3 women plead guilty in deadly beating of homeless man at gas station

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Three women have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the deadly beating of a homeless man outside a Philadelphia gas station.

37-year-old Aleathea Gillard, 27-year-old Kaisha Duggins and 26-year-old Shareena Joachim entered their pleas Monday. Three juveniles also accused in the attack have already pleaded guilty to charges including third-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Gillard rounded up a group to attack 51-year-old Robert Barnes in April 2015 after her 10-year-old son told her that Barnes had hit him and used a racial slur. Assistant District Attorney Erica Rebstock says surveillance video shows no contact between Barnes and the boy.

Barnes was punched, kicked and hit with a hammer and a piece of wood. He fell into a coma and died seven months later.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 20.