Kevon Watkins, 18, has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his sister during an argument over Wi-Fi access in February 2018.

Watkins had changed the password to the family’s wireless network in order to ensure that he did not have to share its bandwidth while he was playing his Xbox online. When his mother confronted him for cutting the household off from the connection, a heated argument ensued in which his mother tried to remove the console from his room.

Watkins’ 19-year-old sister Alexus confronted him in the midst of the conflict. He responded by putting her in a chokehold — one that he did not release for a full ten minutes, until police arrived. In those intervening minutes, his 13-year-old younger brother tried to stop him from choking her, but failed.

Bibb County Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin found Watkins guilty of murder, versus voluntary manslaughter, in part because of the younger brother’s efforts to stop the killing. “In those 10 minutes, she had to have stopped moving. Perhaps that wasn’t noticed by the defendant because he was still angry,” Colvin said.

The judge also lamented the family life that led to the murder, saying she was “sorry the adults in his life let him down and never disciplined him or gave him the tools to deal with his anger.“

“In this household, chaos was empowered,” she said. “In this household, the ability to ignore and follow corrective discipline was empowered.”

Kevon Watkins wept openly at his sentencing. Given a chance to make a final statement before he was taken away, all that could be understood through his tears was “I’m sorry.” Colvin was resolute, saying, “I think everyone understands … including this court.”