A Carter County man charged with murder in the death of his 3-year-old step child who was captured in Ohio last week has been returned to Carter County to faces the charge against him.
Shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday deputies with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the Carter County Detention Center with Demetrius Deshawn Covington, who was then booked into the Carter County Detention Center on a charge of first degree murder. He is being held without bond.
According to the Carter County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Covington is scheduled to appear in General Sessions Court on Monday to be arraigned.
The charges against Covington stem from an investigation by the Elizabethton Police Department that began on Nov. 18 when a woman called 911 to report her son was having difficulty breathing. While driving her son to the hospital, the child’s condition worsened so the woman pulled over and began performing CPR. The child was taken first to Sycamore Shoals Hospital and then later to Niswonger Children’s Hospital. The child later died at the hospital as a result of his injuries.
“Upon observation, the child was found to have numerous bruises over his face, neck, torso, back, bottom, legs, and foot,” Bowers said. “The child became unresponsive and was placed on life support. Medical testing revealed that the child had internal injuries, including swelling in the brain and a subdural hematoma.”
“The injuries suffered by the child were considered non-accidental trauma and were not self-inflicted,” he added. “The child remained on life support until Nov. 22, 2016, when the child was pronounced dead from the injuries he had suffered.”
The investigation revealed the child had been in the care of Covington when the injuries occurred, Bowers said. The mother told investigators Covington told her the child may have fallen in the bathtub. According to police, after the child’s mother left to take her son to the hospital, Covington left their home before officers could speak with him and fled the area.
On Nov. 21 the EPD requested the public’s help in locating Covington, which led to a multi-state search involving the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service. On Nov. 23 Covington was captured in Dayton, Ohio, by local authorities there with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force.
Following an extradition hearing Covington was returned to Carter County face the murder charge against him.
Bowers initially filed a warrant with the Carter County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office charging Covington with aggravated child neglect on Nov. 21. After the child died, Bowers filed a warrant with the Clerk’s Office charging Covington with first degree murder under a state law that allows police to charge a suspect with first-degree murder if the victim dies during the commission of certain categories of felony crimes, in this case aggravated child abuse/neglect. The court issued the warrant as requested by Bowers.