New witness in Ephrata murder case

EPHRATA, Wash. – Another boy may have been hiding in the bushes and witnessed the killing of 13-year-old special education student Craig Sorger, according to court documents.

Jake Lee Eakin and Evan Savoie, both 14, have been accused in the Feb. 15, 2003, death of Sorger.

Eakin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity Thursday, but said Savoie was the killer. He was sentenced to 14 years Thursday for his role in the murder. Under a plea deal, he will testify against Savoie at trial, scheduled to begin May 16.

According to a November 2004 Ephrata Police Department report filed in court records, the witness was at Oasis Park around the time Sorger was killed.

The report says the boy was hiding in bushes and watched the attack. The boy also provided some details of the slaying, saying he saw Savoie stab Sorger while Eakin hit the victim with a stick.

The information coincided with details provided by Eakin in a statement for attorneys under the plea deal.

The boy’s mother also confirmed that the boy was at the park that day. The woman said her son had left the family to wander the park and when he returned, “he was upset and wanted to be left alone,” the report said.

Authorities learned the boy may have witnessed the killing when he was being held at the Grant County Juvenile Center on charges unrelated to Sorger’s death, according to the report. A juvenile center worker read the boy’s journal, which said he had seen the death.

The boy, whose age was not available, is now serving 15 to 36 weeks in Echo Glenn Children’s Center in King County for a fight in which he slashed another person with a razor blade, according to court documents.

Defense attorneys for Savoie have filed court documents asking for sanctions against prosecutors for allegedly withholding the new evidence.

Prosecutors learned in September that the boy may have witnessed the killing. Savoie’s attorneys say they were told about the new witness in January, according to court documents.