Kansas man with “mental health problems” tries to throw woman off bridge, pleads “no contest”

A man from Lawrence, Kansas pleaded no contest to attempted second-degree murder on Wednesday after he tried to throw a woman off a bridge into the Kansas River last year. In exchange for his plea, three felony charges of criminal threat were dismissed against 38-year-old Adam Blake Amyx Jr.

Prosecutors said a group of women were walking across the bridge on April 14, 2022, when they encountered Amyx yelling and cursing. When one of the women approached him, Amyx tried to pick her up and throw her off the bridge, Senior District Attorney David Greenwald said.

The woman escaped and called police. Greenwald said the fall likely would have killed her. Before he entered his plea, Amyx told the judge he has mental health problems. But he said he is currently on medication and was confident he could make the plea decision.