Marie Darshaun Covington, 40, was last seen August 17, 2022, in the Thalia Trace Drive area of Virginia Beach. An Ashanti Alert was issued for her as a critically missing adult. Her body was found the evening of August 20, 2022, in a trash can in the 1000 block of Galt Street in Norfolk; the medical examiner confirmed she died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators focused on Covington’s boyfriend, Gary Morton. Covington’s daughters reported they last saw their mother on August 17 when they witnessed Morton dragging her to her car, assaulting her, and driving away. Police located Morton after a high-speed pursuit of that vehicle; two guns and an open container of liquor were found inside. Morton reportedly confessed to shooting Covington and hiding her body, saying the shooting was accidental after a road rage incident, but prosecutors said the physical evidence did not support his account. Morton was charged with first-degree murder, abduction by force, and concealment of a dead body, among other counts.

If anyone knew Marie, her movements the week of August 17, 2022, or has information about what happened that night, please come forward.