Murder of Craig Sorger

Craig Sorger was a young boy from Ephrata, Washington who was killed by his then-12-year-old friends Evan Drake Savoie and Jake Lee Eakin. Sorger, who was autistic, had been asked by the two boys to play in a park near his residence. There, Savoie dropped a large stone on his neck, hitting him to the ground. He then continually beat and injured him. Eakin joined in the assault, beating Sorger in the skull and arms with a tree branch.

Sorger was mildly autistic but, despite difficulties with learning, was social and made friends handily. Two such friends were Drake Savoie and Jake Lee Eakin, both of whom were 12 at the time of Sorger's murder. 

On February 15, Savoie and Eakin asked Sorger's mother if he could play with them. She agreed but became nervous when Sorger (who was scared of the dark) did not return by that fall. Her concerns intensified when she realized Savoie and Eakin had returned hours earlier.

After a search, Sorger's partially-clothed body was discovered in a park. His skull had a drastic injury and a branch was near his body. It was also noted he had been stabbed in the neck, head, and torso. Savoie and Eakin were queried, and the boys contended all 3 had been climbing trees when Sorger fell, striking his head on a branch which killed him. Their story was easily disproven by the stab wounds and proof of repeated hits to Sorger's head; he had been hit by a blunt object 16 times to his head and neck and stabbed 42 times.

Although both Eakin and Savoie initially proclaimed their innocence, Eakin later pleaded guilty to second-degree killing by cooperation, stating Savoie alone had murdered Sorger. He confirmed Savoie persuaded Sorger to kneel on the ground to "see if it was wet," then dropped a rock the "size of a basketball" on Sorger. Eakin contends he attempted to stop Sawas voice but was shoved away. He also confirmed that he hit Sorger in the legs and torso after Sorger had stopped moving. 

Eakin was penalized to 14 years in jail. Savoie was initially found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to the ultimate sentence of 26 years. In 2011, Savoie's conviction was overturned during appeals and, after prosecutors asserted their intent to retry him, Savoie pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and sentenced to a slightly reduced sentence of 20 years.