A man who was arrested in Phoenix in connection to the disappearance of a missing 4-year-old Oklahoma girl allegedly beat her to death before burying her body. Ivon Adams, 36, was arrested on Jan. 12 near 67th Avenue and Camelback Road on a felony warrant for first-degree murder and child neglect in connection to Athena Brownfield's disappearance. Adams' wife, Alysia, was arrested in Oklahoma on two counts of child neglect. Ivon waived extradition in Oklahoma and remains jailed in Maricopa County, pending extradition. "I want to get there and take care of it," Adams told a judge during a hearing in Maricopa County court. "I need to get there and fight this." Alysia is jailed in Oklahoma's Caddo County. The couple are caregivers for Brownfield, who was reported missing from Cyril, Oklahoma on Jan. 10. A postal worker found Athena’s 5-year-old sister wandering alone outside their home and alerted police. Authorities then determined that Athena was missing. Alysia allegedly admitted that at about midnight on Christmas Day, Ivon beat Athena before burying her body "near a fence line that was next to their old residence in Rush Springs." Athena "was not moving and her eyes were barely open," Alysia Adams said, according to the affidavit by OSBI Lt. Brenna Alvarez. Ivon Adams "then laid her on the ground and punched her at least three more times in the chest" and the child "never moved after that." Ivon Adams left the home with Athena at about 1 a.m. Dec. 26 and later returned, saying he buried her body on land the Adams once owned close to the nearby town of Rush Springs, about 15 miles southeast of Cyril, marking the site with "a large broken branch." Authorities have been searching that area. On Monday, authorities said they are looking for Athena's remains as the search for her transitions to a "recovery operation." LATEST: https://bit.ly/3Whmrky #fox10phoenix #athenabrownfield #oklahoma #phoenix Subscribe to FOX 10 Phoenix! https://bit.ly/39zQtv5 Watch FOX 10 Phoenix live: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/live FOX 10 Phoenix delivers breaking news, live events, politics, entertainment, business news and local stories from Phoenix, Arizona and across the nation. Watch more FOX 10 Phoenix on YouTube: Arizona Headlines: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjk-Nxa5HqPtshEuaekDdk3dtuBkjdJbJ National headlines: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjk-Nxa5HqPtq-kkrH0cQ3ZIYpLj5MGVT Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjk-Nxa5HqPty3IWL2u_KIRdltoeM-LbA Download FOX 10 Phoenix News and Weather App: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/apps Follow FOX 10 Phoenix on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FOX10Phoenix Follow FOX 10 Phoenix on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/FOX10Phoenix Follow FOX 10 Phoenix on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fox10phoenix Subscribe to FOX 10 Phoenix's newsletters: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/email