A former Arkansas resident died of suffocation in his Dallas condominium after duct tape was wrapped over his nose and mouth, police said.
Officers with the Dallas Police Department responded around 6:20 p.m. Friday to 3016 Mahanna Springs Drive in reference to a reported death.
On a bed inside the condo, police found the body of 54-year-old Robert Lee Covington, according to a report. A friend had initially discovered his body inside the locked home.
Yevin Rushing, 22, was developed as a “person of interest” in the case Saturday after police learned that Covington’s Rolex watch was inside his vehicle.
Rushing told authorities that he had been to Covington’s residence around 8:30 a.m. Friday after the two communicated via a posting on the classifieds website Craigslist.
After a period of time inside, Rushing said, he locked the condo and left.
The Rolex watch, he said, had been given to him by Covington during an “earlier encounter.” It was discovered in a U-Haul truck that was parked in front of the home.
Rushing was seen driving the U-Haul truck in the parking lot of the condo and walking past the back door of the unit as police processed the scene, the report states.
Cathedral of Hope, a Dallas congregation affiliated with the United Church of Christ, noted that Covington worked as executive assistant to the senior pastor and as office manager.
In a statement, Cathedral of Hope senior pastor Rev. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas called Covington a “much beloved friend and colleague.”
“Lee was an amazing man and my heart breaks today,” Cazares-Thomas said. “My love and prayers [are] with Mack, his partner, and for his family as well as for us at Cathedral of Hope UCC who knew him as a loving friend.”
Before moving to Dallas, Covington once called Jonesboro home, according to his Facebook profile that was linked in the pastor’s statement.
Rushing was arrested on a charge of capital murder in Covington’s death, police said. He remained at the Dallas County, Texas, jail as of Monday afternoon in lieu of $500,000 bond, records show.
