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'Graphic Details' Emerge As Boyfriend Is Charged In Lutz Triple Slaying

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Edward Allen Covington is led to a waiting car from the Faulkenburg Road Criminal Investigations Division building Wednesday evening.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune
and RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune
and MIKE WELLS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 14, 2008

Updated: 05/14/2008 06:32 pm

TAMPA - Edward Allen Covington told deputies he choked, beat, stabbed, dismembered and mutilated his girlfriend and her two children this weekend, Hillsborough County deputies say.

Covington was charged today with three counts of first-degree murder. He also faces three counts of abuse of dead human bodies, one count of cruelty to animals and one count of violating probation.

"It was a substantial amount of physical evidence linking Mr. Covington to the three deaths, as well as an admission on his part regarding his involvement in the deaths of the three victims," sheriff's office Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said at a press conference this afternoon. "No, he did not give a specific reason. No."

Authorities announced the arrest at a 4:30 p.m. news conference following the grisly slayings of Lisa Freiberg, 26, and her two children, Zachary, 7, and Heather Savannah, 2, at their Lutz home. The family dog, a white German shepherd, was also slain.

Their bodies were discovered Monday at the home on South Mobile Villa Drive.

The medical examiner's office is still investigating the cause of death, Docobo said. There were multiple means of inflicting the wounds.

Covington was found hiding in one of the children's closets and was taken to University Community Hospital after he told deputies he'd ingested an unknown substance.

Covington tested positive at the hospital for cocaine Monday, an arrest report states. He also told detectives he sold his motorcycle last week for crack cocaine.

"Without a doubt, it's one of the most horrific scenes that I've ever seen," Docobo said. "And the fact that it involved children, and the nature of the crime, has been very difficult for the investigators and everyone involved. It's absolutely horrific to have to deal with this type of crime.

"As you can imagine, the scene was so grisly that it would be impossible to be anywhere in that scene without being exposed to blood."

Covington was not Baker Acted after this weekend's incident, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

He was interviewedby detectives today when he was released from the hospital, Docobo said.

"He's provided extreme details as to the manner, the order and the means by which he committed these crimes," Docobo said.

The crimes appear to have been committed between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday and Covington appears to have stayed in the home, the arrest report states.

Covington didn't tell deputies what triggered the attack, Docobo said.

"It appears it was more spontaneous than any type of plan," he said.

Covington had marks on his body, but investigators aren't sure whether they are the result of the victims fighting back.

"He provided graphic details in what he did to the bodies, what he did to the victims," Docobo said. "We'll leave it at that."

Covington's father Ronnie, a detention deputy at Falkenburg Road Jail, had "no involvement and no knowledge of this crime," Docobo said.

If Ronnie Covington needs support from the sheriff's office, he will receive it, Docobo said.

Lisa Freiberg's mother found her daughter and grandchildren dead Monday after becoming concerned she hadn't heard from Freiberg on Mother's Day.

Sheriff David Gee said Tuesday that the mother and two children are thought to have been killed early Sunday morning. According to a driver's license issued April 28, Covington lives at Freiberg's address.

Covington has 27 friends on his MySpace page, and most are women. One of his friends is Terry Bollea, also known as Hulk Hogan. It's not immediately clear whether he knows Bollea.

Pictures of Covington with what he calls his 2001 Yamaha R6 motorcycle and with his friends at a San Antonio, Fla., bar also are on the page.

Covington last logged in April 24. He said he graduated in 1990 from Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville. He listed his occupation as an electrician.

"You'll never become old and wise if you're not young and crazy," a quote on his MySpace page states.

Stay with TBO.com for developments.

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