ATHENS (AP) - A mentally-ill Athens man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his brother and two sisters more than two years ago.

The Athens Banner-Herald reported that John David Latimer on Friday pleaded guilty but mentally ill at the time he killed his three siblings Jan. 28, 2009.

Clarke County Superior Court Chief Judge Lawton Stephens sentenced Latimer, 54, to three consecutive life prison terms, plus 35 years.

According to the Athens newspaper, (http://bit.ly/rdjejM ) Latimer was scheduled to stand trial next month on 13 felony charges, including malice and felony murder, in the deaths of Janice Carol Patterson, 57; Sara Kathleen Tatum, 61; and Thomas Garland Latimer, 50.

Authorities say he cut one sister with a sword then shot her and his other siblings.