MUSKEGON, Mich. — A 34-year-old mystery has finally seen a breakthrough. Prosecutors have charged Darick O’Brien Anderson, 59, with Open Murder and Perjury in the 1991 killing of 28-year-old Talfrieda “Frieda” Covington, a pregnant mother brutally stabbed to death in Muskegon on June 30, 1991.
Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson announced the charges on September 10, 2025, calling it a long-awaited step toward justice in one of the county’s most haunting unsolved crimes.
“It has been a long road for the victim’s family and friends, but our investigation has finally brought us to a point where justice is within reach,” Hilson said.
The Case That Haunted Muskegon
Covington’s death devastated her family and community more than three decades ago. Known as “Frieda” by loved ones, she was remembered as a vibrant young woman whose life — and that of her unborn child — was cut short in an act of violence that remained unanswered for decades.
Investigators revisited the case with new urgency in recent years. According to officials, the breakthrough came through painstaking work — revisiting witness testimony, analyzing old evidence, and issuing investigative subpoenas that eventually led back to Anderson.
Detective Scott Liskey of the Muskegon Police Department is listed as the primary complaining witness in the case filings.
A History of Violence
Anderson is already serving a life sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections for a 2008 jewelry store armed robbery and double homicide in Ottawa County — a crime that shocked West Michigan and reinforced his reputation as one of the state’s most dangerous offenders.
Now, with the Covington case reopened, Anderson faces additional life-offense charges as a habitual offender, third offense.
For the Family, A Step Toward Closure
For Covington’s family, this development is about more than legal accountability. It represents recognition of a life lost too soon, and of decades of grief carried without resolution.
“She was more than a name in a file. Frieda was loved. She mattered,” one family member said after learning of the charges.
Why It Matters
- For the community: The case shows that cold cases are never forgotten and justice, however delayed, can still be pursued.
- For the family: It offers a long-overdue path toward closure, even if nothing can erase the pain of losing a daughter and her unborn child.
- For the justice system: It’s proof of persistence — that investigators and prosecutors will continue to fight for answers, even after decades.
What Comes Next
Anderson will remain in MDOC custody while awaiting extradition for Muskegon proceedings. If convicted, he could face additional life terms — effectively ensuring he will never leave prison.
For Muskegon, and for the Covington family, the charges mark a turning point in a decades-old tragedy. After 34 years, the silence surrounding Frieda Covington’s murder has been broken.
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