Unlike her cohort, Sandy Ketchum wasn't forced to go into excruciating detail about the killings of Carl and Sarah Collier and she got just one life sentence in prison.

The lenience was due to Ketchum initially cooperating with police, her expression of remorse for the crime, and her willingness to testify against Harvey, said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard. He added that family members of the victims and law enforcement officials approved of the negotiated pleas for both Ketchum and Harvey.

Fayette Superior Court Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr. said he would likely have handed down five consecutive life sentences had Ketchum been found guilty at a trial. And the only reason he signed off on the deal, Caldwell said, was because the recommendation came from the DA, the victims' families and police officers.

The 16-year-old Ketchum, clad in a yellow T-shirt, pled guilty to killing Sarah Collier and armed robbery for taking the Colliers' truck, which they used as their getaway vehicle to flee to Tybee Island, where they were caught 17 hours later, officials said.

In her testimony to the court, Harvey blamed Ketchum for suggesting to kill the Colliers. Harvey also said Ketchum ordered her to "go after" her grandfather after he fled upstairs, presumably to call 911.

But the phone line had already been cut by Harvey, and after the resulting confrontation, both Carl and Sarah Collier were dead.