3 sentenced to life for killing teen to steal shoes

ATLANTA — Three suburban Atlanta residents have been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a 14-year-old before taking his collection of high-end sports shoes, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Paul Sampleton Jr., who earned money buying and selling expensive sneakers, was shot three times in the head after returning home from school in December 2012, police said.

Eight pairs of shoes and electronics were stolen from the teen and later sold by the killers, Gwinnett County prosecutor Dan Mayfield said.

A jury late on Tuesday convicted three people, including one of Sampleton’s former classmates, of his murder, Mayfield said.

The classmate, Larnell Sillah, now 16, who was tried as an adult, along with his uncle, Andrew Murray, 28, and Tavaughn Saylor, 29, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole, Mayfield said.

“This is a case that can be summarized with one word: evil,” Gwinnett County Assistant District Attorney Mike Morrison told jurors during opening statements at the trial, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.