ENTERPRISE, AL - The mother of Genesis Reid, the toddler reported missing a month ago from her Alabama home, has been charged with capital murder and abuse of a corpse.
The charges were announced against the mother, 33-year-old Adrienne Reid, on what would have been her daughter's third birthday, PEOPLE reported.
"Through the careful and methodical work of investigators, we have reached the heartbreaking and horrific conclusion that her mother, her caretaker, the one that should have been there to keep her safe, willfully murdered Genesis and placed her in a duffle bag and discarded her in a dumpster,” Enterprise Police Chief Michael Moore said in a press release on Monday, March 9.
Genesis was first reported missing by her mother around 3:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, according to police. At the time, Adrienne alleged, "the child was missing, and the front door of their residence was open." However, police soon found alleged "inconsistencies" in her story.
According to police, the "initial search of the surrounding area did not produce any information regarding the child's whereabouts" and as the "investigation progressed, detectives identified inconsistencies in the information provided, prompting a more intensive investigation.
The mother was subsequently arrested and charged with false reporting to law enforcement. As investigators followed leads and reviewed evidence, "it became clear that Genesis had not been seen since Christmas Day," Chief Moore said in a statement.
According to Moore, detectives obtained camera footage from a neighbor that allegedly showed Adrienne "walking toward the apartment complex dumpster with a rolling duffle bag at approximately 11:30 p.m.," on Christmas Day.
"Two days later, additional footage captured Adrienne returning to the dumpster area carrying toys and other items believed to belong to Genesis," police said.
Search efforts for the child are expected to target the Coffee County Landfill, with investigators narrowing down the search "based on truck schedules and GPS monitors on landfill equipment," the department said.
"I need the public to understand that this will not be an easy or fast search,” Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said, noting that it could take up to 10 weeks. "The subject dumpster where the bag we are looking for was picked up on December 26,” Byrd said.
"It was compacted in the truck that picked it up. It was taken to a distribution facility and compacted again. It was taken on another truck to the landfill where it was processed further with bulldozers and a compacting machine.” Coffee County District Attorney James Tarbox said Adrienne will have an initial court appearance.
"The evidence shows that Adrienne Reid killed her daughter, literally threw her in the trash, and then engaged in a 53-day campaign of deceit, lies, manipulation, and destruction of evidence, before she finally reported her missing on February 16,” Tarbox said.
"Her conduct speaks for itself and I believe this preliminary decision to seek the death penalty conforms to our community’s beliefs about this case and our shared values about how we value and seek to protect the most innocent among us, our children," he added.
A specialized team from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is assisting in final search plans to locate Genesis. Anyone with information related to the child's whereabouts, is asked to contact the Enterprise Police Department at 334-347-2222.
The charges were announced against the mother, 33-year-old Adrienne Reid, on what would have been her daughter's third birthday, PEOPLE reported.
"Through the careful and methodical work of investigators, we have reached the heartbreaking and horrific conclusion that her mother, her caretaker, the one that should have been there to keep her safe, willfully murdered Genesis and placed her in a duffle bag and discarded her in a dumpster,” Enterprise Police Chief Michael Moore said in a press release on Monday, March 9.
Genesis was first reported missing by her mother around 3:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, according to police. At the time, Adrienne alleged, "the child was missing, and the front door of their residence was open." However, police soon found alleged "inconsistencies" in her story.
According to police, the "initial search of the surrounding area did not produce any information regarding the child's whereabouts" and as the "investigation progressed, detectives identified inconsistencies in the information provided, prompting a more intensive investigation.
The mother was subsequently arrested and charged with false reporting to law enforcement. As investigators followed leads and reviewed evidence, "it became clear that Genesis had not been seen since Christmas Day," Chief Moore said in a statement.
According to Moore, detectives obtained camera footage from a neighbor that allegedly showed Adrienne "walking toward the apartment complex dumpster with a rolling duffle bag at approximately 11:30 p.m.," on Christmas Day.
"Two days later, additional footage captured Adrienne returning to the dumpster area carrying toys and other items believed to belong to Genesis," police said.
Search efforts for the child are expected to target the Coffee County Landfill, with investigators narrowing down the search "based on truck schedules and GPS monitors on landfill equipment," the department said.
"I need the public to understand that this will not be an easy or fast search,” Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said, noting that it could take up to 10 weeks. "The subject dumpster where the bag we are looking for was picked up on December 26,” Byrd said.
"It was compacted in the truck that picked it up. It was taken to a distribution facility and compacted again. It was taken on another truck to the landfill where it was processed further with bulldozers and a compacting machine.” Coffee County District Attorney James Tarbox said Adrienne will have an initial court appearance.
"The evidence shows that Adrienne Reid killed her daughter, literally threw her in the trash, and then engaged in a 53-day campaign of deceit, lies, manipulation, and destruction of evidence, before she finally reported her missing on February 16,” Tarbox said.
"Her conduct speaks for itself and I believe this preliminary decision to seek the death penalty conforms to our community’s beliefs about this case and our shared values about how we value and seek to protect the most innocent among us, our children," he added.
A specialized team from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is assisting in final search plans to locate Genesis. Anyone with information related to the child's whereabouts, is asked to contact the Enterprise Police Department at 334-347-2222.
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments