Egypt Covington murder: Trials set for 2 suspects as 5-year anniversary nears

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Nearly five years after Egypt Covington's murder, trials are set.

June 22 marks the anniversary of 27-year-old Covington's murder in her Van Buren Township home. The singer was home watching a movie when, according to court testimony, two men broke into her duplex, shot her to death, and wrapped her up with Christmas lights. 

MORE: 'She had the voice of an angel' - Covington's remembered after murder

Those men, Timothy Eugene Moore, and Shandon Ray Groom, are headed to trial later this year. A third man, Shane Lamar Evans, has a competency hearing this summer.

Moore is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, and first-degree home invasion, as well as four counts of felony firearm. Groom is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, and first-degree home invasion, and three counts of felony firearm. Evans is charged with felony murder and first-degree home invasion.

Egypt's murder

According to court testimony, Evans did maintenance at the duplex where Covington lived, and he knew that her neighbor's home would be empty that weekend because the man was at Electric Forest music festival. 

That man kept marijuana in his home, was a licensed caregiver, and had talked about it on local programs, according to court testimony. His home had been burglarized prior to Covington’s murder and marijuana had been stolen.

Related: Arbor Brewing releases new version of beer honoring Egypt

Evans told investigators that he was with his brother and cousin when they wanted weed, so they decided to go steal some from the empty duplex.

According to testimony, Evans told police he pointed out which home was going to be burglarized but did not want to participate in the crime and was not involved.

Evans said he drove by the home and pointed out which one was the correct one. Moore, Groom, and another person were allegedly in a truck behind him.

"I put my hand out the window, and I pointed, ‘That’s the right house,’" he said. "‘The right house,’ and I kept going."

Read More: Accused killers targeted wrong house, meant to steal marijuana from neighbor

Evans also claimed he explained which door the men needed to enter.

However, Groom and Moore are accused of entering the wrong side of the duplex, and found Covington watching a movie.

"We know that they were in this home for about four or five minutes. While they were in the home, Miss Covington was bound in Christmas lights, and they took a cushion off a couch and put it over her head when they shot her in the head," said Victoria Shackelford, the assistant prosecuting attorney in Wayne County.

Covington used to attend the fest her neighbor was at, and usually wouldn't have been home, but she didn't go in 2017 because she started a new job.

In an interview, Evans said Moore texted him, "Wrong door." Evans said he didn't remember replying to the text and claimed he found out about Covington's death when he saw a news report.

While Evans didn't go in the house, he faces felony murder, a charge that is used if someone dies during the commission of a felony, in this case – home invasion.

Egypt's murder investigation

The Van Buren Township Police Department was the investigating law enforcement agency for years. 

It was initially believed that Covington knew who killed her, and Van Buren police named an ex-boyfriend as a person of interest. However, more than three years passed with no arrests.

Her family pushed for Michigan State Police to handle the investigation, and in August 2020, MSP took over. 

Just a few months later, in November 2020, Evans and Moore were arrested. Groom was taken into custody in December 2020.

Cell phone records and GPS locations were used to place Evans, Moore, and Groom at the scene of the crime.

Prosecutors said the men also stole Covington’s cell phone, which pinged to the same location as their phones before they threw it away.

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