A preliminary exam is scheduled for next month for an Illinois man accused in a fatal stabbing in Southfield — nearly 30 years ago.
The case was reopened in 2024, and a team of detectives subsequently identified Robert Joseph Covington as the suspect in the Feb. 19, 1997 murder of Deborah Renee Kennedy, 40. Covington, 58, is charged with open murder for allegedly killing Kennedy, his neighbor at the time. He was arrested several weeks ago and extradited to Oakland County on April 8.
Barren said advances in DNA analysis of “critical evidence” link Covington to the homicide — technology not available for the initial investigation: Kennedy fought her attacker and Covington’s DNA was found in her fingernail clippings as well as on a credit card recovered from the crime scene, Barren said.
Robert Covington booking photo
At the preliminary exam, scheduled for June 30, 46th District Judge Cynthia Arvant will be presented with evidence and then determine if there’s probable cause for the case to be bound over for possible trial in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Kennedy was found dead in her home by police officers who went to check on her after a coworker reported that she hadn’t shown up for her job at the GM Tech Center in Warren that day.
Covington lived with his wife and mother-in-law across the street from Kennedy, who lived alone. Barren said Kennedy was friendly with Covington’s mother-in-law which may have led her to allowing him into her home, as there was no sign of forced entry.
Covington is in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond.
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