Covington woman missing, police say her 71-year-old boyfriend is a ‘person of interest’

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Covington family is on edge after they say Debra Ashby has been missing for two weeks. Covington police officials say her boyfriend is now “a person of interest.”

Ashby’s boyfriend, 71-year-old Arnithal Freeman, was arrested for allegedly beating her and for violating a protection order before her disappearance.

According to police, Ashby was supposed to testify in the domestic violence case before she was reported missing by her family on November 1, 2022.

“She said that he was calling and she had to hang up so she told me ‘bye momma and I’ll call you when he leaves,’ but I never heard anything else. I think my baby’s gone. I hate to say it, but it’s what I believe,” said Ashby’s mother said, the last phone call they had together was on Oct. 29.

Officers searched some wooded areas for Ashby on Thursday, but they did not find anything.

Copyright 2022 WANF. All rights reserved.