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Worlds Most Evil Killers S10E06 Edward Covington NOW H 264
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00:00The following program contains descriptions of violence, mutilation, which some viewers may find distressing.
00:07On Mother's Day, May the 11th, 2008, in the quiet community of Lutz in Hillsborough County, Florida,
00:16a rage-filled man unleashed a nightmare on Lisa Freeburg and her two children.
00:22He brutally attacked every single thing in that house.
00:25He killed three innocent people just because it's what he wanted to do.
00:31The killer had left a trail of bodies for the police to find.
00:36The mutilation that was done to these victims, the extent of the blood around the house, this was a pretty
00:45horrific scene.
00:47Detectives found the killer hiding in a cupboard.
00:5035-year-old Edward Covington was Lisa Freeburg's partner.
00:55He's not a human. He's a monster.
00:58How could he do that?
01:00I don't know.
01:02The very next thing you remember is all this chaos going on.
01:07What's the chaos?
01:08Killing.
01:09Edward Covington's Mother's Day massacre had revealed him to be one of the world's most evil killers.
01:39On May the 29th, 2015, seven years after the murders of Lisa Freeburg,
01:46and her two children, seven-year-old Zachary and two-year-old Savannah,
01:5142-year-old Edward Covington was sentenced to death in the circuit court of Hillsborough County, Florida.
02:00It was a triple murder that sent shockwaves through the small community.
02:08Edward Covington committed one of the most horrific, brutal crimes that Lutz's community had ever seen.
02:17When you think about when it happened and who it happened to and how it happened, it's incredibly horrific.
02:28The local press labeled Covington a monster.
02:32The case of Edward Covington was called by the press a Mother's Day massacre, and that's genuinely what it was.
02:41He killed because he could and because he wanted to.
02:44It was a remorseless, horrid, obscene set of killings.
02:54This killer's story begins in Florida on June the 13th, 1972.
03:01Edward Covington's life got off to a particularly bad start due to a mistake at the hospital where he was
03:09born.
03:09We know comparatively little about his upbringing as a child, but what we do know is as an infant, a
03:16newborn,
03:17he was given a massive overdose of antibiotics in hospital, which caused him 30% hearing loss.
03:25And I think that had an impact on the rest of his life.
03:33He wanted to become a Navy pilot, but the hearing loss meant that he couldn't.
03:38And so there was always that inner rage, that sense of resentment that he always had, and that stayed with
03:44him.
03:45He thought very highly of himself.
03:49He didn't respect anyone else.
03:52He didn't give people consideration.
03:54It was all about him.
03:57As a teenager, Covington's mental health started to decline.
04:02At the age of 15, Covington was hospitalised with the first of a number of episodes of mental problems.
04:09He was diagnosed with a chemical imbalance in his brain, and he was later diagnosed as being bipolar.
04:20He was on medication, but on top of that, he started to use illicit drugs.
04:31As Edward Covington reached adulthood, in a neighbouring county, Lisa Freeberg was growing up with her parents and younger brother,
04:40Sean.
04:46Lisa and I got along really well.
04:49We were about a year and a half, almost two years difference in age.
04:56We were always together.
05:02I have cerebral palsy, and because Lisa being the older sister in school, she didn't let no one bully me.
05:13She was just the best, bigger sister ever.
05:19If my mum needed her, she would come to her in a moment's notice.
05:25She was always reliable, always thinking of others.
05:32She gave her shirt off her back to just anyone that needed help.
05:39On January 13th, 2001, when Lisa was 19 years old, she gave birth to her first child.
05:50Zachary was a big surprise to all of us, because Lisa was pretty young at the time.
05:55But, you know, accidents happened, and, gratefully, it was a good accident.
06:02And she had an amazing son that was really caring, just like her.
06:10Zachary's father didn't stick around, and Lisa was left to bring up her son alone.
06:18Lisa was very concerned on how to be a mother at first, but working with our mom, she turned out
06:30to be a great mother herself.
06:32Our mom taught Lisa how to do basically everything, and she took that and ran.
06:48In 2004, Lisa met a man and fell in love.
06:52And on May 20th, 2005, when Zachary was four years old, she gave birth to a daughter, Heather Savannah.
07:03Heather was her legal name, because that's what her dad wanted.
07:06However, we always loved the name Savannah, and that's the name Lisa wanted, so that's what we called Savannah.
07:20When Zachary found out that he was going to have a little sister, he was super excited that he was
07:27going to be the big brother.
07:30They loved each other. You could tell that they loved each other.
07:34Sean has fond memories of his time with the family.
07:39I was the cool uncle, and I always, you know, played with them and, you know, gave them horseback rides
07:47or, you know, played video games with Zachary.
07:50There was a lot of laughs, a lot of love.
07:53Just every day was special.
08:00Lisa and her family lived in the small community of Lutz in North Hillsborough County, Florida.
08:09It was a very working class neighborhood where people knew each other, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say
08:18people struggle in that area to make ends meet and to get by.
08:26She worked a full-time job, did a lot of overtime hours, just to make sure she could give both
08:34children the life that they needed and she wanted to give them.
08:49Meanwhile, on July 19th, 2004, 32-year-old Edward Covington had got married, but his drinking and drug-taking had
08:59spiraled out of control.
09:01He had a history with crack cocaine and alcohol.
09:06When he was sober, he could be quite personable and very intelligent, but it seems every time he did mix
09:17those two, it would bring out a violent tendency in him.
09:21And it was Covington's wife who bore the brunt of his violence.
09:27He was physically abusive to her, he broke her wrist, he strangled her, he broke teeth out.
09:40At the time, Covington was working as a prison officer for the Florida Department of Corrections,
09:46and he used this to his advantage whenever his wife called the police to report his violence.
09:55Any time there was any kind of contact with law enforcement, he was using that to sway their opinion,
10:02hoping that he would be more believable than, say, somebody else.
10:07And he pulled that trick multiple times to get out of trouble.
10:13The entire thing is about him getting what he wants and manipulating everyone in his life.
10:24Covington's wife had put up with enough.
10:27In 2007, she filed for divorce.
10:31The marriage had been a terrible failure.
10:33In fact, when she left him, he took his revenge on her
10:39and decapitated three of her cats.
10:46Now, that's not the action of a man who's entirely in control of himself.
10:51It's a violent, vengeful, horrible thing to do.
10:59That suggests to me that he escalates, and he escalates quickly when he is challenged.
11:07He's clearly got problems with relationships, he's clearly got problems with women,
11:12and he's clearly somebody who's quite happy to go to killing when he's challenged.
11:23When his marriage ended, Covington moved into a trailer owned by his parents,
11:2920 miles away from where Lisa Freeberg and her family lived in Lutz.
11:34In the same year, Lisa's relationship with her daughter Savannah's father came to an end,
11:41and Lisa decided to try online dating.
11:49I know she was a single mom.
11:51She was raising her two kids.
11:52Relationship-wise, I know she was looking for somebody.
11:56The dating site threw up a potential match for Lisa, 35-year-old Edward Covington.
12:04I did hear that she was meeting this new guy, Edward,
12:09but I trusted her judgement.
12:11She was smart.
12:12She knew that her kids meant the most to her, and, you know,
12:17that's what she was looking for, was a father figure for Zachary,
12:23a father figure for Savannah.
12:28He seemed like a great guy at first.
12:36But things were about to change in the spring of 2008.
12:42Covington and Lisa took their relationship to the next level.
12:46Because of his behaviour, his parents threw him out of the trailer that they owned.
12:52But at that point, Lisa said,
12:55Well, you could come and live with us in Lutz.
12:57They'd only known each other about six months.
13:00And I don't suspect she had any inkling of his very checkered mental history
13:06and his violent first marriage.
13:09She meets this individual, and she entrusts him with her children.
13:13And he just used that as an opportunity to take advantage of them.
13:19So he was taking care of the children while she was making the money.
13:25Lisa's family soon became concerned about Covington's behaviour.
13:31Once he moved in, we did start noticing more of a temper range.
13:37We noticed that he seemed like to snap quickly towards her.
13:42There was a cloud of uncertainty,
13:46almost like the kids didn't want to be there.
13:51Lisa's family was starting to grow concerned for Lisa and the children,
13:56but they had no idea how much danger they were in
14:00until it was too late.
14:10By May 2008,
14:13Edward Covington had moved in with his girlfriend Lisa
14:16and her two children,
14:18seven-year-old Zachary and two-year-old Savannah.
14:21Lisa's family had started to notice a change in the children's behaviour
14:25when Covington was around.
14:30I was told by my mom
14:32that when Zachary was getting in the truck with Lisa
14:36and if Covington was there,
14:40Zachary had a scared look on his face.
14:43When Lisa's family started noticing mysterious bruises on the children,
14:48they started to have concerns that Covington was harming them.
14:52They took photos of the injuries that they'd seen.
14:57It just added ammo for our case against him
15:01that we were trying to build to show Lisa,
15:04get away from this guy.
15:05We have pictures.
15:07We have the proof.
15:08But Lisa's desperate family didn't get time
15:11to stage the intervention they felt was needed.
15:15Just two days after they took those photos
15:17was Mother's Day, May the 11th, 2008.
15:22We were surprised when Lisa didn't show up
15:26to see her own mother on Mother's Day
15:30and that's when we figured out something was wrong.
15:38The next morning, Lisa's family were notified
15:41that Lisa hadn't turned up at the childminders or at work.
15:46Lisa's mum, Barbara, decided to go over to her daughter's home.
15:51She'd no idea she was about to encounter
15:54a scene of unimaginable horror.
16:01When the mother arrived at the trailer
16:04to check on her daughter,
16:08she managed to get in the front door
16:11enough to then see one grandchild
16:14obviously murdered there on the floor in front of her.
16:22At that point, she backed out of the trailer
16:24and caught her husband and called the police.
16:30Barbara had seen her seven-year-old grandson's body
16:33lying by the front door.
16:35Zachary had been stabbed to death.
16:46It's almost impossible to imagine the scene that confronted her.
16:49It was of such butchery, such carnage
16:53that no one could really describe it without being horrified.
16:58I can't imagine walking in and seeing my grandchild like that.
17:09Police and emergency services raced to the scene.
17:13We showed up there at the location
17:24and discovered that there had been
17:29three people murdered inside.
17:35When I looked in the front door,
17:37the entire house was just trashed.
17:40Lisa's son was laying just inside the door.
17:45The one thing that stuck out the most
17:47was the area where his penis
17:50and his scrotum would be
17:52was missing.
17:54And it was just...
17:56You could see that it had been done
17:58post-mortem
17:59because there was no blood.
18:01There was no anything.
18:07Two-year-old Savannah was lying just a few feet away from her brother.
18:12She had been decapitated.
18:15What could a two-year-old child have possibly done
18:20to incur that kind of wrath?
18:24I couldn't see where Lisa was actually at
18:26until I went around on the backside
18:30and then I could see her laying there in the hallway.
18:38Lisa's body was covered in multiple injuries
18:42and her throat had been cut.
18:53It was probably one of the worst scenes I've ever been a part of.
18:58As they searched the house,
19:00the police also discovered
19:01that the family dog had been killed.
19:05It was a lot to take in
19:07because there was just so much chaos.
19:10Seeing the level of dismemberment,
19:12it's not normal.
19:16There was no sign of the attacker.
19:19Police presumed the person responsible
19:22must have fled the scene.
19:23But then someone heard a noise
19:26coming from the closet.
19:28Patrol deputies were clearing the house
19:30and then one of them heard something
19:33and they located him
19:35inside the bedroom closet.
19:38Crouched down and covered in blood
19:40was Lisa's boyfriend,
19:42Edward Covington.
19:46He was hiding
19:47but they were able to see
19:49part of an actual body there
19:51and they called him out
19:53and had him show his hands and come out.
19:55As he was escorted out of the house
19:57and put into the back of the police cruiser,
20:00he says to the officers,
20:02I can't believe what I've done.
20:09It was left to Lisa's mum, Barbara,
20:12to break the news to Sean.
20:17I was getting ready to go to work
20:20and I was actually pulling out of my aunt's driveway
20:25when my mum called me
20:26and told me to not go to work,
20:29to come home.
20:32Once I got home and I saw the police cars in front of the house,
20:37my mum broke the news to me right in the driveway
20:41that she found Lisa and the kids
20:47and they were no longer with us.
20:54Within hours,
20:56the local press had got wind
20:58of the tragic story unfolding in Lutz.
21:02Monday morning,
21:03came in,
21:04just expecting to do the normal reporting I do of the week
21:09and instead got a phone call
21:10that I'd be helping cover breaking news
21:13and cops beat that day.
21:15I went out there not having any idea what to expect
21:18and then it turned out to be
21:20one of the most horrific crimes
21:22that that community had seen.
21:25There were dozens of sheriff investigator vehicles.
21:29There was an incredible amount
21:31of emergency personnel, investigators out there.
21:34They had us backed up a block away
21:36just to keep prying eyes
21:39from the extensive crime scene.
21:44Details of the crime
21:46were filtering through to the press.
21:50Hearing about the nature of that crime
21:52really seemed that whoever did this
21:56had no humanity left.
22:03The violence against Lisa
22:06and the incredible violence
22:08against the children as well
22:10is absolutely breathtaking.
22:17I don't think there are words
22:19to describe how awful that scene must have been.
22:23All along the street,
22:25investigators would walk in and come back out
22:28and it was shocking to see
22:31how it impacted them as well.
22:34There were officers who were holding each other
22:36and others that had all the color
22:38out of their face
22:38from going in and coming out.
22:43Detective Dale Bunton
22:45remembers arriving at Lisa's property.
22:49At that point,
22:50multiple detectives had responded.
22:52The scene had been taped off
22:55when they were describing
22:56to the detectives outside of the scene
22:59how bad inside was.
23:01It was a very graphic description
23:03description about the mutilation
23:05that was done to these victims
23:08and the extent of the blood around the house.
23:13This was a pretty horrific scene.
23:19Reporters started speaking
23:21to the neighbors
23:22to try and glean some information
23:24about the family who lived there.
23:27They kept everyone back quite a way
23:31but the neighbors had come out
23:34and filled the street.
23:35That street's a very quiet street.
23:38That's what made it such a shocking ordeal
23:41for some of them
23:42that they had seen the victims
23:44just a day earlier
23:46and that's kind of how Lutz was.
23:48Neighbors knew each other.
23:50The press were also being given information
23:54by the police.
23:57Throughout the day,
23:59we had multiple updates
24:00from the sheriff's spokeswoman.
24:02In between the updates,
24:04obviously there's chatter,
24:06there's information that trickles out
24:09until it's confirmed,
24:11it's still not official.
24:14But one of the pieces of information
24:17that had trickled out before
24:18was there was someone found in the closet.
24:21The neighbors knew that Lisa had a boyfriend.
24:24No one thought that that's who had done it.
24:30What the press and the neighbors
24:33didn't know at that point
24:34was that police already had their suspect in custody
24:37and what Edward Covington
24:40would tell detectives in his interview
24:42would shock them to the core.
24:58On May 12th, 2008,
25:02police had been called to the scene
25:03of a horrific triple murder
25:06in Hillsborough County, Florida.
25:0826-year-old Lisa Freeberg
25:10and her children,
25:127-year-old Zachary
25:13and 2-year-old Savannah,
25:15had been found butchered inside their home.
25:18Lisa's boyfriend, Edward Covington,
25:20had been discovered concealed in the closet.
25:28Hiding in the cupboard
25:29is very strange behavior.
25:33There could be an element
25:34in that he had nowhere to go.
25:36Where was he going to go?
25:38He could not escape,
25:40that he was responsible
25:41for what had gone on in that house.
25:43The forensics would have been
25:44absolutely everywhere.
25:47On May 14th, 2008,
25:51after he'd been assessed by doctors
25:52in a secure hospital,
25:54Edward Covington
25:55was interviewed by detectives.
25:57Before we talk to you about anything,
26:00we have to read your Miranda rights.
26:03Covington's amazingly calm
26:05and collected.
26:06He's not weeping and wailing
26:08and he confesses
26:10to the killings.
26:13It was as if
26:14I'm just sitting,
26:15talking to,
26:17you know,
26:18someone about
26:18what we had for
26:19dinner last night.
26:21I think he was wanting
26:22to get it off of his chest.
26:25Covington gave detectives
26:26his side of the story.
26:28He'd been drinking
26:29and using crack cocaine
26:31the night before Mother's Day.
26:34He wants to take her car
26:36to go get more drugs
26:37and then he gets upset
26:38because she won't allow him to.
26:42He knew that
26:43by combining alcohol
26:46and the cocaine he was using,
26:48it was going to cause
26:49a bad reaction.
26:50He still did it anyway.
26:54He wanted what he wanted
26:56and he didn't care
26:57what was going to be in his way.
26:58To lead to
27:00this type of violence
27:02on this family
27:03and to take three people
27:05out of the lives
27:06of all their loved ones
27:07is horrible.
27:10At approximately
27:11ten in the morning
27:12and already simmering
27:14with rage,
27:15Covington found
27:16two-year-old Savannah
27:17out of bed
27:18and lying on the couch.
27:20I asked her
27:21what she was doing up
27:22and she just started
27:23to cry
27:24and that's it.
27:26That is the last
27:29recollection
27:30of being in control
27:32I know of.
27:33So then the very next
27:35thing you remember
27:36is all this chaos going on.
27:38What's the chaos?
27:39Killing.
27:43Two-year-old Savannah
27:44was the first
27:45to experience
27:46Covington's wrath.
27:48He admitted
27:49everything he did
27:51telling me
27:51how brave she was
27:52because I asked
27:54was she scared
27:54was she screaming
27:55was she crying
27:56and he's like
27:57oh no
27:58she was so brave
27:59and he seemed
27:59so proud of that.
28:04Savannah
28:05you said
28:06the first thing you did
28:07is you sliced her jugular.
28:08Yes sir.
28:11He was just
28:12as a matter of fact
28:13about everything he did
28:14but he did
28:15indeed
28:18almost cut
28:19that little girl
28:19in half.
28:25Lisa Freeberg
28:26had been awoken
28:27by the sound
28:28of the attack
28:29on her daughter.
28:32Lisa came out
28:33and he then
28:35turned his
28:37violence on her.
28:40she had
28:41multiple stab wounds
28:43blows to her head.
28:48I could tell
28:49she had stopped
28:50breathing
28:50I could feel
28:52her body
28:53go well.
28:54After killing
28:55Lisa
28:56Covington
28:57had then
28:57turned his
28:58murderous rage
28:59onto a sleeping
29:00seven-year-old
29:01Zachary.
29:04What about Zachary?
29:06Where was he at?
29:07Did he ever come out?
29:08He was in
29:09his top bunk
29:10I think
29:11I stabbed him
29:11three times.
29:17He said
29:18that there was
29:19really
29:19no movement
29:20fight
29:21nothing
29:22neither one
29:22of the kids
29:23put up a fight.
29:27You're this close
29:28to this person
29:28when you're
29:29stabbing them
29:29or you're
29:30cutting their throat
29:31or you're
29:32doing all
29:33those other things
29:34that's personal
29:35that's
29:36a different
29:37level.
29:48Covington
29:48was quite
29:49open
29:50that he
29:50was responsible
29:51for the
29:51killings
29:52but what he
29:53never did
29:54was offer
29:55any kind
29:55of explanation
29:56about why
29:57he did it.
29:59Troy tried
30:00to determine
30:01a motive
30:02for the murders.
30:03There was
30:04a lot of
30:04details
30:05that we had
30:06to continually
30:06ask
30:07because he
30:08cut the
30:08boy's
30:08penis off
30:09so my
30:09thought is
30:10what is the
30:11purpose behind
30:12this?
30:12Is this
30:12sexually driven?
30:13and he
30:14literally
30:15was like
30:15oh gosh
30:16no.
30:18There was
30:19no sexual
30:20arousal
30:21in any
30:21aspect
30:22of what
30:23transpired.
30:25I think
30:25he'd have
30:26deflected
30:26from that
30:27because that's
30:27something
30:28that he
30:28would not
30:29want people
30:29saying about
30:30him
30:31that he
30:31was a
30:32sex offender.
30:33He would
30:34rather be
30:34thought of
30:35as angry
30:35than being
30:37sexually
30:37motivated
30:38and I think
30:38he'd have
30:39been quite
30:39adept
30:40at trying
30:40to get
30:41the police
30:42to concentrate
30:43on the
30:43anger
30:44and ignore
30:45the sexual
30:45motivation.
30:48Detectives
30:49questioned
30:49Covington
30:50about where
30:51he'd been
30:52found hiding.
30:54What made
30:54you hide
30:55in the closet?
30:56Oh.
30:58Do you
30:58remember
30:58going into
30:59the closet?
31:00I mean,
31:01I remember
31:01walking in
31:02there and
31:03slipping
31:03and falling
31:04down
31:05but I don't
31:06remember
31:06what I was
31:06going in
31:07for.
31:08Most times
31:09you'll be
31:10interviewing
31:10somebody,
31:11there's some
31:11level of
31:12remorse,
31:13right?
31:13For what
31:13they did,
31:14this one
31:15was definitely
31:15way different.
31:18As the
31:19interrogation
31:20continued,
31:22Dale was
31:22tasked with
31:23investigating
31:2435-year-old
31:25Covington's
31:26background.
31:29Even with
31:30somebody who
31:30confesses
31:31immediately,
31:32you still need
31:33to build
31:33that case
31:34to prove
31:35it.
31:36Dale
31:37questioned
31:37Covington's
31:38previous
31:38employers.
31:40He had
31:42worked for
31:42the Department
31:42of Corrections.
31:43They
31:44explained to
31:45me that
31:45they did
31:46have
31:46problems
31:47with him,
31:48disciplinary
31:49issues,
31:50the tardiness
31:51and the
31:52just not
31:52even showing
31:53up for
31:53work.
31:54He also
31:56had
31:57investigations
31:57on him
31:58for abusing
31:59inmates.
32:02On May
32:0214th,
32:03Dale got
32:04a call
32:05from a
32:05potential
32:06witness to
32:07the
32:07Mother's Day
32:07murders.
32:09This
32:09gentleman
32:10was friends
32:10of a man
32:12that lived
32:12right next
32:13door to
32:13the scene.
32:14He was
32:14helping him
32:15install a
32:15roof on
32:16his deck.
32:18And while
32:19he was
32:20there,
32:21he and
32:22his friend
32:23kept hearing
32:24noises coming
32:26from the
32:27crime scene
32:28before it was
32:28known to be
32:29a crime scene.
32:31And he was
32:32looking over
32:33there and
32:34he saw a
32:35window that
32:36was unobscured.
32:37The blinds were
32:38pulled off to
32:39the side.
32:39And he saw
32:41the gentleman
32:42that he knew
32:43frequented there.
32:45He could tell
32:46he was striking
32:46something.
32:47He would also
32:48hear a subsequent
32:49what he thought
32:50was a dog
32:50yelping in pain.
32:52It was later
32:53determined that
32:54that dog was
32:54beaten with a
32:55hammer.
32:56Being beaten
32:5715 or more
32:59times,
33:00one after
33:01another,
33:01after another,
33:02after another,
33:02it's just so
33:03cold.
33:05I think he
33:06did that just
33:07out of spite
33:08because even
33:09though he already
33:10killed my
33:11sister,
33:11he wanted to
33:12hurt her
33:13more because
33:14she knew that
33:15she loved
33:16all animals
33:17and that was
33:18another way
33:19to get
33:19hurt.
33:23Animals,
33:24for some
33:24reason,
33:24are my
33:25weak point
33:25now.
33:26I can
33:26disassociate
33:27myself from
33:28the human
33:29aspect usually
33:30pretty good.
33:31When I get
33:32into the animals,
33:33I have a more
33:34difficult time.
33:40Dale needed
33:41to find out
33:42if the man
33:43in the window
33:44was indeed
33:45Edward Covington.
33:47I went back
33:48to the office
33:48and used the
33:50suspect's photo
33:51as a base
33:52and then created
33:53a photo pack
33:54of similar-looking
33:56individuals
33:57so that they
33:58could do an
33:59identification
34:00of the person
34:01that they saw
34:02at the scene.
34:02And I told him,
34:03I want you to
34:03study it.
34:04I don't want you
34:04to just pick one.
34:05And after
34:0611 seconds,
34:07he said it was
34:08this one right
34:09here.
34:09And he identified
34:10Edward Covington.
34:12It didn't come
34:13as a shock
34:14when he was
34:16named as a
34:17suspect.
34:18It just
34:19didn't make
34:20sense any
34:20other way
34:21than it to be
34:22Edward Covington
34:23covered in blood
34:24found in the
34:25closet.
34:26Edward Covington
34:28was charged
34:28with three counts
34:29of first-degree
34:30murder,
34:31three counts
34:32of abuse
34:33of a dead
34:33body,
34:34and one
34:34count of
34:35animal cruelty.
34:36He confessed
34:37to the brutal
34:38and senseless
34:39murders of
34:40the family
34:40who'd put
34:41their trust
34:41in him
34:42and allowed
34:43him into
34:43their home.
34:44It seemed
34:45he was willing
34:45to take
34:46accountability
34:46for his
34:47actions,
34:48but that
34:49was about
34:50to change.
35:00On May
35:0114, 2008,
35:03in Hillsborough
35:03County,
35:04Florida,
35:0435-year-old
35:06Edward Covington
35:07had confessed
35:08to the
35:09Mother's Day
35:09murders of
35:10his girlfriend
35:11Lisa and
35:12her two
35:12children,
35:137-year-old
35:14Zachary and
35:152-year-old
35:16Savannah.
35:21If you look
35:22at all the facts,
35:23it seems what
35:24other recourse
35:25does he have
35:25really,
35:26other than
35:26just fall
35:27on the
35:28sword,
35:28or is he
35:29going to
35:29take a chance
35:29and hope
35:30that he gets
35:30lucky?
35:31And that's
35:32exactly what
35:32he tried to
35:33do.
35:34Despite
35:35his detailed
35:36confession,
35:37at his plea
35:38hearing on
35:38June 5, 2008,
35:41Covington pled
35:42not guilty.
35:43For almost
35:45six years,
35:46Covington
35:46fought to be
35:48considered
35:49incapable of
35:50standing trial
35:51because of a
35:52mental imbalance.
35:53In other words,
35:54I'm not guilty
35:55because I'm
35:55mad.
35:57This man is
35:58highly manipulative.
35:59He must have
36:01known that he
36:03was not going to
36:04be able to
36:04beat the
36:05forensics.
36:05All he can
36:07do is try
36:08to defend
36:09what he
36:10did.
36:11Now, one of
36:12his ways of
36:13defending himself
36:14is to raise
36:15the idea that
36:16I'm mentally
36:17ill, that I
36:18had a psychotic
36:19moment.
36:20Maybe that
36:21had something
36:22to do with
36:23crouching in
36:24the bedroom,
36:24hiding in
36:25the cupboard,
36:25just adding
36:26to this idea
36:27that this man
36:28is insane.
36:29And certainly
36:30the crime scene
36:31looks like
36:33only an
36:34insane person
36:36could have
36:37done that.
36:42Covington,
36:42he would
36:43work the
36:43system, and
36:44that's exactly
36:45what he did
36:46for all those
36:46years before
36:48he actually
36:48came to
36:49trial.
36:52Ultimately,
36:53he was deemed
36:54competent to
36:55stand trial,
36:56and on
36:57October the
36:5722nd, 2014,
36:59over six years
37:01since the
37:01murders,
37:0242-year-old
37:03Edward
37:03Covington
37:04finally appeared
37:05at the
37:06Hillsborough County
37:06Circuit Court
37:07in Florida.
37:09The following
37:10day, after the
37:11opening statements
37:12had been read,
37:13Covington changed
37:14his plea to
37:15guilty and
37:16waived his
37:17right to a
37:17jury for the
37:18penalty phase
37:19of his trial.
37:22And that
37:23might look as
37:24if this is a
37:25man who's
37:26accepting
37:26responsibility
37:27for what he's
37:29done, but
37:30it's equally
37:31possible that
37:32he's reached
37:33the end
37:33of the
37:34process.
37:35This trial's
37:35going ahead
37:36now.
37:37All of his
37:37insanity,
37:38pleas, and
37:38everything,
37:38that's all
37:39been done.
37:40Now, if the
37:41trial goes
37:41ahead, all
37:42the detail
37:43comes out.
37:45And the
37:45only way to
37:46protect himself
37:47from that
37:48is to plead
37:49guilty, so
37:50there is no
37:51trial.
37:52No jury
37:52gets to hear
37:54all of that
37:54stuff that
37:55might make
37:57him look
37:57like a
37:58sexual
37:58predator or
37:59in some
38:00way, he
38:01doesn't want
38:01to be
38:01represented.
38:03So I think
38:04it's quite
38:04possible that
38:05that guilty
38:05plea at
38:06the last
38:06minute is
38:07another
38:08manipulation
38:08of the
38:09system to
38:10his benefit.
38:12Detective
38:12Troy Morgan
38:13was called
38:14to testify
38:15at the
38:16sentencing
38:16hearing.
38:18We started
38:18playing the
38:19interview and
38:20Covington
38:21asked not to
38:21be present
38:22because he
38:23didn't want to
38:23relive it
38:23again, which
38:24I thought
38:25was selfish.
38:26He's worried
38:27about himself,
38:28which I guess
38:28at this point
38:29in time, I
38:29guess that's
38:30all he's
38:30going to
38:30worry about.
38:31The judge
38:32made him
38:32come every
38:33single day
38:33to say,
38:34I don't
38:35want to
38:35be here,
38:35and then
38:36they let
38:37him go
38:37sit and
38:37hold himself.
38:39Everything
38:39about
38:40Covington
38:40is selfish.
38:44Everything
38:44is motivated
38:45around what
38:46he wants,
38:46what he
38:47needs, and
38:47that was
38:48clear on
38:48this
38:48murder.
38:52The
38:53findings of
38:54the autopsies
38:55were presented
38:55to the
38:56judge.
38:57The youngest
38:57child, the
38:58two-year-old
38:59daughter, Savannah,
39:00that was
39:01especially
39:02brutal.
39:03She had
39:03radiating
39:04fractures in
39:06leg bones,
39:07arm bones.
39:08It was
39:09learned that
39:11he probably
39:12had picked
39:12her up by
39:13the legs
39:14and threw
39:15her against
39:16the wall
39:17and into
39:17the couch.
39:18She had
39:20multiple
39:20stab wounds,
39:23just
39:23outrageously
39:24brutal.
39:27Savannah,
39:28I'm sure,
39:28felt the
39:29terror of
39:30what he
39:31was doing.
39:36Lisa
39:37had multiple
39:38injuries.
39:39Her skull
39:39was fractured,
39:41she'd been
39:41stabbed in
39:42the chest,
39:43and her
39:44throat had
39:45been cut.
39:47Zachary
39:48also had
39:50multiple
39:51stab wounds
39:52in his chest,
39:53in his back,
39:54in his neck.
40:08The numerous
40:09psychiatrists who
40:11devaluated Covington
40:12also gave evidence.
40:15One of the
40:16psychiatrists working
40:17for the state
40:18described him
40:19to the court
40:20as threatening,
40:21aggressive,
40:22hostile,
40:23and angry.
40:24And I think
40:24that's exactly
40:25what he was.
40:26And he couldn't
40:27control it.
40:29The details
40:30that came out
40:31during the hearing
40:32were almost too much
40:34for the family
40:35to comprehend.
40:37He's not a human.
40:39He's a monster.
40:41How could you do that
40:42to a two-year-old?
40:44How could you do that
40:45to a seven-year-old?
40:47How could you do that
40:48to a mother
40:49that was just trying
40:51to survive
40:51and find love?
40:54How could he do that?
40:56I don't know.
40:58But that's why
41:00I consider him
41:01a monster
41:01and not human.
41:07Lisa's mum,
41:08Barbara,
41:09was invited
41:10to read
41:10a victim impact
41:12statement
41:12to the court.
41:16I miss Lisa,
41:18Zachary,
41:18and Savannah
41:19with everything in me.
41:20I miss them so deeply
41:22that most times
41:23I can't stand it.
41:25I miss their voices,
41:28their smiles,
41:29their hugs,
41:30and their kisses.
41:32The day I found them
41:33is the day I died too.
41:36My life has never
41:37been the same.
41:46For the family,
41:48the pain of losing
41:49Lisa,
41:50Zachary,
41:51and Savannah
41:52still weighs heavily
41:53on their hearts.
41:55Lisa did so much
41:57for me
41:57and I could never
42:00tell her
42:01how much I love her.
42:03I wish she was still around
42:05because I miss her
42:06that much.
42:08I miss her friendship.
42:10I miss her guidance.
42:12She was my world.
42:19On May 29, 2015,
42:22at the Hillsborough County
42:24Circuit Court,
42:2542-year-old Edward Covington
42:28was sentenced to death.
42:32I would say
42:34that Edward Covington's
42:35murder and dismemberment
42:37of this family
42:39was probably
42:41the most evil murder
42:43that I worked
42:44in my career.
42:49Thankfully,
42:49we won't have to worry
42:50about him hurting
42:51anybody else
42:52ever again.
42:54Before this,
42:56I wouldn't be sure
42:58if I believed
42:59in the death penalty.
43:00however,
43:02after going through
43:03what my family
43:05has gone through,
43:06I found
43:07that it is
43:08okay
43:09to be
43:10not thankful
43:12but
43:13accepting
43:14of the death
43:15penalty sentence.
43:18Edward Covington
43:20remains on death row
43:21at the Union
43:22Correctional Institution
43:24in Florida,
43:25awaiting his fate.
43:26I look forward
43:28to that day
43:29and I think
43:30that's when
43:31we can truly
43:32close the door
43:34and move on
43:36once he
43:37is executed.
43:42I want this
43:44behind us.
43:45I want
43:46the monster
43:48gone.
43:54Covington
43:55slaughtered
43:56an entire
43:56family
43:57in a murderous
43:58drug-fuelled
43:59rage.
44:00He went on
44:01to mutilate
44:01and violate
44:02their bodies
44:03in one of
44:04the most
44:04horrific crimes
44:05that Hillsborough
44:06County
44:07has ever seen.
44:08He's never
44:09apologized
44:09for his actions
44:10or offered
44:11any reasonable
44:12explanation
44:13for them,
44:14which is why
44:15Edward Covington
44:16will go down
44:16in history
44:17as one of
44:18the world's
44:19most evil
44:20killers.
44:49What a
44:49palabras
44:50the
44:50most evil
44:50an
44:50writes
44:50to
44:50basically
44:50the
44:50warrior
44:50will behave
44:50in the
44:50hope
44:51and
44:52have
44:52been
44:52in people's
44:52life
44:52and
44:52love
44:52이거를哈
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