The true story behind Egypt Covington's murder ahead of Dateline

Dateline returns to the Egypt Covington case with a detailed look at the investigation, arrests, and court outcomes tied to the 2017 killing in Van Buren Township, Michigan. The Dateline report tracks how a young singer was found inside her duplex and how the case moved once new investigators took charge.

Dateline - A Girl Named Egypt airs on Oxygen on Wednesday, September 24, at 3 am and 4 am. The same report originally aired as a two-hour Dateline NBC broadcast on March 22, 2024, featuring state detectives discussing key clues on camera.

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The true story behind the murder of Egypt Covington, ahead of Dateline

Egypt Covington, 27, was found on June 23, 2017, in her Van Buren Township duplex with her hands bound by string lights and a single gunshot wound to the head. Local officers first reviewed those closest to her. Years then passed without charges as the case stalled.

Police respond to a 2017 homicide scene in Van Buren Township (Image via Pexels)

Also read: Dateline - A Girl Named Egypt Season 9 Episode 19 - A detailed case overview

Family advocacy grew. Relatives pressed for a handoff to state investigators and raised attention with petitions and public events. According to NBC News, Michigan State Police took over in 2020.

Once state detectives assumed control, they rechecked leads and used a geofence-based query to review devices near the duplex around the time of the crime. Analysts then focused on phones tied to two men from Toledo, Ohio, and a local acquaintance from nearby Sumpter Township, as reported by NBC News (March 2024).

The working theory became a botched robbery. The intended target was reportedly the neighboring unit, where a legal marijuana operation was known in the area. Instead, the intruders went to the wrong door, entered Covington’s home, and violence followed. Police and court summaries later repeated this account, per MLive (March 2024).

Arrests began in late 2020. Timothy Eugene Moore and Shane Lamar Evans were taken into custody in November, and Shandon Ray Groom was arrested the next month. The case moved to preliminary hearings in 2021 and then to plea discussions, according to ClickOnDetroit.

All three defendants ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. (Image via Pexels)

All three defendants ultimately pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Evans entered his plea first and received 15 to 25 years. Moore and Groom followed in 2023, with Moore also pleading to a firearm count. Sentences were 20 to 55 years for Moore and 17 to 26 years for Groom, as reported by The Detroit News (Oct. 5, 2023).

In court, statements outlined how Evans pointed out the duplex he believed held marijuana and how Moore and Groom allegedly entered the wrong side. Prosecutors described the killing as the outcome of a planned theft that turned deadly once a resident was confronted. Sentencing coverage also recorded the family’s impact statements, per ClickOnDetroit (Oct. 5, 2023).

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Dateline episode details and schedule

The Dateline episode, titled A Girl Named Egypt, airs on Oxygen at 3:00 am and 4:00 am on Wednesday, September 24. The back-to-back hour slots present the same case across two installments, with interviews and case materials that trace the full arc from the 2017 scene to the guilty pleas in 2023.

Dateline NBC can be streamed on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, fuboTV, and NBC. It is also available with ads on The Roku Channel. Select titles, including A Girl Named Egypt, can also be streamed for free on Spectrum On Demand.

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Edited by Preethika Vijayakumar