Mothers Day Massacre | Gruesome Murder of Girlfriend and Her Kids | Edward Covington Part 2/3

On May 12, 2008, Freiberg opened the door to her daughter Lisa's mobile home in Lutz and encountered a blood-soaked crime scene. Lisa Freiberg, 26, and her two children, Zachary Freiberg, 7, and Heather Savannah Freiberg, 2, had been beaten, choked and stabbed. Authorities said Covington had attacked the family with a hammer and knife. After killing the children, he dismembered their bodies.

Sheriff's deputies found Covington, a former prison guard, cowering in a closet, wearing nothing but underwear and covered in scratches and traces of blood.

Charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of abuse of a dead body and one count of animal abuse for killing the family's dog, Covington sat in prison for years, waiting for his day in court. But when his trial began last fall, he stunned everyone, including the public defenders representing him, by abruptly firing them and announcing that he would plead guilty.

"I expect you to sentence me to death," he told Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente, adding that this was the sentence he would choose for himself. "I feel it's warranted. The Freibergs feel it's warranted. The state feels it's warranted. I have no problem with this."

Covington's decision to forgo a jury trial left his fate entirely with the judge and prompted Fuente to issue a stern warning. He had encountered a similar situation only once before in his career, he told Covington, and he sentenced that defendant to death.