VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two Virginia Beach police officers "failed to meet the department's standards and expectations" when it came to handling the case of Marie Covington who went missing earlier this year before her body was found, according to findings of an internal investigation, the department said in a statement Tuesday.
On the night of Aug. 18, officers responded to a missing person call for Marie Covington. She had last been seen in the car with her boyfriend Gary Morton, on Aug. 17. On Aug. 20, State Police tried to pull a vehicle over, but it refused to stop. When the pursuit ended in Norfolk, the driver, Gary Morton, 43, was taken into custody. Troopers discovered the vehicle actually belonged to Covington.
Virginia State Police issued an Ashanti Alert on behalf of Virginia Beach Police Department late at night on Aug. 20. They canceled it just a few hours later, around 1 a.m. on Aug. 21, at the request of VBPD. Norfolk police said around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 20, their officers responded to the 1000 block of Galt Street where they found Covington's body.
Norfolk detectives then charged 43-year-old Gary Morton with second-degree murder and use of a firearm.
On Aug. 23, Virginia Beach police announced an internal probe into the department's handling. The department said it "opened an inquiry into the timeline of our initial response, reporting, and public notification."
"The review began with the time we received the first 911 call until charges were obtained for Gary Morton by the Norfolk Police Department. All evidence points to Ms. Covington’s murder happening before the VPBD were notified," the department said in Tuesday's statement. "However, the review determined that two of our officers failed to meet the Department’s standards and expectations in this incident. These failures, at different points in the case, have been remediated, to include scheduled retraining where applicable."
The statement said Chief Paul Neudiage ordered the creation of the Process Improvement Team which will "assess our current procedure/process for missing persons and recommend changes if warranted."
“Our thoughts go out to the Covington family as they continue to grieve,” said Chief Paul Neudigate. “We failed to meet the family’s expectations in trying to locate their loved one, which is why I implemented a process improvement team to review our procedures related to missing persons. It is my expectation that every time we are contacted about a potential missing person where there are specific, articulable facts that indicate one may be at risk, that we respond with the appropriate urgency.”
As for Morton, he is currently being held without bail at the Norfolk City Jail. His preliminary hearing on the murder charge is currently set for January 24, 2023, in Norfolk General District Court.
Virginia Beach police handled the abduction investigation. His preliminary hearing for that case is currently set for February 9, 2023, in Virginia Beach General District Court.
