Manassas woman pleads guilty to drowning adopted daughter
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
July 7, 2009
The adoptive mother of a developmentally disabled girl whose body was found in Woodbridge creek has pleaded guilty to killing the 13-year-old.
Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, 45, admitted Monday in Prince William County Circuit Court to felony murder, felony child abuse and filing a false police report. The Manassas woman faces up to 51 years in prison at her sentencing, which is set for Oct. 2.
Gregg-Glover reported her daughter missing Jan. 7. She told police that Alexis "Lexie" Glover disappeared from her side in the Manassas Central Library parking lot. Police found the girl's Global Positioning System bracelet nearby. Lexie had run away several times and police had equipped her with the bracelet to track her. A wide-reaching search for the girl ended two days later when a Woodbridge resident discovered Lexie's body in a two-foot deep creek about eight miles from where she was last seen.
Police said Lexie's body was placed in the creek bed the day she disappeared and before her disappearance was reported.
Gregg-Glover first told detectives that she drove Lexie to a hospital because the girl was sick, but then decided not to take her and they went to the creek instead. Medical examiners determined that Lexie drowned.
After the plea hearing, Prince William County police released the results of an internal investigation that found that a variety of agencies, including the police department, had multiple contacts over several years with the Alexis and her mother. The report found several problems. "Part of our responsibility is to safeguard children from harm, and it is deeply disturbing to me that we failed to do so in Lexie Glover's case," said Police Chief Charlie T. Deane. "While there is only one person who caused her death -- and that is her mother, Alfreedia Glover -- I would be remiss in not stating that there are some things we could have, and should have, done differently in prior investigations with this family." The report found that Glover lied to authorities; police and county social services failed to communicate with each other, and county employees did not follow proper procedures in response to abuse and neglect reports. The police department disciplined three officers for failure to follow department policy. Last month, a senior social worker was fired and two managers were disciplined. smccabe@washingtonexaminer.com
