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Judge grants insanity plea to man accused of murdering young CEO in Fairfax County
A Fairfax County judge on Thursday granted an insanity plea -- in the murder of CEO Gret Glyer. The victim's family is frustrated and blames prosecutors for the outcome of the case. FOX 5's Shomari Stone reports.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - A Fairfax County judge on Thursday granted an insanity plea to the man accused of killing a young man – a CEO of a non-profit – in 2022.
Family members of the victim, Gret Glyer, are frustrated. They blame prosecutors for the outcome of the case.
It's what they said they feared would happen when FOX 5 spoke to them last month.
FULL STORY: Family of CEO killed in Fairfax County concerned about suspect's potential insanity plea
They did not like the direction that the case was going, and now, they’re disappointed with the judge’s final decision.
The court ruling:
A judge granted an insanity plea to 36-year-old Joshua Danehower on Thursday – the man accused of murdering DonorSee CEO Gret Glyer in 2022.
The insanity plea agreement essentially recuses him from serving time in prison. He will instead be remanded to a mental institution.
Fairfax County prosecutors say Danehower shot Glyer nearly a dozen times while Glyer and his wife were sleeping in bed.
Last month, the Glyer family told FOX 5 that prosecutors told them about the possible plea deal.
Their concerns about the possibility of the insanity plea were confirmed with the judge’s ruling.
"The Glyer family’s hurt and disappointment are completely valid and more than understandable. Our clinical expert had previously found the defendant to be legally insane at the time of the offense, which now makes two independent experts who have reached that conclusion; these findings mean the Commonwealth would be unable to meet our burden of proof at a trial. Individuals who are found to be legally insane are remanded indefinitely to a Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services facility," the victim’s sister, Gizan Glyer said in an official statement from the family.
The backstory:
In the early morning hours of Monday, June 27, 2022, officers from the Fairfax City Police Department responded to the 9800 block of Bolton Village Court just before 3 a.m. after Glyer’s wife called 911.
According to police radio audio, a dispatcher said that his wife "heard a loud noise and believes her husband has been shot. She believes someone came into the house."
A next-door neighbor said he heard three gunshots and police had arrived before he could call himself.
According to prosecutors, Glyer was shot nearly a dozen times.