Tyrone Covington (Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office).
A Florida man moving with his girlfriend became enraged at her 8-year-old son after he accidentally locked the keys in the car, so he beat him more than 100 times with a belt, leading to his death.
Tyrone Covington, 45, was convicted in January of manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the death of Josiyah Robinson. A judge sentenced him on Monday to 30 years behind bars, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office said. Covington, a U.S. Army veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was facing a first-degree murder charge, but jurors opted to convict him on the lesser count of manslaughter.
Josiyah's mother called 911 on Oct. 22, 2020, after her son suffered the beating and was struggling to breathe before becoming unconscious. Paramedics rushed the boy to a local hospital before he was flown to a children's hospital, where he died a day later. An autopsy determined the boy died of blunt force trauma.
"This was not merely a form of punishment. The excessive beating this child endured ultimately led to his death," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said at the time.
According to a courtroom report by the Tampa Bay Times, the family was moving to a new home, taking several carloads of their possessions from the prior residence. In the late evening, the mother's keys were locked in her car. She blamed Josiyah and asked Covington to handle the discipline.
After a locksmith opened the door, the Army vet took a belt and started whipping the boy in addition to forcing him to complete military exercises such as pushups, sit-ups and jumping jacks.
When confronted with abuse allegations, Covington tried to point the finger at the boy's then-14-year-old brother, who he claimed would occasionally hit his siblings. But neither the jury nor the judge believed Covington.
"He didn't commit that crime," Circuit Judge Lyann Goudie reportedly told Covington. "It was you."
Now 19, the boy spoke at sentencing about the helpless feeling he endured while witnessing the brutal beating.
"I see it over and over, my brother being beaten, while I sit against that wall," he said. "I ask myself constantly, if only I had done something, if only I'd stopped Tyrone, would my brother still be here?"
The judge had harsh words before sentencing Covington to prison.
"When I stop, Mr. Covington, and think about how Josiyah spent the last hour of his life feeling fear, it makes me sick," Goudie reportedly said.
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