Letter contradicts testimony against playmate

YAKIMA – A teenager serving 14 years in prison as an accomplice in the murder of a playmate wrote a letter of confession not because he killed the Ephrata boy, but to ease jailhouse pressure at the juvenile facility where he is being held, his lawyer said Friday.

Jake Eakin, now 15, has been incarcerated at Green Hill School in Chehalis since May 2, 2005, days after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity in the Feb. 15, 2003, slaying of Craig Sorger. Sorger, 13, was found beaten and stabbed 34 times in an Ephrata recreational vehicle park.

As part of a plea deal with Grant County prosecutors, Eakin testified against another teenager, Evan Savoie, who was charged with first-degree murder as an adult. Earlier this year, a jury convicted Savoie, now also 15, sentencing him to 26 years – Eakin’s testimony was considered key to the case.

Corrections officials transferred Savoie from a facility in Grant County to Green Hill on July 13. His mother received the letter from Eakin two days later. The letter marks the fourth time Eakin has changed his story.

Savoie’s attorneys appealed his conviction earlier this week. On Thursday, they filed a declaration with Eakin’s letter, asking a judge to set aside the conviction.

“The prosecutor felt he was credible enough to testify at my son’s trial,” Savoie’s mother, Holly Parent, said Friday of Eakin. “So I think they should weigh this about the same as they do that.”

For others, the letter raises more questions than answers. Was Eakin pressured to write it?

Michele Shaw, Eakin’s lawyer, said yes, adding the pressure has come from other inmates at Green Hill. She said Eakin suffered a lot of repercussions – threats, but no violence that Shaw is aware of – since testifying.

“The kids gave him a horrible time. They were waiting for him at the gate. They had to put him in lockdown,” she said.

“He’s lied before and he lied again. I’m sorry that he’s done this, because I’m sorry for the Sorger family, but Jake is trying to protect himself by doing this,” Shaw said.

Another question raised by the letter: Should Eakin and Savoie be incarcerated at the same juvenile detention facility?

Savoie and Eakin are held in different units – one in maximum security and the other in an intensive management unit for juveniles who may not be able to function on their own, said Kathy Spears, a DSHS spokeswoman. She said the two have not had contact at Green Hill.

And the biggest question of all: Who really killed Craig Sorger?

Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell stands by his case. In the meantime, he said Friday, investigators will have to determine the authenticity of Eakin’s letter – whether it was voluntarily written and if the contents are accurate.