Georgian shepherd gets life for killing American family

MOSCOW – A shepherd in the country of Georgia has been sentenced to life in prison for killing an American couple and their 4-year-old son.

Malkhaz Kobauri was sentenced Wednesday at a court in the city of Gori for the July slayings of Ryan and Lora Smith and their son, Caleb. He also was convicted of raping Lora Smith.

The family was found dead in a mountainous region of Georgia’s northeast where they had been on a camping trip. The father and son were shot. The mother’s body was in a ravine.

Georgian media reports said the couple had lived for many years in the ex-Soviet country, where Ryan Smith directed an organization reviving traditional carpet-weaving and Lora Smith taught English.