A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to stabbing to death his mother and two siblings in the family’s Lithonia home.

Eugene Quatron McCoy reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that avoided the possibility he would receive the death penalty, said his attorney, Gerald Word. McCoy could be sentenced next month to life without parole.

“This was a horrific event that claimed the lives of three innocent individuals,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James. “No sentence could ever bring back his mother, brother and sister. However, there is some resolve in knowing that Eugene McCoy will no longer walk the streets of DeKalb County ever again.”

McCoy appeared before DeKalb County Superior Court Chief Judge Gregory Adams on Monday to plead guilty to three counts of malice murder and one count of aggravated battery, Word said.

McCoy was accused of stabbing to death Sheila Irons, his 45-year-old mother; Zion McPherson, his 11-year-old stepbrother; and Chastity McPherson, his 8-year-old stepsister on April 3, 2011. McCoy’s then-17-year-old sister, Candice McCoy, was injured but escaped from the house.

Irons had previously obtained two restraining order against McCoy even though he was still living in her house.

McCoy, who had been previously arrested for criminal trespassing and violating family orders, had been out of jail for about two weeks when his family was stabbed.

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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff speaks during a town hall at the Cobb County Civic Center on April 25 in Atlanta. Ossoff said Wednesday he is investigating corporate landlords and out-of-state companies buying up single-family homes in bulk. (Jason Allen for the AJC)

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