Marie D. Covington, 40, was last seen at her Virginia Beach home on Thalia Trace Drive on August 17, 2022. A mother of four and a Wawa employee, she was reported missing by family the next day, and a critically missing adult alert was issued on August 20. Norfolk police later found an unresponsive woman in the 1000 block of Galt Street; she was identified as Covington and died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities arrested 43-year-old Gary Morton on August 20 after a high-speed chase that began in Chesapeake; he was driving Covington’s white Ford SUV. Officers recovered two concealed semi-automatic pistols and an open container of alcohol in the vehicle. Charges brought included murder, abduction, concealment of a body, attempted malicious wounding, and related firearm counts. During trial Morton claimed the shooting was accidental and involved another man, but evidence and testimony — including Covington’s daughters saying they saw Morton assault and force their mother into a car — did not support that account. Investigators found Covington’s body in an outdoor household trash bin alongside used cleaning supplies and a car seat cover; Morton later confessed to shooting her, hiding the body, and fleeing from police.

Does anyone have information about Covington’s final movements on August 17 or about activity around Thalia Trace Drive that evening?