for those around her.

“Sissy enjoyed reading, fishing, school amongst other things. She was an all around joy to everyone around her.”

Following her tragic passing in 2019, Milford Area Public School expressed their sentiments: “The Milford Area Public School community is grieving after hearing of the death of one of our high school students yesterday.”

“We are suffering as a staff, student body, and community for this loss.” 

“We would like to offer comfort and support to any interested students by providing counseling services during the upcoming days.”

In the wake of Bunn's untimely demise, the small community experienced a surge of strong emotions and reactions. 

Lisa K. Lynch Steeples posted on Facebook: “I would tear him from limb to limb..what a coward cruel sicko..man it just an innocent girl..could be anybodys child!!! I'm mad as hell.”

While Kristina Cook Hull added: “The heartbreak this family is going through is unimaginable.”