Tag: georgia

Gevin Prince Teen Killer Murders Grandma With Sword

Gevin Prince Teen Killer

Gevin Prince a sixteen year old from Georgia would murder his great grandmother with a samurai sword. According to court documents Gevin Prince would kill his great grandmother with a samurai sword after she asked him to stop playing video games. Prince would also stab his grandmother in the same incident with the sword. This teen killer would be sentenced to life in prison

Gevin Prince 2023 Information

gevin prince

YOB: 1996
RACE: WHITE
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5’05”
WEIGHT: 177
EYE COLOR: HAZEL
HAIR COLOR: BROWN

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: AUGUSTA STATE MED. PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE

Gevin Prince Other News

A Georgia teen accused of killing his great-grandmother with a sword was sentenced to life with parole on Wednesday after pleading guilty but mentally ill, CBS Atlanta reports.

The 16-year-old Gevin Prince was charged with malice murder and four counts of aggravated assault in the fatal stabbing of Mary Joan Gibbs, 77, with a samurai sword. Investigators said Prince killed her after she told him to stop playing video games on Aug. 15, 2011.

Police said Prince also stabbed his grandmother, Laura Prince, 55, during the violent attack, the station reports.

Laura Prince spoke in court before the judge accepted her grandson’s plea.

“I lost my mother in this horrible thing. My arm was broken, I was stabbed in the shoulder and I’m losing my only grandchild to the courts,” Laura Prince said.

According to CBS Atlanta, Laura Prince and Gevin Prince cried when she embraced him in court. She told the judge that was the first time she had hugged her grandson since the incident.

“I’m begging you to help him, to give him the help he needs. I know he has to be punished, I know this has to happen. I accept that,” Laura Prince said.

David Cook, Laura Prince’s brother, told the judge he wanted Gevin Prince to go to trial, the station says.

“He shouldn’t have been in that house your honor. There are too many unanswered questions,” Cook said.

Gevin Prince More News

A confessed killer hugged one of the people he attacked Wednesday in a Douglas County courtroom shortly before a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

Laura Prince sobbed as she embraced her 16-year-old grandson Gevin Allen Prince, who had stabbed her shortly before he killed her mother with a kitchen knife and samurai sword in what a seasoned prosecutor described as a “horrific killing.”

“It will be OK, we’ll get through this,” Laura Prince told him.

Superior Court Judge Robert James sentenced Gevin to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the plea of guilty but mentally ill, for murdering Mary Joan Gibbs, 77, Aug 15, 2011.

Prince, clad in a khaki-colored jumpsuit, suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a mental condition that left him high functioning in some mental pursuits but often low functioning in social situations.

Laura Prince, who was raising her grandson, lived with Gibbs. District Attorney David McDade said Prince had a history of attacks on family members but the grandmother and great grand-mother had covered for him when police suspected he had once used a sword to stab the great-grandmother in the foot.

Systematic failures — juvenile authorities not proceeding against Prince and a failure to get adequate mental-health treatment because of insurance issues – frustrated David Cook, the teen’s uncle.

Cook said the household held a collection of 30 swords that belonged to another nephew who lived there. Cook said he thought the weapons had been removed after the previous attack, and he blamed other family members for allowing the weapons to remain.

“This was the most preventable murder in the history of the world,” Cook told the court and then addressed his nephew. “Gevin, you didn’t do this by yourself. You shouldn’t have been in that house. The swords and knives shouldn’t have been in that house.”

James also expressed frustration at the presence of the weapons despite Prince’s history.

“He is not totally to blame,” the judge said.

Prince will be eligible for parole in 30 years, said his lawyer, Travis Glahn.

Two neighborhood teenagers who tried to assist Gibbs after she ran wounded into her yard called 911 after Prince chased them off with the sword, McDade said. Gibbs warned them to flee, he said.

“She began to tell them to run, ‘He’ll kill you too,’” McDade said.

After chasing the teens, Gibbs returned and administered the death blow to his great-grandmother, driving the sword down into her head, McDade said.

When sheriff deputies arrived at the Spring Ridge Drive home, Gevin Prince was outside, holding both a sword and a loaded pellet gun. McDade said he stabbed his great-grandmother’s lifeless body to show the deputies that she was dead and they did not need to rescue her.

Deputies subdued him with a flash-bang grenade, a police dog which tackled him and a Taser. Prince fired several shots from the gun at deputies and struck patrol cars before he was taken into custody.

Laura Prince previously told the AJC she had reared Gevin and had tried to seek help for his mental problems, which is similar to autism, and the older he got, the more he “acted out” physically, eventually prompting 911 calls to county authorities.

On the day of the killing, Gevin wanted to use the computer, but his grandmother said no and Gevin became agitated, McDade said. He attacked his grandmother with a kitchen knife who fled to a bathroom and then attacked his great-grandmother who had come to assist her daughter, McDade said.

https://www.ajc.com/news/life-sentence-for-teen-who-killed-great-grandmother-with-sword/r7vwet784xE61brEkdIB6M/

Gevin Prince Videos

Frequently Asked Questions

Gevin Prince Now

Gevin Prince is currently incarcerated at Augusta State Prison

Gevin Prince Release Date

Gevin Prince is serving a life sentence

Reginald Lofton Teen Killer Murders Man During Robbery

Reginald Lofton Teen Killer

Reginald Lofton was fourteen years old when he took part in the murder of a pizza delivery man in Georgia. According to court documents Reginald Lofton and Jermaine Young lured the victim to an apartment block where he was shot and killed. Police do not know which of the two actually fired the fatal shot however under Georgia law it does not matter. This teen killer was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for thirty years

Reginald Lofton 2023 Information

Reginald Lofton 2020 photos

YOB: 2001
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 5’06”
WEIGHT: 130
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK

INCARCERATION DETAILS

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: DOOLY STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE

Reginald Lofton Other News

Gwinnett County Superior Court Judge Randy Rich minced no words Thursday morning when sentencing Reginald Lofton, the now-15-year-old convicted of killing a Gwinnett County pizza driver, to life with the possibility of parole.

“I wish I could give you more time than I can,” Rich told the teen. “Because I think you’re a coldblooded killer. I hope you never get out of jail.”

Lofton was convicted last month for his role in the March 1 shooting death of 28-year-old Shane Varnadore, a Papa John’s driver whom authorities believe Lofton and a friend lured to a Lawrenceville-area apartment complex to rob.

Varnadore was shot and killed. Authorities have said they don’t know whether Lofton or fellow suspect Jermaine Young — who has yet to be tried — actually pulled the trigger. Under Georgia’s party to a crime laws, however, it doesn’t matter, as long as it can be proved a suspect “aided or abetted” in the crime or crimes that led to another person’s death.

During Lofton’s trial, the prosecution suggested he, at a minimum, provided the cellphone used to make the calls to draw Varnadore to the Wesley Herrington Apartments, watched part of the incident and took the pizza that was being delivered back to his apartment after Varnadore was killed.

Lofton’s sentence Thursday — and specifically the inclusion of the possibility of parole — was not an unexpected one. Earlier this month, prosecutor Sabrina Nizam and defense attorney LeAnne Chancey both said they agreed it was the only possible outcome. 

In a case from this year, Montgomery v. Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life sentences without parole should not be applied to juveniles convicted of murder. A similar case in Georgia’s Supreme Court ruled that such sentences constitute “cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Lofton will be eligible for parole in 30 years. He’ll be about 45 years old.

Four friends and family members of Varandore spoke on his behalf prior to Lofton’s sentencing. They described him as a hard-working man who loved to play music and designed video games, and a peaceful type who wouldn’t kill a bug inside his own house.

Tara Varnadore, Shane’s sister, said her 4-year-old daughter recently asked her when she was going to die — “because she wants to see Uncle Shane.”

Nizam had to read a statement from Teresa Varnadore, Shane’s mother, because she was too emotional.

“I feel destined,” the statement said, “to live a life unfulfilled, since part of me is now missing.”

Lofton’s sister, Porsha Porter, also spoke before he was sentenced, arguing that he “deserved a second chance at life.”  

“Instead of throwing him under the jail cell, help him, counsel him, something,” Porter pleaded.

Lofton grew up in Chicago and was put in his sister’s care last year after his mother died and his father was ruled unfit to care for him. The teen — who saw his share of violence and had many run-ins with the law in his hometown — at first denied his own opportunity to speak in court Thursday.

Then, just before he was sentenced, he opted to say a few words. He did not look at the Varnadore family as he spoke.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry for your loss but, um, I did not, um, kill your son,” he said. “And I wasn’t the shooter. That’s it judge.”

Reginald Lofton Videos

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum Teen Killers

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum were young lesbian lovers and when Holly Grandparents tried to end their relationship the two teenage girls decided to murder them.

According to court documents Holly and Sandra would stab the elderly couple several times each causing their death. The teen killers would take off in the couple’s vehicle and would be picked up by police a short time later. Both of the girls were sentenced to multiple life terms however each was eligible for parole. As of this writing in 2021 both are still in prison

Holly Harvey 2023 Information

holly harvey 2022

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: ARRENDALE STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE

Sandra Ketchum 2023 Information

sandra ketchum 2021 photos

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: PULASKI STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum Other News

Two teenage girls accused of stabbing one of the girls’ grandparents to death pleaded guilty Thursday to murder during a court hearing, ending a case that garnered national headlines. Holly Harvey, 15, was sentenced to two life sentences in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of malice murder. Because of her age, she was not eligible for the death penalty. She will not be eligible for parole until after she serves 20 years in prison.

Sandy Ketchum, 16, who has been described as Holly’s lover, was sentenced to serve three life sentences to be served consecutively. At the end of her hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, Fayette County Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell sentenced her to three life sentences for murder and armed robbery, to be served concurrently — meaning she could be eligible for parole in 10 years.

During the court proceeding, the girls spoke about the stabbings, and the blood, which Harvey said felt like a bucket of hot water. Carl Collier, 74, and his wife, Sarah, 73, were each stabbed multiple times Aug. 2 inside the couple’s house in north Fayette County.

The girls then allegedly fled in the Colliers’ truck and were arrested the next day in Tybee Island. As part of her plea, Harvey detailed how she killed the couple. For half an hour, she choked back sobs and spoke softly as she recounted the killings to Fayette County Superior Court Judge Pascal English. Harvey and her friend had stayed out all night and spent the morning of the killings listening to music in the basement bedroom of her grandparents’ north Fayette home.

That was when Ketchum suggested stealing the grandparent’s truck “to get something to calm us down,” Harvey said. “‘We’ll have to kill them to do that,”‘ Harvey said she responded. “But I didn’t mean nothing by that,” she told Judge Pascal English. Ketchum suggested hitting them in the head with a lamp, and then suggested getting a knife, Harvey said. “I got the biggest knife I could find out of the kitchen,” she said, adding that they practiced stabbing a mattress to see if the knife was sharp enough. When the grandparents came downstairs to get a suitcase, Harvey said she stabbed her grandmother. “My eyes were closed the whole time,” she said.

Her grandfather then pinned her down and Harvey said she stabbed him in the chest. She pursued him as he ran upstairs and tried to call for help, pulling the phone out of the wall, Harvey said. “He grabbed the knife and I thought he was going to stab me,” Harvey said, adding she took the knife from him and started attacking him. When the judge asked Holly Harvey why she did it, the teen said, “For Sandy,” and added, “So that we could be together.”

Judge English asked Holly Harvey after sentencing her if 20 years in prison “was a good deal” for killing her grandparents. She answered no. When he asked what she thought should happen to her, Harvey replied, “I think I should be dead.” The judge muttered, “We both agree on that.” Ketchum’s hearing was much shorter. She was not forced to detail the crime because she was immediately cooperative with authorities, showed remorse and was prepared to testify against Holly Harvey at trial — factors which justified a lighter sentence, Prosecutor Scott Ballard said during her hearing.

Outside the courthouse, Tim Ketchum, her father, said she did the right thing. “I can’t explain it. I’m not that type of person,” he said. “I didn’t raise her to be that type of person. I want to say to the community I’m very sorry this happened.” The teens had faced two counts of felony murder, two counts of malice murder and one count of armed robbery. The maximum sentence the girls could have received was life in prison without parole. The girls were to be tried as adults in the killings.

Holly Harvey had been living with her grandparents while her mother served a prison term. Police said the girls were lesbian lovers and killed the Colliers because they disapproved of the relationship and refused to let the girls go to the beach together. The girls were arrested 17 hours after the slayings at a beach house on Tybee Island, about four hours away. Police say they found a sort of to-do list scrawled in ink on Harvey’s arm: “kill, keys, money, jewelry.”

Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum Videos

Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum Photos

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum
Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum
sandra ketchum
holly harvey

Frequently Asked Questions

Holly Harvey Now

Holly Harvey is currently incarcerated at Arrendale Prison in Georgia

Holly Harvey Release Date

Holly Harvey is sentenced to life in prison however she is eligible for parole in 2024

Sandra Ketchum Now

Sandra Ketchum is currently incarcerated at Pulaski Prison in Georgia

Sandra Ketchum Release Date

Sandra Ketchum is serving a life sentence however she is currently eligible for parole

Holly Harvey And Sandra Ketchum More News

The two teenage girls arrested on Tybee Island for the murder of an elderly couple appeared in court yesterday. Sixteen-year-old Sandy Ketchum and 15-year-old Holly Harvey were led into a Fayette County courtroom wearing shackles and bulletproof vests.

The girls are facing murder charges for the stabbing death of Harvey’s grandparents, Carl and Sara Collier. Investigators say the Colliers disapproved of the girls’ romantic relationship, and they also say Harvey manipulated Ketchum to get her to help.

“I found a poem written, I don’t remember the date, the poem talked about Holly’s depression and the fact she cried herself to sleep at night,” said Lt. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. “And she wished for everyone to suffer the way she suffered, and all she wanted to do was kill.”

Investigators released photos of the girls’ arrests and say the teens had a bag with them containing bloody clothing and the knives believed to be used in the killings. The teens are being held in separate detention centers under suicide watch.

Both girls will be tried as adults.

https://www.wtoc.com/story/2141400/investigators-release-photos-in-teen-double-murder-case/

Kinterie Kiatis Durden Teen Killer Murders 2 During Robbery

Kinterie Kiatis Durden

Kinterie Kiatis Durden was sixteen when he murdered two men in Georgia. According to court documents Kinterie Kiatis Durden answered an ad on Facebook regarding a dirt bike. When the two men showed up they would be shot and killed by Kinterie Kiatis Durden. According to police this teen killer was in the back seat of the truck driven by one of the men when he opened fire. The truck would flip over and Durden would climb out and take the bike with him. Kinterie Kiatis Durden would be found guilty on the two murders and faces a life sentence.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden Other News

A 16-year-old told two Middle Georgia men on Facebook that he was interested in buying a dirt bike they had for sale.

To finalize the deal, they drove to meet the teen in Walton County, where they were shot several times in the back of the head and robbed.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden, who is now 19, was convicted Wednesday of killing the two men in 2017, the Walton County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The two victims were 30-year-old Davoddren Harris and 26-year-old Cortez White.

Harris and White lived in Meriwether County and were trying to sell a Yamaha dirt bike on Facebook Marketplace. On May 22, Kinterie Kiatis Durden told the two he was interested in buying the bike and asked them to drive to his home in Social Circle, the release said.

The two men let Kinterie Kiatis Durden get into the back of their Toyota Tacoma, which was carrying the dirt bike, and they were driving along Clegg Farm Road, the release said. That’s when Durden shot Harris, who was driving, twice in the back of the head and White three times in the back of the head and once in his back.

The pickup truck, which was moving slowly at the time of the shooting, flipped over and landed right-side up, the release said. Kinterie Kiatis Durden then crawled out of the vehicle and rode away on the dirt bike.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden later showed off the motorcycle to his friends, claiming he bought it, the release said. He hid the bike in the woods that night, however.

He was arrested the next day and has remained in the county’s jail ever since.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden was found guilty of two counts of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the release said. His sentencing will be held at a later date.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden Other News

After a 16-year-old shot and killed two men in Walton County and stole their dirt bike, the next thing he did was ride it around and show off to his friends.

It would be his last action as a free man.

Kinterie Kiatis Durden, who is now 19, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the double malice murder. During his court appearance, which was done over Zoom, he appeared content.

“It’s all good,” he said, during his last address to Judge Samuel D. Ozburn before his sentencing.

In May 2017, Durden told the two victims that he was interested in buying the Yamaha dirt bike they posted for sale on Facebook. The sellers, 30-year-old Davoddren Harris and 26-year-old Cortez White, both of Meriwether County, drove to Durden’s home in Social Circle to finalize the deal

The two men let Durden get into the back of their Toyota Tacoma, which was carrying the dirt bike, and began driving along Glegg Farm Road, according to prosecutors.

Without warning, Durden shot Harris, who was driving, twice in the back of the head. He then turned the gun toward White, who was shot three times in the head and once in his back.https://12ab3b0f1f6d9db14cc9a88c9f219063.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

The pickup truck, which was moving slowly at the time, flipped over and landed right-side up. Durden then crawled out of the vehicle and rode away on the dirt bike, leaving the two men to die.

After showing the bike off to his friends — and lying about purchasing it — he hid it in some nearby woods. He was arrested the next day.

At his trial, Durden testified that the double shooting was in self-defense. However, the judge said that was the seventh time his story changed.

“What bothers me about this case was when he was first interviewed, he denied even being there,” Ozburn said Wednesday before the sentencing. “He admitted in cross-examination that he had told at least six different tales, with another different one at trial.”

Former District Attorney Layla Zon said Durden texted his girlfriend minutes after the murder, bragging about the bike. She said he’s never shown any remorse.

“There was no sudden impulsion in this crime,” Zon said. “This was a premeditated crime, cold and calculated.”

In November 2019, Durden was convicted on all counts, including two counts of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and other firearm-related charges.

RELATED: Georgia teen convicted of killing two in Facebook dirt bike scam

Since then, he’s had several issues while in custody in the Walton County jail, including a complaint that he made sexual statements and performed lewd acts in front of a corrections officer, the judge said. The officer testified about the incidents during the sentencing hearing.

Just before was announcing his sentence, Obsurn listed Durden’s lengthy juvenile record. It included breaking a student’s jaw once, stealing a firearm on multiple occasions and stealing motor vehicles.

“This is a very troubled young man, and I am deeply concerned with him as an individual,” he said. “I’m finding that he is irreparably corrupt.

To close out the hearing, Durden’s attorney filed a motion to appeal the verdict and sentence

Kinterie Kiatis Durden 2023 Information

MAJOR OFFENSE: MURDER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: VALDOSTA STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: LIFE, W/O PAROLE

Kinterie Kiatis Durden 2021

Kinterie Kiatis Durden FAQ

Kinterie Kiatis Durden Now

Kinterie Kiatis Durden is currently incarcerated at the Valdosta State Prison

Kinterie Kiatis Durden Release Date

Kinterie Kiatis Durden is serving life without parole

Kayla Dixon Teen Killer Murders Man During Robbery

Kayla Dixon

Kayla Dixon was sixteen years old when she shot a man during a robbery in Georgia. According to court documents Kayla Dixon and her boyfriend 20 year old Nathaniel Vivien met the victim through a Craiglist ad where he was selling a Playstation 4. When the victim refused to hand over the video game system Kayla Dixon would grab a gun she had hidden and fatally shot the man. The teen killer and her boyfriend were soon arrested and ultimately she would plead guilty and be sentenced to forty years in prison

Kayla Dixon 2023 Information

Kayla Dixon

MAJOR OFFENSE: VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
MOST RECENT INSTITUTION: ARRENDALE STATE PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: 09/11/2054

Kayla Dixon Other News

A Doraville teen will spend 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a man during the Craigslist sale of his video gaming system.

Kayla Dixon, now 18, took the plea on the same day her trial was to begin.

Prosecutors say Dixon and her boyfriend, Nathaniel Vivien, responded to a Craigslist ad posted by Danny Zeitz in September 2014, intending to rob him. When Zeitz resisted, Dixon admits she took a gun out from between her legs and fired off a fatal shot.

“I would trade anything, almost anything, to bring Daniel back. But I know I can’t,” Dixon said through tears in a prepared statement.  “I know he had plans.  I wish I could tell him I’m so, so sorry that this happened, but I can’t.”

Dixon’s attorney told Judge Wendy Shoob her client had a rough childhood, that included rape and several failed relationships with men who were involved in criminal activity.

“Nothing, in any way, excuses what happened, but this is, in some way, an explanation of how things led to being where they were,” said Leah Abbasi.

Dixon asked Zeitz’s family to forgive her.

“I want Daniel’s family to know that I regret that day. I’m so sorry. I ask that God heals the hearts of Daniel’s loved ones,” she said. “I know I’m facing a long time away and I hope one day my apology will matter.”

Shoob said what happened was tragic for everyone involved and accepted the negotiated plea deal.

Beforehand, Zeitz’s mother, Patty, spoke of the grief her family has endured.

“Each day we wake, even a year and nine months, with the shocking realization that life as we knew it with our son, brother and friend will no longer exist,” she said.  “The loss of Danny has reached the depths of our hearts, souls and the hearts and souls of thousands around the world of his gifts of kindness and joy.”

Zeitz, a semi-professional gamer, had fans around the world and was the subject of a documentary entitled “Level Up” after his murder.

After the hearing, Zeitz told Petchenik her family accepts Dixon’s apology, but says it will be a long time before they can forgive her. 

“At first I didn’t want to accept her apology.  I thought her apology today was very heartfelt and I feel like she is truly sorry for what happened,” she told Petchenik.  “It’s just a crime that young people can get caught in these situations because of the examples they’d had in their lives.”

Zeitz’s father, John, told Petchenik he hopes Dixon can be rehabilitated in prison.

“I hope it stays with her and she becomes a better person and able to contribute when she finally does get out,” he said.

Dixon’s co-defendant, Nathaniel Vivien, still faces a trial later this summer.  Dixon’s attorney told the judge she is willing to testify against him if asked.

Kayla Dixon Videos

Kayla Dixon FAQ

Kayla Dixon Now

Kayla Dixon is currently incarcerated at the Arrendale State Prison

Kayla Dixon Release Date

Kayla Dixon current release date is 2054