Asked if he was angry he received a longer sentence, Eakin said, "No. I deserved it."

July 22, 2005

On Feb. 15, 2003, Craig Sorger, 13, was found murdered.

It was a chilling crime. He had been beaten and stabbed. The small town of Ephrata, Wash., was stunned when his two 12-year-old playmates were arrested and charged with his murder.

Despite their age, the judge decided they should be tried as adults, saying that, if guilty, the crime was so gruesome he doubted rehabilitation in the juvenile system was possible – and the community needed to be protected.

Evan Savoie and Jake Eakin are now among the youngest murder defendants ever to be tried as adults, but the two boys continue to insist they’re innocent.

The boys hadn’t spoken publicly until they sat down with Correspondent Vicki Mabrey last year.

When 60 Minutes II met Jake Eakin, he was small for his age -- 4 foot 10 inches, and 75 pounds. He turned 13 behind bars in November 2003, in the Grant County Youth Services Detention Center.

“I know I’m a kid,” says Jake, who admits he’s not ready to handle the courts and judges as an adult.

Evan Savoie, then 13, was Jake’s best friend and also his co-defendant. He’s grown 5 inches and gained 25 pounds since being locked up 14 months earlier.

“I was a lot shorter then, and it [my voice] was kind of girly,” says Evan, who adds that he and Jake are the youngest kids in the detention center and the ones accused of committing the most serious crime.

So how did two boys just out of elementary school wind up charged with first-degree murder? It all began the afternoon of Feb. 15, 2003, when Lisa Sorger was home with her two sons.

“There was a knock on the door. And I answered the door. And there were two boys in hooded sweatshirts that asked if Craig could come out and play,” recalls Lisa Sorger.

It was the first time Evan and Jake had knocked on Craig’s door. Craig was considered learning disabled and he had once been diagnosed as slightly autistic.

“Craig, of course, heard, because he was sitting right there. And he goes, ‘Oh, yes, Mom. Can I go out and play please? Can I go out?’ And I said OK. And he said, ‘Thanks, Mom,’ and gave me a hug and a kiss, and went out the door,” says Lisa. “No one really came over and asked him to play.”

As night fell, Lisa began to worry. Craig was terrified of the dark and would never stay out past dusk. When she discovered that Evan and Jake had returned home hours earlier, she called police who began searching the park where the boys had played.

Then, Lisa discovered that Craig had been found on one of the trails. “I touched him, and I said, ‘He’s still warm,’” recalls Lisa. “And they said, ‘That’s because he was rolled over into the leaves, and the leaves had retained his body heat.’ I knew he wasn’t alive.”

When police questioned the boys that night, they said they’d been climbing trees and playing tag. They’d last seen Craig heading home around 4:30 p.m.

During the questioning, Evan’s mother, Holly Parent, noticed her son had changed his shoes.

“The next morning I got up and went into the bathroom, picking up laundry. And I found his shoes on the bathroom floor. And they were wet. And so that's when I brought them out,” says Holly. “And I said, ‘What actually happened?’ And then that's when he said, ‘I gotta talk to you in the bedroom.’”

In the bedroom, Evan told his stepfather, Andy Parent, a different story. He said Craig had fallen while climbing a tree. Evan said that while checking for a pulse and a heartbeat, he got Craig’s blood all over him. He was afraid of getting in trouble, he said, so he jumped in a nearby pond to wash off the blood and buried his sweatshirt in the water. His mother called police in tears and brought them his shoes.

“You try to raise them to be honest and tell the truth. But when they’re in shock like that, they just saw their friend fall,” says Holly. “He’s got blood coming out the back of his head. They were scared.”

When police questioned Jake again, he also said that Craig fell from a tree, but in his version, he and Evan were on the branch with Craig at the time of the accident. Then, the autopsy came in.

“He had been beaten, I believe they said approximately 16 times to the head and neck,” says Lisa. “And he had been stabbed 34 times in the head and neck. And he had eight stab wounds to his torso.”

Although they said they are innocent, Evan and Jake were charged with first-degree murder and were each being held on $1 million bail. DNA testing on the sweatshirt pulled from the pond was inconclusive, but Craig's blood was found on Evan's T-shirt. Both families insist that someone else must have come along and stabbed Craig after he fell from the tree.

But Jake changed his story again to say he was getting sodas when Craig fell, even though small amounts of Craig’s blood were found on his jacket. His mother, Tammy Vickery, says if he were guilty, there would have been more: “If somebody’s been stabbed 34 times, and then beat with a stick 16 times, you’re going to have more than one speck of blood on you … Deep down in my heart, my son, I know he’s innocent.”

Lawyers for both boys let them talk to 60 Minutes II, but not about the details of that day.

Does Evan believe he deserves to be incarcerated? “I don’t think so, no. But as you can tell, quite a few other people have different opinions. So my opinion is no,” says Evan.

And does he understand the charges he now faces? “I know it’s a really high charge, I mean the highest, unless you go and do something to the president," says Evan. "Things could get really ugly, doing time in jail or prison. This ain't quite as bad as prison. But I don't like it, but see I haven't been found guilty yet or innocent or whatever. I haven't had my trial yet.”

What they don’t seem to have is a motive. Why would these two 12-year-old boys do something so horrible?

By most accounts, the two boys, who were family friends, got in only minor trouble at school. They weren’t obsessed with violent video games or movies. But Jake, who was sometimes picked on because of his size, couldn’t read and was in special education classes.

Jake describes himself as a good kid: “I talked a little bit ... I was pretty friendly.”

Evan was the class clown and popular at school. He was the one who met Craig first and introduced him to Jake, even though they had only played together a few times. By most accounts, Evan was the leader in their friendship.

“He's pretty cool, actually. We could talk about anything we really wanted to, you know. You wouldn't be shy about talking to him about it,” says Jake, who calls Evan his best friend. “To one of your other friends you would try to act like you were actually bigger. You didn't have to act like that to Evan.”

“[Jake’s] not really [my] best friend. I think one step lower. I call him my step-friend,” explains Evan. “I don't know why, I just made up the name step-friend. So that’s what I call him.”

When 60 Minutes II met with the boys, they supported each other in the face of the prosecution. But as police and neighbors tried to understand what had happened, they were haunted by a simple question: If they’re guilty, then why would they do such a thing

Forensic psychologist Eric Johnson spent hours interviewing them for the state. He found that the boys weren’t psychopaths, and didn’t have major behavioral or emotional problems.

“They look like little boys, they act like little boys. They're actually described as being nice, polite. Kids that have friends that, like other people, that relate well to their families,” says Johnson.

“It's rare, it's very unusual. But it happens. There are cases of other kids, other instances of very unexplainable violent behavior. They're trying to understand violence. They're trying to decide how they feel about violence, if they're capable of violence.”

Police found something disturbing in Jake’s sixth-grade journal, on a page so riddled with misspellings that it’s barely legible. Jake named the book “Sniper” after the Washington, D.C., area shooters, and said they were his “idols" because “the sniper killed 13 people and they couldn’t find out who it was.”

“We believe we have the right persons in custody and the right persons charged,” says prosecutor Ed Owens, who told60 Minutes II the boys should be tried as adults because of the violent nature of the crime – and the vulnerability of the victim.

The crime, however, wasn’t reason enough for Johnson, the prosecution’s expert, who went against the state and recommended that, based on their psychological profiles, Evan and Jake should remain in the juvenile system. This way, if the boys were found guilty, they’d get treatment until their release at 21.

If the boys are found guilty, and they targeted a child who was a little bit different, then why wouldn’t Johnson want to lock them away for as long as possible?

“That’s obviously not my job to decide. But I do think that we need to decide as a society what we're going to do. Are there ever occasions where kids can make a mistake and be given another chance? Is there ever a violent crime where a child can learn from it? Profit from experience and treatment, and still lead a productive life?" asks Johnson.

“There's reason to believe that the answer is yes to all those questions. And my opinion was, these kids had a chance to make it. A really good chance of making it in the juvenile system.”

Last year, when the judge ruled that Evan and Jake would be tried as adults, he said that, if guilty, rehabilitation in the juvenile system seemed unlikely, and the public should be protected.

Have the boys added up the years they may end up spending behind bars? “Well, my lawyer told me it could be 30-35 years,” says Evan.

How old would they be then, when they got out of jail? “48,” says Jake, who can’t imagine being that age. “My dad’s not even that old.”

Since the boys have no prior convictions, their sentence would likely be 20-26 years, if they are found guilty in adult court. This spring, they ran out of appeals. Their case will remain in adult court.

“There are people who think – as young as you are – you definitely should not be tried as an adult,” Mabrey tells Evan. “What do you say?”

“I would give an honest opinion. If a person any age could commit that kind of crime, then I'm almost positive, I think they should be charged as an adult. But since I know I didn't, so I shouldn't,” says Evan.

“…Anyone who is able to commit murder has to be a little odd in the head, I guess you could say, like [Ted] Bundy, the serial killer. Yeah. He’s a little odd. I know this is only one person and one person isn’t a serial killer. But still, anyone can do it once, they can do it again. And I think they should be locked up for as long as they could.”

A few weeks ago, Jake Eakin changed his story. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity and agreed to testify that Evan Savoie killed Craig Sorger when Savoie goes to trial in November. Eakin was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Jake Eakin's unedited statement:

I'm sorry that I had to bring so much pane and broken harts to your family. I just wish that I could do something to fill in the missing hole in your family. But I made a mistake that made that hole, but I want to tell your family that I, I'm sorry and didn't know what I was doing. I wish that one day I might get forgived for what I have done, but I know deep down that will never happen. Because of all the tears that have been cried since that day. Some from me, the night mares that I have had, and I new that they would always be there, because I was lying, laying to everyone and making more pane for everyone. But then I thought that it was about time I came forward with what happened so long ago, I didn't want you family to wonder what happened any longer and since that I day I have regreded my part of everything. I don't want your family to wonder any longer, I want you to know the truth, I couldn't hold it in any longer, couldn't hide the pane that I had made, so I tell you that I'm sorry for makeing this pane.

I'm sorry Mrs. Sorger. I'm sorry Mr. Sorger. I'm sorry Keith Sorger, and everyone that has been hurt by what I have done.

By Jonathan Martin - The Seattle Times

April 29, 2005

EPHRATA — For more than two years, the murder of 13-year-old Craig Sorger lingered as a provocative mystery.

Two 12-year-old boys charged with the killing were the state's youngest murder defendants tried as adults since 1931. They maintained their innocence during 26 months in jail while awaiting trial.

The mystery ended yesterday in a packed courtroom.

Jake Lee Eakin, 14, saying his conscience was stained by his own lies, gave a dramatic confession in Grant County Superior Court as he pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to the killing.

In a confession recited by his lawyer, Eakin described watching his former fishing buddy, Evan Savoie, drop a rock on Sorger's head, then standing by as Savoie repeatedly stabbed Sorger. After being taunted by Savoie, Eakin said, he picked up a stick and pummeled Sorger until it broke. Then he picked up another stick and continued the beating.

Grant County prosecutors said they found that Eakin's confession matched the physical evidence of the killing. As part of Eakin's plea, Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell agreed to ask for an exceptionally low eight-year sentence, less than the standard-range penalty of between 10 and 18 years. The deal would have kept Eakin solely in juvenile facilities.

But Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen ignored that recommendation, instead sentencing Eakin to more than 14 years. Eakin's family gasped, "Oh, no," as Jorgensen ruled from the bench. Under the sentence, Eakin will be transferred to an adult prison at age 18.

Jorgensen said Eakin is a lot smarter than his IQ, which was tested to be 93, would indicate, and his age and competency level are not mitigating factors.

"There's been a lot of discussion about the maturity of the boys involved," Jorgensen said. "By 12, you understand what it means to hurt, and to hurt someone. So that doesn't enter into a court's thinking at all."

Tears flow

During the hearing, Eakin, a diminutive 5-foot-1 and 98 pounds, apologized as Sorger's mother and father sobbed. One row behind them, Eakin's mother also broke down. She had been convinced that her son was wrongly charged until the hearing.

"I just wish that I could do something to fill in the missing hole in your family, but I made a mistake that made that hole," Eakin said, with little emotion. "I didn't want your family to wonder any longer. I want you to know the truth ... I'm sorry, Mrs. Sorger. I'm sorry, Mr. Sorger."

After the hearing, Michele Shaw, Eakin's lawyer, said the Grant County prosecutor had agreed to jointly ask Jorgensen to reconsider the sentence. In a court filing, she argued that Eakin's learning disabilities and physical and emotional immaturity make him a good candidate for juvenile rehabilitation.

"The court focused on whether Jake knew right from wrong, and not the fact that Craig was dead when Jake picked up the stick," Shaw said. "I respectfully disagree with the court's opinion."

Deputy prosecutor Ed Owens declined to talk after the hearing. "I have another trial to think about," he said.

Eakin is likely to be a primary witness when Savoie goes to trial May 16. Savoie's attorney, who watched the hearing, left without talking to reporters.

Sorger's mother, Lisa Sorger, also declined to talk. "It's not over yet. It's just the beginning," she said.

Craig was her oldest boy, a special-education student who was slight in stature, with blond hair. Craig jumped at the chance to go play in the park that day with Savoie and Eakin, two more popular boys.

Sorger's murder in Oasis Park on Feb. 15, 2003, divided the community here. Eakin and Savoie were the last to see Sorger alive, and were the sole suspects after their stories shifted under questioning by Ephrata police.

Savoie's clothes were soaked with Sorger's blood, and police later found the murder weapon, a folding pocket knife, in the park's pond.

But the boys appeared to be unlikely killers. Neither had a criminal history or mental illness. The Grant County judge who ordered them tried as adults dismissed recommendations from psychologists hired by the defense and prosecution to keep the boys in juvenile court.

The state Supreme Court in February declined to hear the case — or to revisit state laws allowing juveniles to be tried as adults.

Killing planned?

Eakin's confession casts the slaying in a new light. In a series of interviews with prosecutors over the past week, Eakin said Savoie planned to kill Sorger and the owner of a trailer court near the park that day; the second part of the plan was not carried out.

"I'm going to do it today, I'm going to do it now," Savoie told Eakin, according to the confession.

Sorger tried at least twice to run from his attackers. "Why are you doing this to me? Why are you doing this to me?" he cried, according to the confession.

After goading him into bludgeoning Sorger with the taunt of "faggot," Eakin said, a blood-soaked Savoie shook his hand and told him to shut up about what they had just done.

Until yesterday, Eakin's family was so convinced of his innocence that they campaigned against the prosecution on a Web site for juvenile murder defendants.

"It's been an absolute shock to everybody," said Eakin's grandmother, Phyllis LaMear. "My grandson has never lied to me."

Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, cited the case and scientific research on juvenile brain development in pushing through a bill in this year's legislative session that would waive mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles charged with serious adult crimes. It passed both houses unanimously, and is awaiting action by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

14-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To Ephrata Murder

April 28, 2005

EPHRATA, Wash. -- A 14-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to murdering another boy in Ephrata.

Jake Eakin was then sentenced Thursday in Grant County Superior Court to 14 years in prison.

Eakin had originally pleaded innocent to first-degree murder but changed his plea today to guilty to second-degree murder. He apologized to the victim's family in court for the pain he has caused.

Eakin also gave a statement admitting his involvement in the crime he says was committed by Evan Savoi.

Prosecutors say they stabbed and beat 13-year-old Craig Sorger in 2003 in a park.

Eakin and Savoi were both 12 years old at the time. They were believed to be the youngest murder defendants charged as adults in state history.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for Savoi has filed a motion asking for the murder charge against him to be dismissed.

Families of all three boys were in court today, crying.

A stark choice

In his 42-page ruling, Judge Antosz wrote that, should the boys be convicted, no treatment in the juvenile justice system would likely rehabilitate them, while a long sentence in an adult jail would ensure public safety.

Ed Owens, a Grant County deputy prosecutor, said plenty is known about the defendants he calls "predators." The prosecutor said both boys lied about the crime initially, then said they saw Sorger fall from a tree while the three were building a fort. Savoie intentionally led police away from Sorger's body when officers searched the park, fearful he would be blamed.

An autopsy found five deep knife wounds on Sorger's body, as well as dozens more cuts and evidence that he was struck 16 times with a tree branch.

"I'm a kid"

Eakin, the smaller of the defendants, has grown three inches in custody. Fellow inmates taunt him with a rhyme: "Hey Jake, why'd you kill the kid by the lake?"

"The difference is like, you get different ... like rights, bigger time, stuff like that," Eakin said. "It's messed up."