VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Newly obtained dash camera video from a Virginia State Trooper's vehicle is giving a new perspective into the investigation of a man accused of killing a Virginia Beach mother.
Gary Morton faces a second degree murder charge in the death of Marie Covington in August 2022.
The footage begins early in the morning of August 20 as a Trooper attempts to pull an SUV over for suspicion of DUI in Chesapeake.
A chase then ensues, ending in Norfolk where the driver ditches the SUV and then runs from police before being found in a nearby neighborhood off of Tidewater Drive.
Morton is then detained by police and repeatedly denies he was the driver of the SUV as he becomes combative with police. "I'm about to pee in your car," he tells the trooper at one point.
Then, police piece together that the SUV belonged to Covington, who had been reported missing to Virginia Beach Police on August 18.
In the video, police can be heard saying they found women's clothing torn up in the SUV and a travel bag with clothes packed.
Morton continues to deny he's involved. "Bro, I don't got nothing to do with that vehicle," he says.
As he's escorted to jail on charges related to the chase, he sticks to the story of not being connected.
"There were two guns in the car," the Trooper tells him. "It doesn't even matter. I wasn't in the car. It don't even matter," Morton replies.
News 3 obtained the footage through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The interaction happened early in the morning of August 20, but it wasn't until about 10 pm that night when police issued an Ashanti Alert for Covington.
At about 11:30 that night, Covington was found dead in Norfolk.
Virginia Beach Police later admitted failures in how the investigation was handled and the case prompted a review of how alerts for critically missing adults, called Ashanti Alerts, are issued.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) wrote a letter to the Youngkin Administration in December requesting a review. "It gives me pause to say how we designate an individual is missing I think needs a fresh look," Warner told News 3 at the time.
Since then, State Police updated their policies for issuing an Ashanti Alert to be more proactive instead of waiting for local law enforcement to contact them.
The case against Morton is moving forward and he is currently due back in court next week, court records indicate.
