A Georgia teenager who killed his older sister during a fight over the family’s Wi-Fi password has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole. Kevon Watkins was 16 years old when this happened at their Macon home in February 2018. The trouble started when Kevon changed the family’s Wi-Fi password because he wanted to play video games on his Xbox without any interruptions.
According to what people said at trial, obtained by MTV, sharing the internet connection with other family members made it too slow for his gaming. When his mother found out what he had done, they got into an argument. As things got worse and it looked like they might get physical, Kevon’s 20-year-old sister Alexus Breanna Watkins stepped in to protect their mother. What started as a normal sibling fight quickly turned deadly.
Kevon put his sister in a chokehold and refused to let go for over 10 minutes until police arrived at the scene. Their mother called 911 when she could not separate her children. Even their 13-year-old brother tried to pull Kevon off Alexus, but could not do it. One deputy said that when officers arrived 10 minutes after the emergency call, Kevon was still choking his sister. Alexus was taken to a hospital, where doctors said she had died from being choked later that night.
This wasn’t just about Wi-Fi
Kevon Watkins, now 18, gave up his right to a jury trial and instead chose to have Bibb County Superior Court Judge Verda Colvin decide his case. After hearing two days of testimony and looking at evidence including body camera videos from responding deputies, she found him guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault.
Judge Colvin explained why she chose to convict Watkins of murder instead of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. It was because his younger brother had tried to stop him. “In those 10 minutes, she had to have stopped moving,” Colvin said. “Perhaps that wasn’t noticed by the defendant because he was still angry.”
On February 2, 2018, 16-year-old Kevon Watkins faced connectivity issues while attempting to play Xbox games in his family's Georgia home.
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) December 25, 2023
In an effort to improve the speed, he decided to change the Wi-Fi password to prevent others from logging on and potentially slowing down… pic.twitter.com/1ktGEsxJzs
During the trial, Kevon cried as he said he never meant to kill his sister. “She taught me most everything I know,” he said. According to testimony, Kevon told investigators that he and Alexus fought nearly every day. Similar to other cases where family members have been convicted of murder, everyone in the courtroom was clearly affected.
Before giving him the life sentence, Judge Colvin talked about what she saw as bigger problems in the household. She said she was sorry that the adults in Kevon’s life had failed to discipline him or give him ways 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.”
16-year-old Kevon Watkins was trying to play video games on Xbox in his family home in Georgia on February 2, 2018, but the internet connection was too poor.
— HOLYMAN
In order to increase the speed of his internet connection, he decided to change the Wi-Fi password.
He did this to block… pic.twitter.com/NnpS7bbIYe(@TheHolyman_) October 12, 2023
When given a chance to speak before being taken out of the courtroom, the only words that anyone could understand through Kevon’s crying were “I’m sorry.” His family members also cried when the sentence was announced. District Attorney David Cooke said in a statement, “This act of violence resulted in an unspeakable tragedy for this family.” The case is a sad reminder of how seemingly small fights can turn into deadly violence when anger problems are not dealt with.
