Killer of Teen, Fetus Sentenced

Williams's uncle, Stephen Covington Sr., testified that his nephew had been born a healthy baby but entered the unstable world of an addict mother. Williams was tossed from relative to relative and spent time in foster care, he said. And before his sixth birthday, he watched his father shoot and wound his mother, he said.

"When he'd sleep, he'd toss and turn and wake up in cold sweats," Covington said, adding that Williams never talked about the shooting except to say "he would never forget it."

Covington's son, Stephen Covington Jr., was also convicted in the slaying of Cheri Washington. Eighteen years old at the time, he was a friend of Washington's and did nothing to stop the beatings, although he was in the Dale City home that day in January 2005, listening to the abuse and even handing over the bat. He was sentenced this January to serve 36 months.

"Everyone is struggling with this in their own way," the elder Covington said, adding that his youngest sons, ages 13 and 15, still don't understand what happened.

"They just tell me they have dreams," he said. "They ask what made him do it. And I can't give them an answer. I don't know."

Although there was evidence that Williams wanted to terminate the pregnancy, there was no proof that he intended to kill Washington. After the beating, Williams helped Washington get dressed and walked her out, ordering her to say she was "jumped" by a bunch of girls, according to court testimony. She was found by a motorist and taken to a hospital, where she and her 5- to 6-month-old fetus died the next day.

When asked yesterday whether he wanted to say anything, Williams turned to face Washington's family before his own.

"I would like to take this time to sincerely apologize to Cheri Washington's family, to my family and to the Commonwealth of Virginia," he said. "That's all I have to say."

The words were little consolation to Washington's family members, who left the courtroom in varying states of tearfulness.

"She was a loving girl, and now the only time I can visit her I have to go to her grave," Joanna Washington said.