A horrible reminder of the need to take animal abuse seriously
May 16th, 2008 by admin
A couple weeks ago we wrote about a man with a history of animal abuse who is now the main suspect in two rapes. Sadly, there has been another incident in which someone with a history of animal cruelty has targeted humans.
On Mother’s Day, a woman and her two young children were murdered in Lutz (Hillsborough County). The family dog was also killed. On Wednesday, police arrested Edward Allen Covington and charged him with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of abuse of dead human bodies and one count of cruelty to animals. Covington had been arrested for animal cruelty in 2005, when Tampa police found three dead, mutilated cats in his home. Tragically, according to the Tampa Tribune, “that case was not prosecuted.”
Animal cruelty and violent crime against humans are closely related. Too often, animals are only the first victims.