TAMPA, FL – A Florida man who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan received a 30-year prison sentence Monday for the fatal beating of his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son during a family move in 2020.
Tyrone Covington, 45, was convicted in January of manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the death of Josiyah Robinson. Circuit Judge Lyann Goudie delivered the sentence after jurors opted for the lesser manslaughter charge instead of first-degree murder, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.
The fatal incident occurred on October 22, 2020, when the family was relocating to a new residence and making multiple trips to transport their belongings. After the mother’s car keys became locked inside the vehicle during the late evening move, she blamed Josiyah for the mishap and asked Covington to discipline the child, according to courtroom reports by the Tampa Bay Times.
Following the arrival of a locksmith to open the car, Covington used a belt to strike the boy more than 100 times while also forcing him to perform military-style exercises including pushups, sit-ups and jumping jacks, prosecutors said. The child’s mother called 911 when Josiyah began struggling to breathe and lost consciousness.
Paramedics transported the boy to a local hospital before he was airlifted to a children’s medical facility, where he died one day later. An autopsy determined that Josiyah died from blunt force trauma.
During the investigation, Covington attempted to shift responsibility to the victim’s then-14-year-old brother, claiming the teenager occasionally struck his siblings. However, both the jury and judge rejected this defense.
“He didn’t commit that crime,” Judge Goudie told Covington during sentencing. “It was you.”
The victim’s brother, now 19, testified at the sentencing hearing about witnessing the brutal assault. “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?”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister emphasized the severity of the case at the time of the arrest. “This was not merely a form of punishment. The excessive beating this child endured ultimately led to his death,” Chronister said.
Before imposing the three-decade sentence, Judge Goudie delivered harsh words to the defendant. “When I stop, Mr. Covington, and think about how Josiyah spent the last hour of his life feeling fear, it makes me sick,” Goudie said in court.
