Boy to change plea in homicide case

EPHRATA, Wash. – One of two boys accused of killing another boy at a recreational vehicle park is expected to change his plea, a court official says.

Jake Lee Eakin and Evan Drake Savoie, both 14, are accused in the Feb. 15, 2003, slaying of Craig Sorger, a special education student who was beaten and stabbed repeatedly.

Both boys had pleaded innocent.

Eakin is scheduled to appear in court this morning to change his plea and be sentenced, Court Administrator Mindi Finke told the Wenatchee World on Wednesday.

In addition, attorneys for Savoie filed a motion on Tuesday in a request to dismiss the murder charge against him.

Finke went on to say that a formal hearing on the motion to dismiss the case has been tentatively set for May 5.

The Grant County prosecutor handling the case did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.

Sorger’s mother, Lisa, also declined to immediately comment.

Eakin and Savoie, both 12 at the time of the killing, have been charged as adults with first-degree murder.

They are believed to be the youngest murder defendants charged as adults in state history.

The boys initially said Sorger fell out of a tree, but both later changed their stories.

They have maintained their innocence.

The boys have been in custody since their arrests days after the killing.

They were scheduled to stand trial May 16.

In February, the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on the ruling to try the boys as adults.

A first-degree murder conviction for an adult carries a standard sentencing range of 20 to 26 years in prison.

A juvenile conviction would allow a defendant to be released at age 21.