Where is Richard Covington Now? Facts About Patti Hubbert, Norman Leighton, and Gerald Morris Murders
In late 2006, authorities in Billings, Montana, were confronted with three dead bodies in what appeared to be a horrible string of crimes. In the end, they were all linked to a single robbery at an apartment complex. ‘Murder by Numbers: Dog Days of Murder’ on Investigation Discovery focuses on the murders of Patti Hubbert, Norman Leighton, and Gerald Morris. So, if you’re curious in what happened and who committed the murders, we’ve got you covered.
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How Did Patti Hubbert, Norman Leighton, and Gerald Morris Die?
Patti Hubbert was born in Billings in January 1952 and has lived there for nearly two decades. She shared her residence with Norman Leighton, 69. On September 22, 2006, shortly after 6 a.m., officials got a call reporting a fire at Patti and Norman’s apartment. After the fire was put out, they discovered Norman and Patti’s bodies in the bedroom.
Norman was on the floor, while Patti was on the bed. Patti’s mouth was stuffed with a rag and wrapped with duct tape, and both were bound with duct tape, wire hangers, and a telephone line. An autopsy found that Norman died as a result of blunt force injuries, while Patti died as a result of asphyxia. According to the show, they were abused for days and a fire was created to hide the crime.
The family reported Gerald Morris, their next-door neighbor, missing on September 23, 2006. On October 4, almost two weeks later, a worker discovered a decomposing body a few feet from the road south of Billings; it was Gerald. He was brought there and shot in the back and neck with a.44-caliber handgun, according to the show. Authorities quickly linked the three murders, and an extensive investigation ensued.
Who Killed Patti Hubbert, Norman Leighton, and Gerald Morris?
The investigators discovered a large amount of money, as well as a.44-caliber revolver, gone from Patti and Norman’s home. The living room appeared to be trashed, with garments strewn about. Because there was no evidence of forceful entry, the police assumed Patti and Norman had let the killer in before he chained and tortured them for days before murdering them.
According to the show, the police considered Gerald as a probable suspect at first, but that changed when his remains were discovered two weeks later. A fabric fiber was discovered on his clothes that appeared to have come from the seat of a pickup truck. A single dog hair was also discovered on the rag shoved in Patti’s mouth. Gerald’s girlfriend, Marcia Whiteley, eventually called the cops. She informed the cops that she last saw Gerald while he was leaving with a buddy, Richard Covington.
Richard has already been on the radar of the authorities. Patti and Norman’s house was set on fire in June 2005 to conceal a burglary. According to the episode, Richard was a suspect but was never charged. He also owned a dog, which was odd. The authorities were eventually able to match the dog’s hair to the one found on the towel. More damning evidence emerged in the shape of a fiber found on Gerald that matched the fiber found on Richard’s vehicle seat.
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Gerald Morris
Furthermore, an apartment maintenance employee reported to officials that he had purchased a.44-caliber pistol from Richard. The serial number of the revolver matched a card discovered at Patti and Norman’s apartment, tying him to Gerald’s death. Authorities suspected Richard of torturing Patti and Norman, and Gerald was killed shortly after attempting to intervene.
Where is Richard Covington Today?
In February 2010, Richard Covington went on trial, and the prosecution introduced evidence about Richard not denying murdering the three of them when speaking to a witness, claiming he wouldn’t get caught until the government did a better job. He was eventually convicted guilty of multiple offenses, including murder, robbery, arson, and theft, by a jury. Richard pled guilty to robbing a woman in a parking lot in April 2007 the previous year.
Richard was sentenced to five life terms in jail without the possibility of parole in June 2010, when he was 47 years old. These were to run concurrently with the 40-year sentence for the 2007 robbery. Richard’s sentence was also influenced by his earlier criminal history; he was convicted of robbery in 1981 and accused with another in 1994. According to prison records, he is still detained at Crossroads Correctional Facility in Shelby, Montana.
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