How a tropical vacation engagement led to murder charges in a Garner man’s death
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Howard Covington pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2023 killing.
- Text messages and GPS evidence linked Covington to fatal Garner apartment shooting.
- Patee Bell remains jailed on pending murder charge with $1 million bond in Wake County.
Two years after a Garner man was fatally shot at his apartment, one of two people accused of plotting the burglary that led to his death has pleaded guilty to murder.
Howard Lee Covington, 32, of Willow Spring pleaded guilty June 6 to second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and habitual felon status in the death of Antwone Durell Chisholm, 34, court records show. Second-degree murder is different from first-degree murder in that it is not premeditated, according to the law.
Chisholm was killed at his Kentucky Drive apartment just before 2 p.m. May 8, 2023, The News & Observer previously reported. A neighbor called 911 after hearing gunshots, according to court documents.
Covington and Chisholm’s fiancée, 29-year-old Patee Lachelle Bell, were charged with Chisholm’s murder two days later after Bell confessed to a plot to stage a burglary at the apartment, search warrants state.
Bell and Covington reportedly met at a cookout, though it’s not clear from court documents how long they’d known each other. When police interviewed Bell, she voluntarily provided them her phone, which contained text messages with a person only identified as “Bub,” according to search warrants. Bub’s phone number was later identified as Covington’s.
In messages three days before Chisholm’s death, Bell told Covington’s brother, whom The N&O is not identifying because he has not been charged with any crime, that she loved him but needed to go on an upcoming trip to keep things calm.
“I promise he ain’t touching me but I need you to trust me,” Bell wrote. “I love you. [Expletive] will be over when I touch down Monday afternoon.”
Chisholm’s family members told media outlets that Bell and Chisholm had gotten engaged on a trip to Puerto Rico the weekend before he died, The N&O previously reported.
Fake burglary plot
Bell told police she and Covington planned a fake burglary at the apartment she shared with Chisholm to scare him. It’s not clear from court documents why she wanted to scare Chisholm.
“Bell claimed she didn’t know the details of what was going to happen,” one search warrant states. “Bell said ‘Bub’ told her he would ‘handle it.’”
Bell gave Covington a spare key to the apartment before the couple left for Puerto Rico and asked him to break in during the daytime, close to when they’d arrive home, according to search warrants. She also reportedly advised him to steal drugs from the apartment and gave him the couple’s flight information.
Text messages indicated Bell and Covington may have originally planned the break-in to occur before the trip. A Ring camera installed at the home captured a May 2 disturbance involving Covington, according to search warrants.
Chisholm was at a gas station when the Ring camera notified him of a break-in attempt, a report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner states.
When he returned, he saw Covington on the sidewalk and grabbed his gun from inside the apartment, saying “he would deal with it,” according to the report. Chisholm followed Covington for an unspecified length of time, but let him go when someone asked if they should call 911, the report states.
Bell was apparently frustrated by the encounter, texting Covington’s brother on May 5 “that it would have been handled if nosey neighbors were not around,” according to a search warrant.
The next day, she wrote, “This [expletive] can’t be sloppy n you know that,” adding, “Finna [slang for going to] have a whole baby with you... That’s why I didn’t come to you in the first place,” the warrant states.
Bell then subsequently texted Covington that his brother was angry and would “have a problem if it aint handled on Monday when I get back,” according to the search warrant.
Covington’s brother denied having any knowledge of or involvement in Chisholm’s death and voluntarily gave his cellphone to investigators for examination, the warrant states.
Trail of evidence
When the fatal break-in occurred, Covington left behind a trail of evidence, according to court documents.
He was wearing an ankle monitor, allowing GPS data to track him to the scene of the crime, search warrants show. A witness also noticed his 2017 Hyundai Elantra “parked in the wrong spot” and took a photograph, while another person saw the Elantra speeding away after the shooting, according to the warrants.
The key to Bell and Chisholm’s apartment was also found inside Covington’s Elantra, search warrants state.
And the incriminating text messages from Bell’s phone continued.
Hours after Chisholm was killed, Bell wrote to Covington, asking him to return the key, according to search warrants. The pair also discussed Bell’s dog, which Covington claimed he’d fed, and cigarettes left behind in the apartment; investigators found a pack of Newport cigarettes in the hallway bathroom by some shell casings, the warrants state.
Chisholm was killed by multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, including two shots to the back, according to his autopsy report.
Covington has a lengthy criminal history, having pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges tied to break-ins and thefts throughout Wake and Johnston counties since 2009, court records show. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 8.
Bell’s murder charge was still pending as of Tuesday afternoon. She remains in the Wake County jail with bail set at $1 million, court records show.
