Ga. Teen Strangled Sister to Death Over WiFi Password, Gets Life in Prison

Ga. Teen Strangled Sister to Death Over WiFi Password, Gets Life in Prison

Jeff Truesdell

People

August 6, 2019

A Georgia teen was sentenced to life in prison for murder after strangling his sister in a fight when he changed the wifi password to knock others at home off the internet.

Kevon Watkins, then 16, wanted to block anyone else from logging on at his family’s Macon home so that it wouldn’t slow down the service while he played video games.

When his mother protested and it appeared he might hit her, Kevon’s 20-year-old sister, Alexus, stepped in — and Kevon grabbed Alexus by the throat and put her in a chokehold that lasted an estimated 15 minutes, according to the prosecutor.

Only after his panicked mom called 911 and arriving officers ordered him to let go did Kevon do so, causing Alexus to drop to the floor.

“Get up off the floor,” Latoya Watkins told her daughter.

She didn’t.

“I started screaming,” Latoya testified last week in Bibb County Superior Court, reports the Macon Telegraph.

The responding officers launched into CPR but couldn’t save Alexus. She died of strangulation at the hospital hours later, on February 3, 2018.

Found guilty of murder, Kevon, now 18, was sentenced Friday by Bibb County Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin, reports Atlanta TV station WSB.

 “I’m sorry,” Kevon said through tears as he was led from the courtroom, according to the outlet.

“He couldn’t really explain to me why he didn’t release her,” Bibb County sheriff’s investigator Marcus Baker testified during Kevon’s two-day trial, reports the Telegraph.

When Baker told Kevon his sister was dead and arrested him for murder, “He cried. I cried too,” Baker testified, according to the newspaper. “It’s a sad situation.”

Latoya Watkins said that, on the day of the incident, her 13-year-old son had complained to her that Kevon had changed the password so no one else could use it. She testified that she responded by unplugging the router and taking it to her room.

Kevon “came in my room and started grabbing something, it might have been a cord off the Internet box,” she testified, according to the Telegraph. “My daughter ran in there, she grabbed him … He acted like he was going to hit me.”

Alexus hit Kevon and a struggle between the two began on the bed and then moved to the floor.

“I thought it was a normal brother-sister fight because they always fuss and fight like this,” said Latoya.

But when she couldn’t stop it — and after the 13-year-old boy also tried and failed to push his older brother off his sister — the mom called for help.

The judge — who was asked by Kevon’s defense attorney to decide the case, rather than a jury — cited the 13-year-old’s efforts in ruling that Kevon was guilty of murder and not a lesser charge of manslaughter, reports WSB.

“I never intended to kill her at all,” Kevon testified in tears during his trial, according to the Telegraph. “She taught me most everything I know.”

District Attorney David Cooke said in a statement: “This act of violence resulted in an unspeakable tragedy for this family. I hope this verdict and sentence closes the door on this chapter of their lives and that they will be able to begin to heal.”

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ga-teen-strangled-sister-death-195126507.html