Injured child dies, TBI adds Covington to ‘Most Wanted List’ on 1st degree murder
Published 5:37 pm Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Elizabethton Police and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officers are searching for a man wanted in connection with the death of a young child.
On Monday, investigators with the Elizabethton Police Department requested the public’s assistance in locating Demetrius Deshawn Covington (also known as Demetrius Somerville) who was then wanted on a charge of aggravated child neglect. On Tuesday afternoon, the EPD in conjunction with the TBI upgraded the charge against Covington to first degree murder after the child died in a local hospital.
Due to the pending charges, the TBI released a statement saying Covington had been added to the agency’s Top 10 Most Wanted List.
According to the TBI, Covington is a known member of the Bloods street gang “and should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Anyone with information about his whereabouts should contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. According to the TBI, a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.
Covington, 28, is an African-American man who stands 5’7”and weighs approximately 185 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen driving a 2006 white, Chevrolet Impala with Tennessee tag Z31-82E.
The charge against Covington stems from an investigation by the Elizabethton Police Department that began on Friday, Nov. 18, into a suspicious injury/medical condition of a 3-year-old male child.
Officers received a 911 call informing them that the child’s mother had the child in a vehicle and was stopped on Broad Street performing CPR on the child. Officers and EMS arrived and transported the child to a local hospital.
The investigation revealed that the child’s stepfather, identified as Covington, had phoned the child’s mother at her place of employment stating that the child was injured and requested she come home.
“The mother arrived at their residence and reported that the child was having difficulty breathing so she decided to take him to the emergency room,” EPD Capt. Joy Shoun said on Monday. “While enroute, the child’s condition worsened, at which time she phoned 911 for help, resulting in her stopping and beginning CPR. The child is currently in critical condition and was found to have numerous injuries.”
“Mr. Covington (Somerville) left the residence after the mother departed for the hospital with the child and has not been heard from since,” Shoun added.