Last Friday, Bibb County Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin had to make a decision, which she described to The Macon Telegraph as “the most difficult thing [she] had to do since [she] took the bench in April of 2014." Colvin sentenced 18-year-old, Kevon Lamar Watkins, to life in prison for choking his sister to death over an argument regarding Wi-Fi.
In February 2018, The Georgia teen changed the password for his household's Wi-Fi so his family members would not have access and he would secure himself a faster connection for his Xbox gaming. After his 19-year-old sister, Alexus Breanna, intervened in an argument between Kevon and his mother over the Wi-Fi, Kevon strangled Alexus for what was estimated to have been fifteen minutes. The mother called 911 once Alexus collapsed to the floor, but she died from asphyxiation a few hours later.
A significant factor determining Judge Colvin's ruling of murder, rather than voluntary manslaughter, was the lengthy amount of time Kevon spent choking his sister, despite the attempted intervention from his 13-year-old brother. The defendant told the court that he tended to argue with his sister every day. Colvin viewed this as chaos in the home that was ignored, and therefore, "empowered" to escalate to this horrific level.
