A 69-year-old Florida man told investigators he had repeatedly become unusually impaired after drinking with a woman he knew as “Nala.”

HAINES CITY, Fla. — A hospital test showing a 69-year-old man had suffered a benzodiazepine overdose became a key piece of an investigation that led Polk County detectives to arrest a 39-year-old Orlando woman he had met online, authorities said. Samantha Adams is accused of secretly putting the drug into his drink and now faces a second-degree attempted murder charge along with several other criminal counts.

The investigation began Aug. 20, three days after the man was admitted to a hospital following an evening with Adams at his Haines City home, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Medical staff determined that he had suffered an overdose involving a benzodiazepine, a class of prescription drugs that includes some medications used to treat anxiety. The man told investigators he did not take benzodiazepines, raising questions about how the substance entered his system. Detectives then began reconstructing the hours before he lost consciousness and comparing that episode with other incidents the man described.

Authorities said the man had met Adams through a dating app and initially knew her only as “Nala.” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd later said the two had been seeing each other for roughly two to three months in a relationship that involved paid sex. By Aug. 17, the man had bought Adams a vehicle, according to authorities and reports citing court records. The two argued about the vehicle that day. Reports based on the records say the man wanted it returned because he could no longer afford it. The sheriff’s office confirmed that the dispute over the vehicle preceded the medical emergency but did not characterize dissatisfaction with the car itself as a proven motive.

According to the man’s account to detectives, Adams went into his kitchen after the argument while carrying her purse. She returned with whiskey, and he drank from the glass she gave him. The encounter then became intimate, investigators said. The man alleged that Adams abruptly stopped and demanded $1,000 before continuing. When he refused, she left. Later that evening, he became increasingly impaired, passed out and was taken to a hospital. Authorities allege Adams had intentionally mixed a benzodiazepine into his drink before he consumed it.

The hospital finding gave detectives something the man said he had not had after earlier encounters: a medical explanation for why he became so impaired despite drinking only a small amount of alcohol. He told investigators that similar episodes had happened at Adams’ Orlando residence. During one encounter, he said he became unsteady and fell after a drink. During another, he said he passed out in his vehicle after leaving her home. He also described an Aug. 15 episode in which he felt groggy after leaving and backed into another vehicle. Judd later said that collision involved an Osceola County sheriff’s vehicle and remained under investigation.

Those earlier incidents took on new importance once the Aug. 17 hospital test showed benzodiazepines in the man’s system. The sheriff’s office said he maintained that he had consumed only small amounts of alcohol during the suspicious episodes. Investigators have not publicly released toxicology results from those earlier occasions, and the man’s belief that he was drugged then remains an allegation rather than a laboratory-confirmed finding. The sheriff’s office has nevertheless said detectives believe Adams may have poisoned him on multiple occasions, while Law&Crime reported that investigators also spoke with another man who described similar experiences.

Detectives also examined what happened inside the Haines City home. The sheriff’s office said someone had tampered with the man’s security system and that the man reported seeing Adams in the area where the equipment was located. Authorities have not publicly detailed what was altered, whether usable video was lost or whether forensic testing connected Adams to the alleged tampering. Prosecutors nevertheless included tampering with evidence among the charges filed following her arrest.

The investigation moved quickly after the man contacted authorities. On Aug. 27, one week after detectives opened the case, Adams agreed to meet him at the Posner Park shopping center in Davenport, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives were waiting there. When Adams arrived, deputies moved vehicles around hers and took her into custody. The sheriff’s office said officers found a prescription bottle issued to another person containing 19 hydrocodone-acetaminophen pills, along with 2.5 oxycodone hydrochloride pills, nine sertraline pills, a partial Adderall pill and a partial alprazolam, commonly sold under the brand name Xanax.

Authorities have not publicly established that every medication found during the arrest was connected to the substance detected in the man’s hospital test. Alprazolam is a benzodiazepine, however, and Adams was separately charged with possessing alprazolam without lawful authorization, according to the sheriff’s office. She was also charged with possession of oxycodone and hydrocodone. The other charges announced by authorities include resisting an officer without violence, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a new legend drug without a prescription and offering to commit prostitution.

The most serious allegation is attempted second-degree murder. That charge reflects investigators’ assertion that the drugging was intentional and potentially lethal, rather than an accidental exposure. Judd has used unusually forceful language in describing the case, saying Adams tried to kill, overdose and extort the man. He also referred to her as a “black widow” while warning that investigators were concerned there could be additional victims. Those statements represent the sheriff’s assessment of the evidence; Adams has been accused, not convicted, and the allegations against her remain subject to the court process.

The sheriff has said detectives believe money played a central role in the encounters. Investigators cited the vehicle the man purchased for Adams and the alleged demand for $1,000 during the Aug. 17 meeting. Judd said Adams’ requests became more significant as the relationship continued. But authorities have not released a complete financial record, and no publicly reviewed source establishes precisely what Adams intended to gain from the alleged poisoning itself. The evidence disclosed so far instead shows investigators building their case from the man’s account, his medical results, the circumstances inside his home and the prescription medications deputies reported finding at the time of Adams’ arrest.

The case also remains broader than the single hospital visit that triggered it. Investigators have said the man described at least three earlier suspicious episodes at Adams’ Orange County residence. Reports citing the arrest affidavit say another man told detectives of comparable experiences. Authorities have publicly raised the possibility of additional victims, although they have not announced further attempted murder charges or identified another confirmed poisoning in the material reviewed for this report. That distinction is significant because investigators’ suspicions about a possible pattern have not yet been tested in court.

Samantha Adams was taken to the Polk County Jail after her Aug. 27 arrest. Early reports said she was being held without bond on the attempted murder case and listed a Sept. 29 court date. That date has since passed, and a later verified disposition or new court milestone could not be confirmed from the public sources reviewed for this article. The investigation announced by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office remained focused not only on the Aug. 17 overdose but also on whether the earlier episodes and other people could be connected to Adams. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.