Army Vet Brutally Killed Girlfriend’s 8-Year-Old Son After He Accidentally Locked Keys Inside Car

A Florida man will spend decades behind bars after a jury found he beat his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son more than 100 times with a belt — a brutal punishment that ended in the child’s death.

Tyrone Covington, 45, was convicted in January of manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the death of Josiyah Robinson. This week, a judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.

Covington, a U.S. Army veteran who previously served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, had originally faced a first-degree murder charge. Jurors ultimately convicted him on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The tragic chain of events began on Oct. 22, 2020, as the family was in the middle of moving to a new home. According to courtroom testimony, Josiyah accidentally locked his mother’s keys inside her car during one of several trips between houses.

Prosecutors said the boy’s mother blamed him and asked Covington to discipline him.

After a locksmith unlocked the vehicle, Covington allegedly unleashed a violent beating. In addition to repeatedly whipping the child with a belt, he forced Josiyah to perform strenuous “military-style” exercises, including pushups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks.

Authorities said the punishment went far beyond discipline.

“This was not merely a form of punishment. The excessive beating this child endured ultimately led to his death,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said at the time.

Later that night, Josiyah’s mother called 911, reporting that her son was struggling to breathe and had become unconscious. Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital before he was airlifted to a children’s hospital. He died the following day.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

During the investigation, Covington attempted to shift blame to the boy’s then-14-year-old brother, claiming the teen had previously hit his siblings. But prosecutors rejected that claim, and neither the jury nor the judge accepted his defense.

“He didn’t commit that crime,” Circuit Judge Lyann Goudie told Covington at sentencing. “It was you.”

Now 19, Josiyah’s older brother addressed the court, describing the trauma of witnessing the beating.

“I see it over and over, my brother being beaten, while I sit against that wall,” he said. “I ask myself constantly, if only I had done something, if only I’d stopped Tyrone, would my brother still be here?”

Before handing down the sentence, the judge delivered a powerful rebuke.

“When I stop, Mr. Covington, and think about how Josiyah spent the last hour of his life feeling fear, it makes me sick,” she said.