Ephrata murder defendant pleads guilty

EPHRATA, Wash. – One of two boys accused in the beating and stabbing death of a 13-year-old special-ed student pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, admitting that he watched his co-defendant kill Craig Sorger and did not try to stop the attack.

The confession came more than two years after the brutal 2003 killing of Craig Sorger at a recreational-vehicle park in this Central Washington town.

Jake Lee Eakin, 14, also agreed to testify against co-defendant Evan Savoie, 14, of Ephrata, Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell said. The trial is expected to proceed as scheduled on May 16, but with just one defendant.

The defendants were 12 years old when Sorger was attacked, and are believed to be the youngest murder defendants ever tried as adults in Washington state. They’ve been in juvenile detention since they were charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Eakin — from Moses Lake, about 15 miles southwest of Ephrata — pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity under a plea deal.

Prosecutors recommended an eight-year sentence in juvenile detention — less than the standard-range penalty of between 10 and 18 years. Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen imposed a mid-range sentence of 14 years.

The families of all three boys sat separately in the packed courtroom, weeping as attorneys described the brutal slaying publicly for the first time. They declined to speak with reporters afterward.

Eakin, shackled at the ankles and wearing an oversized gray sweat shirt, put his head down on the defense table and sobbed early in the hearing.

But he showed no emotion when he entered his guilty plea and then read a prepared statement. He faced the judge with his back to the Sorger family, seated in the front row.

“I’m sorry that I brought so much pain and broken hearts to your family. I just wish that I could do something to fill the missing hole in your family, and I made a mistake and caused that hole,” Eakin said.

He said he admitted his role in the case because his lies were causing nightmares.

“I didn’t want your family to wonder any longer,” he said. “I couldn’t hide it any longer.”

Police found Sorger’s body at Oasis Park on Feb. 15, 2003. A medical examiner said the boy had been beaten and stabbed so severely that the tip of a knife was found in his skull.

Family members described Craig, a skinny brown-eyed blond, as a “goofy” kid with a sophisticated sense of humor. He liked drinking Irish coffee with his grandmother. He loved Hot Wheels, video games and catching turtles.

Craig also was learning disabled, a special-education student at Ephrata Middle School who struggled socially.

When his body was found, police immediately questioned Eakin and Savoie because Craig had last been seen playing with them. Both denied any wrongdoing, but there were discrepancies in their stories, police said, and Craig’s blood was found on their clothing.

A judge then decided the boys should be tried as adults, a ruling that withstood appeal from defense attorneys. A first-degree murder conviction for an adult carries a standard sentencing range of 20 to 26 years in prison. A juvenile conviction means release at age 21.

Eakin told his lawyers last weekend that he needed to change his story, defense attorney Michele Shaw said. He provided prosecutors with a statement about Sorger’s death.

According to Shaw, Savoie told Eakin the day of the attack that he wanted to go on a killing spree. Eakin had no idea his friend was serious, Shaw said.

They stopped at Craig’s house and invited him to play at the park. Minutes later, Savoie told Eakin, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it now,” Shaw quoted her client as saying.

Savoie struck Sorger between the shoulderblades with a large rock, then jumped on top of the boy and began hitting him. At the time, Eakin had no idea that Savoie had a knife and was stabbing Sorger, Shaw said.

“Jake thought he was hitting him. He told him to stop,” Shaw said. “What Jake recalls, and this haunts him horribly, is that Sorger was yelling out, ‘Why are you doing this to me? ‘ “

Sorger tried several times to escape, but Savoie repeatedly caught him and dragged him down. Eakin also tried to leave but was called back by Savoie, Shaw said.

For reasons he can’t explain, Shaw said, Eakin eventually picked up a stick and struck Craig’s body, Shaw said.

But “Craig Sorger was dead before my client picked up the stick,” she told the judge in pleading for a lesser sentence.

Eakin also is learning disabled — he could not read or write at the time of the attack — and has been severely traumatized by the incident, Shaw said.

Jorgensen said he believes the boy is remorseful and not “totally incorrigible.”

In addition to the 14-year sentence, Eakin will be required to make financial restitution, Jorgensen said. The sum was not disclosed.

Savoie’s attorney filed a motion Tuesday requesting that the charges against his client be dropped. A hearing on that motion was scheduled for May 5.