Murdered: Lisa, Zachary and Savannah Freiberg
May 13, 2008 by impqueen
New information 5/14/08 – Edward Allen Covington has been charged with murder in the deaths of Lisa, Zachary and Heather Savannah Freiberg. Covington has admitted his involvement and provided graphic details of the murders. Please scroll to the bottom of the article for updates.
Lutz, FL – Monday, May 12, dawned bright and pretty in Hillsborough County, Florida. But at 1918 S. Mobile Villa Drive in the town of Lutz, something was very, very wrong. A neighbor opened his window a little after ten in the morning to hear a woman screaming “He’s dead! He’s dead!”
At 10:30, the 911 call went out. Shortly after that, three horribly mutilated bodies were found in the trailer house. They have been tentatively identified as Lisa Renee Freiberg, 26, and her children Zachary, 7, and Heather Savannah, 2. A man described only as “associated with the family” was found cowering, alive and mostly unharmed, in a bedroom closet. Even the family pet, a white German Shepherd Dog, had been killed, left in a puddle of blood.
Crime scene technicians are calling this scene one of the worst, one of the bloodiest, they’ve ever encountered. One source says that the victims were tortured – limbs and genitals cut off, faces mutilated, blood everywhere. So terrible was the damage that the bodies couldn’t be identified visually. Even the children’s ages weren’t clear due to the wounds inflicted on the corpses. Some reports say the children were “three or four”, some say “two and seven”, others just don’t know yet.
Lisa’s mother, Barbara Freiberg, is the likely woman who discovered her grandson Zachary killed just inside the entry to the house. Tim Kelly, the neighbor who heard her screams and went to help her, saw the little boy’s body as well. “Uh.. I don’t want to have to experience that again,” he told reporters at the scene.
The man in the closet is rumored to be Lisa’s new boyfriend. It’s said that he was led out of the house in handcuffs and taken to a hospital. He is still being questioned. One witness says there was no blood on the man at all. If true, then it makes one wonder if the man is just a coward, hiding in the closet in his boxer shorts, rather than the killer at such a bloody scene. But where are his clothes? Surely he wore something to the home. Authorities this morning aren’t saying much – it was initially reported that the man was not a suspect, but newer information leads me to think he may be held as a material witness or a person of interest for the time being. There are reports coming in that Barbara Freiberg went to check on Lisa because Lisa Freiberg had been beaten recently.
Edward Allen Covington is the name of the male occupant of Lisa Freiberg’s trailer. I believe he is the boyfriend who was found in the closet. Covington is a former Department of Corrections officer who is on probation for DUI and possession of a controlled substance. A probation officer visited the home on SaturdaySaturday reviews
to see Covington and noted no problems in the probation report.
What about the other men in Lisa Freiberg’s life? Her children had to have a father or fathers. Where is he? Where are they? Did she owe money? Whatever happened, this crime was very personal, and one of intense rage. MotivesMotives reviews
like suspects are moving in shadows right now, early in the investigation. But someone knows what he – or she, or they – did to Lisa, Zachary and Savannah Freiberg. Someone is going to get caught.
As always, i will update this article as new information is released.
New information 5/13/08 –
Sheriff David Gee has now confirmed that the bodies found belong to Lisa, Zachary and Heather Savannah Freiberg. Authorities believe the three were killed on Mother’s Day. Sheriff Gee is not identifying the man in the closet except to say that he is “not a victim” in this case, and that he is Lisa Freiberg’s boyfriend. In other words, Edward Allen Covington is the closet guy.
Covington, who has been living with Freiberg since the last week of April, was taken to the hospital because he told officers he had “ingested an unknown substance”.
Sheriff Gee says that all three victims were mutilated, and at least one was decapitated. More than one weapon was reportedly used (my source says possible machete), and there are “no suspects on the loose”. Sounds like they think they have their guy.
Imp Thinks This Guy Did It (edited to add: and imp was right…)
http://www.myspace.com/eddiecovington
UPDATE 5/14/08 – Edward Allen Covington has been charged this afternoon with three first-degree counts of murder in the deaths of Lisa Freiberg, Zachary Freiberg and Heather Savannah Freiberg. Covington has also been charged with three counts of abuse of a corpse, one count of animal cruelty and a probation violation.
Covington has admitted his involvement in the murders, going so far as to provide officers with details described as “extreme” and “graphic”. He tested positive for cocaine at the hospital, and told officers he sold his motorcycle for crack last week. Covington has not provided a motive for the killings, and the medical examiner’s office is still working on the cause of death for the victims, saying only that the victims died by multiple means and that more than one weapon was used.
Updates as I get them, of course.
8:32 am on May 13th, 2008
Hiding in a closet while your old lady and her kids get tortured to death is almost worse than being the murderer. Almost.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of some dude saving his own ass while a woman/children get assaulted or killed. I guess we Americans are going soft.
8:34 am on May 13th, 2008
Absolutely horrible.
Reading this has actually caused me a bit of chest pain and the beginnings of an anxiety attack. The fact that there is someone in this world capable of such brutality is beyond my comprehension.
This is one story, no matter what the outcome, that will stick with me forever I’m sure.
9:11 am on May 13th, 2008
Are you shitting me? Well, I don’t think being a chickenshit is breaking any laws – but damn. DAMN DAMN AND DOUBLE DAMN!! I could not hide while anyone was killing children. Granted, I would have probably been killed, too – but still to hide and listen to all of that without raising a hand. Unfathomable. Even if he didn’t care enough about the woman to risk his life – what about the children? I don’t care whose child it is, if they are being attacked – I’m in the fight, to protect them, even if I might die.
Me too, Kathy. This is right up there with Benjamin and Rowan. When I read how the children were mutilated, I almost hurled and did/am crying. WTH? I hate a number of people and WISH them dead and I believe there are people that just need killing, but to not only kill the children but to mutilate them to where they could not identified through the usuaul process, well – I don’t have words…………………..
Got to get a tissue
9:30 am on May 13th, 2008
They killed the DOG?!?!
OK, now I’m pissed, that’s just Wrong!!!
9:34 am on May 13th, 2008
Just the little bits I’ve been able to eke out of the media are bad enough. The stuff I’m getting from less than perfect sources is just heinous.
I might really need to get out and grab a little air.
9:53 am on May 13th, 2008
Will this be info you can share?
Good, Lord. I pray the first blow, stab, cut – what have you – was the fatal one for those poor children and the mom. I pray they did not have to suffer during the whole ordeal. Just too sad.
9:54 am on May 13th, 2008
Again a most heinous and evil act. It sickens me. I don’t think my mind can fully wrap itself around this right now. It just so awful…so incredibly evil. This person does not deserve to even breath the same air we all breath. Death to the bastard who did this.
10:07 am on May 13th, 2008
Oh imp please do! Just the resident psychologist here suggesting you mix in some cute puppies and babies with the information you are getting on this case. I think the site Swivel had here http://www.thecuteproject.com/ might be just the thing you need to keep open in the background today. This case is beyond heinous and whoever did this is not human!
10:09 am on May 13th, 2008
Please don’t share Imp, I don’t think I can handle much more
I cant believe this happened in Florida, they need to catch this person right now. Something about the guy seems really suspicious to me. I cant help thinking that if he were a witness and not the murderer, it would have been established already.
10:12 am on May 13th, 2008
Nevermind. This is even scarier, this person is still out there.
10:22 am on May 13th, 2008
I read somewhere that the boyfriend, presumably the guy in the closet, was a former correctional officer. I don’t want to prejudge, but the thought of him cowering in the closet while those babies were murdered sickens me. And I dont get when this happened. It was already morning when the grandma found the bodies, what was he still doing in the closet? Wouldnt he have run out for help after the killer/s left???
10:24 am on May 13th, 2008
3 and 4, or 2 and 7..doesn’t matter really. How something can mutilate children of any age to the point they cannot be identified is just..mind boggling to me. Even my naturally curious brain doesn’t want to know all the details on this one.
p.s. for the scumsucker who hid in the closet and did nothing? Suicide, motherfucker, and fast.
10:27 am on May 13th, 2008
I’m with you pooh, this turned my stomach. I would not excuse an adult being murdered in this fashion, but there is a special kind of evil for someone who does this to children. Poor grandma, her life is destroyed, those images will haunt her for eternity. I hope they catch this person soon, WTF is in the water in Florida, seems like I see a lot of stories out of there.
10:32 am on May 13th, 2008
OMG! I can’t even breathe, fuck, fuck, fuck!!! I’ve never been more horrified in my life! I can’t begin to think of what they had to go thru. Those poor babies and their mother. This was definately a rage killing. How could any human being do this????? Not human is the answer, a complete monster. I will pray for the family.
10:32 am on May 13th, 2008
Also, Imp must have some inside info, because I can’t seem to find much on Google on this. Unless I missed some other search engine, I cant find any of these details about the mutilation and such anywhere.
10:40 am on May 13th, 2008
I must admit I am almost speechless here. What on earth could this woman and her babies do to enrage someone so?
Perhaps an ex? I truly hope this monster is captured and pays with his life.
Oh, man, the thought their final minutes is making me sick.
10:58 am on May 13th, 2008
I can’t always reveal my sources, but a lot of the same information is in our forums, although there it’s through a hazy source. I’ve been able to do some checking elsewhere.
I’m withholding some of the info I have received until I can verify it, but I’m confident in the bit I posted. There are some rumors flying out there I won’t use because I think they’re speculation for now. I’m hoping for more concrete details later in the day.
11:30 am on May 13th, 2008
Thanks Imp, keep us posted
11:32 am on May 13th, 2008
Holy crap! You mean this poor mom and her kids may have suffered worse torture than you’ve reported so far?!? That just makes me sick to my stomach!
I agree Carol that there seems to be a lot of sickos in FL and here in MO where I am. Just sickening and terrifying!
I think I need to go hug my little girls and thank God they’re still here with me. This poor, poor, grandmother. I just cannot imagine finding this. Uggghh!
11:41 am on May 13th, 2008
Thanks, Imp. That is one of the things that drew me back to this site, (before it became an addiction
), the desire for verifiable facts. Once in a while, something may be a little off, but even if it is, its always an honest mistake and always corrected as soon as it has been pointed out to management.
Thanks, again and post what you can when you can.
12:02 pm on May 13th, 2008
This is one of the most horrible stories I have read on The Dreamin Demon.Every day it gets harder & harder for me to read these stories,but I always come back.I feel so upset & sick .I could not help but start to cry for this family.Now I am angry,I really cant wait to see this sick,sick fuck suffer.I really hope that they find him.Im out of words.
12:11 pm on May 13th, 2008
Maybe whoever did this was going after HIM? When they didn’t find him, they tortured that poor woman and those beautiful kids? I come from a law enforcement family. There were a couple times when my mom, brother, sister and I had to go into “hiding” because of threats made against my father. Being a correctional officer, he probably had a lot of enemies.
12:18 pm on May 13th, 2008
I have a gut feeling that’s not the case, this has just too much rage. It had to be someone involved with the mother. Your theory makes sense, just something tells me it’s personal with the mom. Could be wrong though
12:22 pm on May 13th, 2008
I think this is a new article:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-lutz1308may13,0,1746602.story
“Cops question man found…..”
EDIT: Nevermind, looks to be no new info. Sorry guys. I am desperate to find something on this. Poor family, jesus christ, this is unreal
12:25 pm on May 13th, 2008
THIS does seem to be new:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/13/na-mom-2-children-found-dead-in-lutz-home-they-did/
12:27 pm on May 13th, 2008
Perhaps it was a deranged coworker who thought they deserved the promotion SHE got…..
12:30 pm on May 13th, 2008
“Other neighbors said it wasn’t always a happy home. “We hear a lot of yelling coming from there,” Kelly Baum said. She said she was a casual acquaintance of Freiberg’s, the kind of neighbor who would wave when they passed each other but not close friends.
Baum was smoking a cigarette about 5 p.m. Sunday when she saw Freiberg alone in her truck, heading home. Within five minutes, Baum said, she heard yelling and screaming and what sounded like something heavy being thrown inside the mobile home.
Baum said she stood on her picnic table to look over the fence but couldn’t see inside the house. She said the screaming stopped before she finished her cigarette and that she didn’t think about it again until she saw Freiberg’s mother running out of the mobile home about 11:30 a.m. Monday, crying, “Oh, my God, my daughter’s dead.”
12:32 pm on May 13th, 2008
Is it just me, or is this pointing more and more to the boyfriend? I mean, like I said before, wouldnt you run out and scream for help after you hear the murderer leave? Or would you sit in the closet for who knows how long? Does anyone else think he waited there on purpose, to play the role of a traumatized witness?
12:36 pm on May 13th, 2008
It’s certainly possible. It will be inbteresting to see what information comes from toxicology reports and such. Did anyone see lights on in the home Sunday night, hear a shower running through an open window, smell anyone burning trash(bloody clothing).
12:36 pm on May 13th, 2008
“Suspect Or Survivor?
The man who was taken out of the house Monday remains a mystery.
“I can say that Hillsborough sheriff’s deputies did transport a white male from the scene to the … [University Community Hospital] emergency room,” said hospital spokesman Will Darnell late Monday afternoon.
By 6 p.m., the man was still being evaluated, Darnell said. He was under guard.
When asked whether the man was a suspect or survivor, Gee said, “We’re looking at everything right now.”
12:37 pm on May 13th, 2008
Good questions Ash
12:44 pm on May 13th, 2008
Boy, this story has pulled me back from lurking mode. I’m horrified. I am also starting to suspect something is up with the boyfriend. Except where were his bloody clothes? I hope the real story comes out soon.
The little boy is my son’s age. I cannot get my head around this. Who could do such a thing? Fucking monsters. And I tell my son there are no such thing as monsters.
1:09 pm on May 13th, 2008
Could one person possibly do this? How terrible.
1:19 pm on May 13th, 2008
Sure. Especially if the actual killings took place while they were sleeping. The mutilation would have come after all three were dead.
1:20 pm on May 13th, 2008
The news article said he was being visited by his parole officer because of DUI and drug convictions…maybe he was using and/or high when she came home? I’ve heard that some people whacked out on drugs can do some pretty sick things. And, if he took the mother out first, it wouldn’t be too difficult to subdue kids of that age. Might be why the dog was killed, too…trying to protect it’s owners?
Just trying to get my head around some of this. It just sickens me.
1:27 pm on May 13th, 2008
i’m very interested in the boyfriend’s lack of clothing. I’m kinda wondering where his clothes are. Surely he wore something TO the house.
1:32 pm on May 13th, 2008
Very good question. But, if it happened during the night, he might have been in bed asleep – no clothes on that way. Personally, I’m leaning more toward him having something to do with it than being a ‘traumatized victim.’
1:41 pm on May 13th, 2008
One source says Lisa Freiberg was beaten up last week. Makes the boyfriend look a little more likely as a suspect, I think.
2:03 pm on May 13th, 2008
Yes, that definitely changes the look of things! Keep us posted (I know you will)
2:15 pm on May 13th, 2008
In the article, it stated the neighbor heard a loud thump around 5:00 pm Sunday. It also states, cops were not on the scene until after 10:30 am Monday morning. I have to change my original opinion.
I first thought the man was just a yellow, chickenshit bastard. Now, he’s looking pretty bad. How in the hell could he have listened and not come out of hiding? How in the hell could he stay in a closet that long? And, why did he get lead out in boxers? Is he accustomed to running aroung like that in front of the children – it was early evening on the last sounds of the disturbance?
It appears to me, that he had all kinds of time to commit this crime, clean himself up, dispose of his clothes, and carry out his plan – to look like the traumatized victim. I guess better to appear a chickenshit than a murderer.
I’m hoping “time of death” will give us a better clue about the “coward”. Did any neighbors report seeing the boyfriend leave home or returning to the residence on Sunday? Was he at home all day with the children?
After reading more about this, I’m thinking:
1)mom is at work
2)POS boyfriend babysitting the children
3)rapes or harms one or both children
4)reads DD and knows the bathtub or furniture stories won’t work
5)forms different better plan
6)horribly mutilates children
7)waits for mom to come home and kill her
8)cleans up and dispose of clothing
9)hide like little bitch and wait to be “saved”
Right now, without any blood evidence on him, he doesn’t even qualify as a witness – he was hiding. I mean if the scene is as bad as described, I don’t see how you could have been at any vantage point to witness anything without some sort of blood evidence getting splashed, splattered, cast off – what have you, being on the witness.
He looks guilty as hell from here. However, it is quite possible that he is the biggest chickenshit to date. Sad, but possible. I guess the part of him being in his boxers trips my trigger. If he ran and hid when the attack started, he was dressed in boxers, in the middle of the day, if front of kids. Its quite plausable that he committed these crimes and was just getting everything cleaned up, knew the grandmothers habits, and didn’t have enough time to get clean clothes back on before having to retreat to the closet to play victim. Had the grandmother not came by when she did, say 2 hours later, there could have been a different version of what happened.
2:20 pm on May 13th, 2008
Edward Allen Covington:
Covington is the guy who lived in the house with Lisa Freiberg and her kids. He is the likely boyfriend and also the likely closet-guy. Covington is a former DOC officer who is now on probation for felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor DUI. A probation officer visited him at the Freiberg home on Saturday.
Hmmm.
2:26 pm on May 13th, 2008
Sounds plausible to me. But….
One of the stories said that the little boy was just inside the front door. I don’t know how the mom could have come home, seen that, and not made it back outside screaming for help. Ya know?
2:33 pm on May 13th, 2008
I like Edward Covington for this. He has shark eyes – nothing going on behind ‘em but the mean.
I also like the idea that he was cleaning up and was nearly caught – but with witnesses and Barbara Freiberg screaming, he hid rather than kill her, too. That’s just my current idea.
2:38 pm on May 13th, 2008
This just makes me fucking SICK.
I seriously can’t fathom. I have no words.
If this man is guilty, why didn’t he just run? Or better yet – why didn’t he just rid the world of himself as well? It just seems really weird to hang around the scene of the crime if you committed the crime…..
I dunno. To be a coward, witnessing the murder and mutilation of your girlfriend AND HER CHILDREN, is pretty fucking bad.
But to actually commit this crime? I shudder to think….
Monsters do exist. And they come out in the daytime, too.
2:38 pm on May 13th, 2008
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/05/sheriff-to-rele.html
this article talks about his father walking in after he mutalated 3 cats…. this isn’t looking good
In his kitchen, police found three dead cats in a bloody scene. According to the report, “The cats appeared to be mutilated and deformed.”
It appeared Covington had slammed one cat into the kitchen sink, fracturing the animal’s skull, according to the report. The case was never prosecuted, according to the police report. It was unclear why.
2:54 pm on May 13th, 2008
I fucking hope so. This is why I feel that sometimes the death penalty isn’t enough. Cruel and unusual punishment should be okay in situations like this.
2:57 pm on May 13th, 2008
Updated the article with newer information -
3:02 pm on May 13th, 2008
I loved this part of the article linked above:
Yeah, this guy seemed stable.
3:08 pm on May 13th, 2008
I think your right Imp. This guy just has that glazed over, I am an evil MOFO look to him. It’s sickening.
3:16 pm on May 13th, 2008
When I first read this I totally thought the boyfriend part was odd, but I figured what the hell do I know!
How could they originally not suspect him he looks like a freakin psycho!
This is a devastating, horrific tragedy, scary that there are sickos like this!
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