Judge Verda Colvin expressed remorse that Kevon Watkins’ family didn’t do more to address his anger issues
By Rachel Herron
A Georgia teen who choked his sister to death last year during a fight over the family’s Wi-Fi password has been sentenced to life in prison.
In February 2018, Kevon Watkins, who was 16 years old at the time, came home from school and changed the password to his family’s Wi-Fi because the connection lagged on his Xbox when too many people were on the network, reported WSB-TV.
At one point, Kevon’s mother tried to take his Xbox from his room when his sister Alexus Watkins, 19, confronted him, according to testimony at the teen’s trial and 911 calls from the incident.
During the argument between Alexus and Kevon, the teen put his sister in a chokehold and didn’t release her until over 10 minutes later when police arrived, The Macon Telegraph reported.
Alexus was pronounced dead of asphyxiation early the next morning at a local hospital.
Kevon was found guilty Friday of felony murder and aggravated assault.
During the hearing, BibbCounty Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin explained she found Kevon guilty of murder instead of voluntary manslaughter because his 13-year-old brother tried to get him to stop choking their sister.
“Even under the best estimation, by the time [a sheriff’s deputy] got there …. It had been at least 11 minutes that the defendant had to have been choking his sister,” Colvin said, according to the local paper. “In those 10 minutes, she had to have stopped moving. Perhaps that wasn’t noticed by the defendant because he was still angry.”
As he was sentenced, Kevon Watkins cried along with his family, who were sitting on courtroom benches.
Before leaving the courtroom, Kevon emotionally sobbed and struggled to mutter the words, “I’m sorry.”
“I think everyone understands,” Judge Colvin said. “Including this court.”
Kevon Watkins previously told an investigator he and his sister argued nearly every day.
Before Colvin sentenced Kevon, she expressed sorrow the adults in Kevon’s life never disciplined him or gave him the resources to deal with his anger.
“In this household, chaos was empowered,” Colvin said. “In this household, the ability to ignore and follow corrective discipline was empowered.”
Colvin called her decision “the most difficult thing I’ve had to do since I took the bench in April of 2014.”
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