Prosecutors laid out their case against the three men charged in the 2017 killing of Van Buren Township woman Egypt Covington.
READ: 3rd suspect charged with murder, home invasion in Egypt Covington’s death
Shandon Ray Groom, a 28-year-old from Toledo was charged on Dec. 31 with murder and home invasion three years after Covington was found bound and shot in her home.
Timothy Moore, also from Toledo, is facing charges in her death. Shane Lamar Evans of Sumpter Township was also charged.
During a preliminary exam, those closest to Covington testified that she didn’t know the three men. Covington lived on the left side of a duplex.
Steven Edwards lived across the hall, on the other side of the duplex. He placed defendant Shane Evans at the home. Evans worked for a lawn care company that mowed the lawn there.
Edwards legally runs a marijuana business. He had marijuana in his side of the duplex. He said Covington and himself would often leave their doors open.
Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Victoria Shackleford used the phrase “robbery gone bad.” Edwards put on Facebook that he was going to the Electric Forest Festival. Officials believe whoever killed Covington believed the home would be empty at the time.
Attorneys for the defendants focused on Covington’s ex-boyfriend and said he was violent. The defense for one of the men also raised the possibility that police took a cell phone into evidence at the murder scene and deleted everything on it.
The evidence tech said he couldn’t say what happened to the phone once he bagged it for evidence. The hearing is expected to continue on Tuesday.