A Dallas congregation wore bowties Sunday to honor and remember a valued employee who was found dead in a Dallas condo on Friday.
Dallas police said they arrested 22-year-old Yevin Rushing after he admitted to being at the home of Robert Covington.
Covington's body was discovered by a friend on Friday, July 7. Covington was well known as an employee at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, one of the largest LGBT churches in the country.
Sunday, the congregation of more than a thousand came together during their service to address the loss of Covington, who was the assistant to the pastor and often referred to as the church's gatekeeper.
Some members of the church wore bowties which is what Covington was known to wear.
"I'm shocked, I'm overwhelmed and someways numb at what has happened," Rev. Neil Cazares-Thomas said.
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"He was impeccable with his dress, that was one thing about Lee, he was always sharp," Rev. Michael Diaz, an associate pastor, said.
Covington, 54, was killed by suffocation and asphyxiation, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office.
According to an arrest affidavit, Rushing told investigators he met Covington on Craigslist. The document went on to say Covington was killed by duct tape wrapped over his nose and mouth.
Police also said that while they were processing the crime scene the suspect, Rushing, showed up in a U-Haul truck and left when he saw detectives.
Several items were missing from Covington's home, officers said.
Police were able to identify Rushing as a person-of-interest after neighbors were able to identify the license plate of a vehicle associated with him.
