Juan Covington was a serial killer who terrorized Philadelphia from 1998 to 2005. The most recent episode of Philly Homicide, called “The Center City Devil” looks into his horrible crimes. The episode, which aired on Oxygen on November 2, 2024 is about Patricia McDermott, a radiology technologist who is 48 years old and the last person known to have been killed by Covington. People who are interested in crime can learn more about the case that shocked investigators and left people in Philadelphia looking for answers in this new episode. But where is Covington now?
Who is Juan Covington?
Juan Edward Covington is born on March 3, 1962 and he was lives in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia. He was thought of as a normal, if a little strange, person for most of his life. When Covington’s father died in 1990, he started acting in a strange way. He started having depressive episodes and acting in more and more strange ways, like walking around his neighborhood in military fatigues, refusing to take a bath, and staring at Christmas decorations as if they moved. Still, Covington had a steady job as a SEPTA bus driver for 18 years before he switched to hauling medical waste for nearby hospitals.
Even though Covington’s family and neighbors knew he was acting strangely, they mostly thought of him as a quiet man who got angry easily. Sadly, no one could have seen him committing the horrible crimes he did because he had what was later found to be paranoid schizophrenia.
The Crimes: A Pattern of Delusion and Violence
On August 19, 1998, Covington shot Reverend Thomas Lee Devlin thirteen times in his church because he thought the pastor was casting evil spells on him. This was the first known murder of Covington. Surprisingly, Covington later went to Devlin’s funeral and looked very upset. This shows how complicated and delusional his mind was. At first, police thought that Devlin’s death was related to a custody dispute, but they were unable to link Covington to the crime.
Covington’s violent actions were not known about for a few years, until he shot and paralyzed 41-year-old David Stewart on May 20, 2003. In 2004, he shot 32-year-old William Bryant Jr. and permanently disabled him, which was a similar event. Investigators had a hard time connecting these attacks because they happened at random. Two innocent men were even arrested and detained in connection with Covington’s crimes until he was caught.
Odies Bosket, a city clerk, was killed by Covington’s bullet on March 7, 2005. Similar to the last case— a man who wasn’t guilty was first charged with killing Bosket. But after Patricia McDermott’s murder, the web of false identities and leads that didn’t go anywhere would fall apart.
The killing of Patricia McDermott and the search for answers
Patricia McDermott was an X-ray tech at Pennsylvania Hospital. On May 17, 2005, Covington followed her as she walked to work. A scary scene was caught on security cameras: Covington following McDermott around before shooting her in the head and killing her. The murder, which was caught on surveillance video, made people angry and made the investigation stronger.
Detectives had a hard time at first identifying the suspect because the video footage was so grainy, but they didn’t give up. After the video was improved and made public, a lot of tips came in. A worker at the bus company gave a tip that Covington was the man in the video. The clothes that Covington wore in the surveillance video were also seen on security footage from Pennsylvania Hospital, which led to his arrest.
How Juan Covington was sentenced and where he is now
In a shocking confession, Covington said that he was responsible for killing McDermott, as well as Devlin and Bosket and shooting Stewart and Bryant without killing them. Covington said he thought McDermott was poisoning him with X-rays, which made him more determined to kill her. He also said that his other victims were “devils” who were working together to hurt him.
Even though he admitted to the crime, Covington refused to plead guilty at first, saying that he was “the chosen one.” But his defense lawyer used proof of his paranoid schizophrenia and history of delusions to argue that he shouldn’t be put to death. Covington finally admitted guilt and was given three life sentences without the chance of parole, plus extra time for trying to kill someone. He is now in Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution — Rockview, where he is still getting psychiatric care.
Possible Involvement of Covington in Other Cases
Authorities think that Covington may be linked to other crimes besides the ones he is known to have committed, such as the disappearance of Brenwanda Smith in 1997 and the murder of Ann Yuille in 2004. Smith, who also worked for SEPTA, has never been seen or heard from again after getting into a fight with Covington. At the same time, Yuille, who worked at a hospital, was shot near Covington’s place of work. Covington is still a person of interest, even though there is no solid proof linking him to these cases.
The case of Jaun Covington is a scary example of how — untreated mental illness and violence can combine in terrible ways that hurt both the victims and the community. His story also shows how mistakes made at the start of an investigation led to innocent people being detained. Today, Philly Homicide brings these terrible events to people’s attention again by giving viewers a more in-depth look at the complicated and spooky case of Juan Covington, also known as the “Center City Devil.”
Philly Homicide airs on Oxygen and Peacock every Saturday at 9 p.m. for true crime fans who want to know how justice was done in these cases.
For more detailed recaps and True Crimes, visit otavo.tv.
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