He testified that his friend did the stabbing. Weeks later, in a letter, he admitted it was actually him.
On February 15, 2003, 13-year-old Craig Sorger, a developmentally disabled student with autism, was murdered by two of his 12-year-old friends, Evan Savoie and Jake Eakin, in Ephrata, Washington. What followed became one of the youngest murder prosecutions in the state's history — and, years later, took an unexpected turn.
Who Craig Was
Craig had autism and ADHD and attended special education classes. His family had moved to Ephrata a couple of years earlier after he'd faced bullying elsewhere. Despite his learning difficulties, he made friends easily, including Evan Savoie and Jake Eakin, cousins who were both known to have their own histories of being bullied or bullying other children.
The Day He Was Killed
On the afternoon of February 15, 2003, Savoie and Eakin asked Craig's mother if he could come play with them at a nearby park. She agreed, though she reminded them Craig was afraid of the dark and couldn't stay out long. By that evening, Craig hadn't returned home, and his mother grew alarmed when she discovered the two boys had already gone back to Savoie's house hours earlier, without Craig.
Craig's body was found later that night in the park, badly injured. An autopsy found he had been beaten roughly 16 times about the head and neck and stabbed dozens of times, including in his torso.
A False Story
Savoie and Eakin initially told police they had been climbing trees with Craig and that he'd fallen and hit his head. Investigators quickly found this account impossible to reconcile with the physical evidence, given the clear knife wounds and the extent of blunt-force trauma. Both boys were charged with first-degree murder, making them among the youngest defendants ever tried as adults for murder in Washington state.
A Plea and a Shifted Story
In 2005, Eakin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity and agreed to testify against Savoie. In his account, Eakin said Savoie had orchestrated the killing, tricking Craig into kneeling to check if the ground was wet before dropping a large rock on him, then stabbing him repeatedly. Eakin said he'd struck Craig with a tree branch but claimed he had tried to stop Savoie at one point. He was sentenced to 14 years.
Savoie's Conviction
Relying substantially on Eakin's testimony, a jury convicted Savoie of first-degree murder in 2006, and he was sentenced to 26 years — the maximum available.
A Confession Letter
Shortly after Savoie's sentencing, Eakin sent a letter to Savoie's mother making a stunning admission: that he, not Savoie, had actually stabbed Craig and planned the murder, and that he had switched bloodstained clothing with Savoie at the crime scene to shift blame. The letter became the basis for a motion seeking relief on Savoie's behalf, though it didn't immediately overturn his conviction.
Savoie's Conviction Overturned
In 2011, an appellate court overturned Savoie's conviction on separate grounds, ruling that closing part of his original trial to the public — done to allow attorneys to argue over disclosure of the Sorger family's mental health records — had violated his right to a public trial. Facing a retrial, Savoie pleaded guilty in 2014 to second-degree murder and was resentenced to 20 years, at which point he also acknowledged his own role in the killing.
Releases and Life Since
Eakin was conditionally released in February 2017, having briefly escaped from a work-release facility in 2016 with only months left on his sentence before being recaptured. His full sentence ended in April 2019. He has since become a vocal anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ activist, describing his activism as inspired by remorse over Craig's death, though he has also been arrested twice since his release, for trespassing in 2018 and larceny in 2022.
Savoie was conditionally released in June 2020; his full sentence isn't set to conclude until November 2033.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did both boys eventually admit to the murder?
Yes. Eakin pleaded guilty in 2005 and later wrote a letter admitting to a larger role than he'd testified to. Savoie pleaded guilty and acknowledged his role during his 2014 retrial.
Why was Savoie's original conviction overturned?
An appellate court found that closing part of his 2006 trial to the public, to allow arguments over disclosure of the Sorger family's records, violated his constitutional right to a public trial.
Are Evan Savoie and Jake Eakin still in prison?
No. Both have been conditionally released — Eakin in 2017 and Savoie in 2020 — though Savoie's full sentence doesn't conclude until 2033.
What is Jake Eakin doing now?
He has become a public anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ activist, though he has faced additional arrests since his release.