Virginia Sims.

A Norman Park woman was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday in the drowning death of her 6-year-old granddaughter.

Virginia Sims, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of felony murder. She had been indicted in December on counts of malice murder and felony murder in the drowning death of Alexis Walker in a pond on Moye Road in Norman Park.

Investigators believe that Alexis was strangled while being held under water by Sims. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation listed asphyxia as the cause of death.

Officers who responded on June 20 to the pond were met by Sims, who took them to the pond where the girl’s body was found.

A year prior to the slaying Walker was charged with arson in setting fire to her house. About a month before the death, Walker, who at one time had custody of Alexis but did not at the time of her death, was believed to have intentionally driven off the roadway in Worth County.