The murder of Egypt Covington, a 27-year-old woman from Van Buren Township, Michigan, in 2017, sent shockwaves through her community. The case, marked by a stalled initial investigation and a divided family, eventually led to the conviction of three men. This article delves into the details of the crime, the investigation, and the subsequent legal proceedings.
Egypt Covington
The Crime Scene
On June 23, 2017, Egypt Covington was found bound and shot to death in her home on Hull Road in Van Buren Township. Her boyfriend, Curtis Meadows, discovered her body after she failed to respond to his morning text messages. He found the front door ajar and Covington tied up with Christmas lights, with a gunshot wound to the head.
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Meadows can be heard sobbing as he waited for members of the Van Buren Police Department to arrive. Egypt, once considered the life of the party, was gone. Her June 2017 death sent shockwaves through the quiet lakeside community where she and her brother D’Wayne Turner worked side-by-side as beloved bartenders.
Initial Investigation and Frustration
As the years stretched on without any answers, the investigation into Egypt's murder tore her family apart and drew suspicion to those closest to her. The homicide investigation was stalled. Police in the Michigan township of Van Buren had identified a person of interest in the 2017 killing of Egypt Covington, but by 2020, there had been no arrests. Egypt’s mother was convinced Michalak wasn't involved in Egypt's murder and publicly stood by him, even sitting next to him at a memorial concert for Egypt, while her father, Chuck Covington, supported the direction the police were taking.
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Frustrated by the lack of progress, Covington's brother, D'Wayne Turner, and his wife, Lindsay Brink, began pushing local authorities to hand off the case to state investigators. Tensions within the family only grew after Turner’s new girlfriend, Lindsay Brink - who had never known Egypt - launched her own investigation, questioning suspects, forcing police to answer tough questions, and calling for the Michigan State Police to step in to take over the case after no arrests were made.
Michigan State Police Take Over
In 2020, the Michigan State Police (MSP) took over the case. Brink's efforts finally paid off in 2020, when Michigan State Police assumed control of the case. They quickly ruled Michalak out as a suspect, but found other evidence in the case file that pointed them in a shocking new direction.
One of the state investigators who took over the case pointed to what he described as an overlooked clue that was key to solving the crime - cellphone location data gathered through an investigative technique known as a geofence warrant. The increasingly popular and much-debated surveillance tool has allowed law enforcement agencies to gather anonymous location data for anyone whose location history is turned on - the setting is off by default - and is in a designated area during a designated time, according to Google. That area could be a one-block radius or several.
A “geofence” conducted by police at the time identified phones in the area at the time of Egypt’s murder. Michigan State Police Detective James Plummer was able to link one of the phones that was “in her house” at the time police believe that Egypt was killed to Shandon Groom, an Ohio man with no apparent connection to Egypt. Surveillance footage also captured his blue truck pulling into a convenience store near her duplex around the time of the killing.
By 2020, there had been DNA advances that allowed authorities to develop a more complete profile. One of the DNA samples matched to Tim Moore, an Ohio man with a criminal record who knew Groom. Using Moore’s cell phone data, investigators discovered that on the night of the killing, the men had stopped by the home of Shane Evans, Moore’s half-brother. Evans lived down the street from Egypt and worked for the company that cut her lawn.
Read also: Justice for Egypt Covington
All three men - Moore, Groom, and Evans - were arrested and later agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder.
The Suspects and Their Motives
The three suspects charged in connection with Covington's death were Shandon Ray Groom, Timothy Eugene Moore, and Shane Lamar Evans.
- Shandon Ray Groom: Groom, 30, of Toledo, was sentenced to 17-26 years in prison.
- Timothy Eugene Moore: Moore, 37, also of Toledo, was sentenced to 20-55 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. That sentence will be served consecutively with a two-year sentence for a felony firearms charge.
- Shane Lamar Evans: Evans of Sumpter Township also was charged in connection with the slaying. He pleaded was sentenced to 15-25 years in prison.
According to previous court testimony from Evans, the men were hanging out in June 2017 when they decided they wanted to steal weed from Covington's neighbor, who was out of town. Evans knew that the residents who lived on the other side of the duplex had a business growing medical marijuana - and were heading out of town for a music festival.
Evans would later confess to authorities that he agreed to drive by the house and “point” to the home so that Moore and Groom - who were following behind in the truck - could rob Egypt's neighbors' home while they were away, hoping to make off with a large stockpile of drugs. But, confused, Moore and Groom went into the left side of the duplex where Egypt lived, rather than the right side. There, they found Egypt inside, tied her up and shot her.
Prosecutors said the men also stole Covington’s cell phone, which pinged to the same location as their phones before they threw it away.
Read also: Justice for Egypt
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
All three of the people suspected in the death of a Van Buren Township woman have pled guilty to second-degree homicide. Because of the pleas, charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree home invasion, and felony firearm were dismissed against Groom and Moore.
The sentencing of Groom and Moore was held in a Wayne County Circuit courtroom. Family members addressed the court, expressing their grief and anger. Covington's father, Chuck Covington, called Groom and Moore "cowards," saying he wished the death penalty were an option. Sister Jessica Covington called the defendants"subhuman" "monsters" who will have a potential "to breathe fresh air outside of a jail cell, outside of a prison" because of the plea deal. She urged the judge to give Moore and Groom the longest prison sentences possible.
Moore threw the court into disarray when he spoke before the sentencing, apologizing for the family not getting closure but then saying he was "pushed into a plea for something I shouldn't have given a plea." When the court reconvened, Moore's lawyer said he wanted to go ahead with the plea agreement.
The sentences handed down were as follows:
| Suspect | Sentence |
|---|---|
| Shandon Groom | 17-26 years in prison |
| Timothy Moore | 20-55 years in prison, plus 2 years for felony firearms charge |
| Shane Evans | 15-25 years in prison |
Shandon Groom and Timothy Moore during their sentencing on Oct. 5, 2023
The father argued the defendants should have faced a first degree murder charge and faced the possibility of life in prison without parole. One of the suspects had a gun, Chuck Covington said. "Why bring a gun unless you have some intent of using it," he said.
"They hogtied - hogtied - my daughter with Christmas lights. They used a pillow, they used a pillow to muffle the sound of the gun. They shot my daughter in the back of the head," Chuck Covington said, adding that it was an "execution."
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