TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jury selection has begun in Hillsborough County Court in the triple-murder trial of a man accused of killing his girlfriend and her two children and mutilating their bodies.
Edward Covington was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the 2008 deaths. He’s accused of killing his 26-year-old girlfriend and her 7-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
The defense maintains the 43-year-old Covington was legally insane at the time of the killings, and that he suffered from bipolar disorder and intermittent explosive disorder, as well as substance abuse.
Jury selection is expected to take several days.
