MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – At this time, the case against the Blacksburg man charged with concealing the body of his 3-month-old daughter is not moving forward in court.
On Thursday morning, Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt dropped the single charge remaining against Andrew Terry.
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After a ‘hot mess’ of a trial in Sept. 2019 resulted in a mistrial, Terry was facing just a single charge of concealing a dead body.
Terry previously admitted to burying his daughter, Arieanna Day, near Jennelle Road after he picked her up bruised and barely alive from her mother’s house in Roanoke, according to prosecutors.
Last December, Terry had a retrial scheduled for April 1, 2020, which was delayed multiple times until Nov. 5.
“Dropping the charge presents an opportunity for both Roanoke City and Montgomery Co to build the strongest cases possible in our pursuit of justice for little Arieanna. The investigation continues but there are currently no charges in either jurisdiction,” explained Pettitt to 10 News in an email.
The Roanoke Police Department provided the statement below to 10 News regarding her disappearance.
"What I can tell you is that the Roanoke Police Department has not forgotten Arieanna Day. Detectives have remained dedicated to finding out the circumstances that led to the disappearance of Arieanna, and this case will remain open until we know what happened to her. As a community, we all mourn the loss of Arieanna Day.
We want to thank the agencies who continue to work on this incredibly difficult investigation with us, and to all of the agencies who have assisted us on this case. None of us will stop until we can bring justice for Arieanna.
We continue to ask for any information that the public may have to assist us in this investigation."
Roanoke Police Department
10 News has extensively covered all aspects of this case since we first learned of Arieanna’s disappearance in 2018:
- September 12, 2018 -Search underway for missing Roanoke 3-month-old girl
- September 13, 2018 - Roanoke police: ‘Realistic possibility’ 3-month-old Roanoke girl is dead
- September 14, 2018 - Search continues for missing Roanoke 3-month-old girl
- September 26, 2018 - Warrants show police looking at cellphone records of relative in missing baby case
- October 11, 2018 - One month later, few answers in case of missing Roanoke baby
- November 16, 2018 - Roanoke police partner with forensic expert in search for Arieanna Day
- January 09, 2019 - Blacksburg man indicted on charge of hiding body of his 3-month-old daughter
- September 26, 2019 - Judge calls case a ‘hot mess,’ Andrew Terry trial results in a mistrial
- December 11, 2019 - After ‘hot mess’ of a trial, Andrew Terry to be retried in case of missing baby