The mother of a missing 2-year-old in Alabama has been accused of murdering the child before allegedly placing the girl’s body in a dumpster, police confirmed.
Authorities in Enterprise, Alabama, announced new charges in the death of missing girl Genesis Reid, revealing that her mother, Adrienne Reid, has been formally charged with capital murder and abuse of a corpse.
During a press conference on Monday, March 9, Chief of the Enterprise Police Department Michael Moore said that investigators believe Genesis was intentionally killed and placed in a duffle bag before her body was discarded in a dumpster.
The investigation into Genesis’ disappearance began on February 16 when Reid reported that the toddler was missing from an apartment on Apache Drive. At the time, she told authorities that the toddler was not in her bed around 3 a.m. and that she’d found the front door of their home ajar.
After looking into the report, authorities determined that the claims were false and Reid was arrested the following day. She was initially charged with false reporting to law enforcement authorities, which is a Class C felony.
Moore said that detectives later uncovered evidence that indicated the child was last seen on Christmas Day, meaning she was missing for months before her disappearance was reported.
Surveillance footage from a nearby residence allegedly captured Reid walking toward an apartment complex dumpster around 11:30 p.m. with a rolling duffle bag. Another video, which was recorded two days later, showed Reid returning to the dumpster as she carried toys and other items that likely belonged to Genesis.
During the press conference, Moore said that the case was “heartbreaking” and noted that Genesis’ death has had a large impact on the community.
Not only have police upgraded Reid’s charges, but they shared that they are still actively looking for Genesis’ remains and have focused their search efforts at Coffee County Landfill.
Coffee County Sheriff Scott Byrd said investigators have used truck schedules, landfill mapping and GPS data from landfill equipment to help narrow down the area they’re searching.
Additionally, Byrd predicted that the search would take time because the contents of the dumpster were compacted in a collection truck, taken to a distribution facility and compacted again. The items were then transported to a landfill where the waste was processed. Byrd added that the process of finding Genesis’ remains could take up to 10 weeks or longer.
Police have enlisted the help of specialists from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to finalize the search plans.
Coffee County District Attorney James Tarbox said that Reid is expected to make an initial court appearance later this week regarding the new charges, and he added that prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.
It is not currently clear if Reid has entered a plea or retained legal representation in the case.
While the case has had major updates, police insisted that the investigation remains ongoing as the teams prepare for the landfill search.
