Teen with Asperger's gets life in prison for killing relative with sword

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ATLANTA, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A Georgia teenager has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing his great-grandmother with a sword, officials say.

Gevin Allen Prince, 16, pleaded guilty but mentally ill in a Douglas County court to killing Mary Joan Gibbs, 77, in August 2011, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.

Prince suffers from Asberger's syndrome, which can make a person unable to deal with some social situations.

District Attorney David McDade said Prince had a history of attacking family members but the grandmother and great-grandmother had covered for him after a prior attack.

On the day of the killing, the teen attacked his grandmother, Laura Prince, after she refused to let him use the computer, stabbing her with a kitchen knife, McDade said. Prince fled to the bathroom and when the great-grandmother came to help her, Gevin attacked her.

Gibbs ran into the yard, where Gevin killed her with a sword.

An uncle testified that another nephew living in the house kept 30 swords, but the uncle thought all the swords had been removed after a previous attack.

The teen will be eligible for parole in 30 years.