EPHRATA – A 15-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to more than 26 years in prison for beating and stabbing a playmate to death three years ago, one of the most brutal murders ever committed by a juvenile in Washington state.
Evan Savoie of Ephrata showed no emotion when Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen imposed the maximum sentence. He smiled slightly as he was led away in handcuffs.
Savoie was 12 when he and a friend were charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 15, 2003, death of Craig Sorger, a developmentally disabled boy who had last been seen playing with them in a recreational vehicle park. Craig’s bloody body was found hours later on a wooded trail, with dozens of stab wounds.
Savoie repeatedly proclaimed his innocence. The other friend at the park that day, Jake Eakin, eventually changed his story and testified against him at trial. Eakin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder by complicity and is serving 14 years.
Defense attorneys argued that justice would no better be served by issuing the maximum sentence. Standard sentencing range for first-degree murder is between 20 years and 26 years.
“This is a tragic incident for everybody involved,” defense attorney Randy Smith said. “But the likelihood that rehabilitation is going to be any more effective after 26 years than after 20 years is ridiculous.”
Jorgensen disagreed, saying the punishment must match the crime. Savoie brutally attacked Craig, leaving him bleeding, pleading for help and crying out that he was dying, he said.
There also was no conflict in the evidence, which corroborated Eakin’s story, he said, leaving him no choice but to impose the maximum.
“This is about the crime. Can you think of a more serious crime? I cannot,” Jorgensen said. “If this were an 18-year-old, nobody would blink.”
He later added: “Somebody is going to have to figure out how a 12-year-old can be so violent, so young.”
The case garnered national attention, in part because of the age of the defendants, but also due to the viciousness of the killing.
Lisa Sorger, the victim’s mother, called police after Craig did not come home from playing at the park. An officer found his body among leaves and brush. Blood was found on the clothing of both playmates, who repeatedly changed their stories, and police charged them with murder within days.
Both boys kept silent for two years. Eakin eventually led officers to the pond where he claimed Savoie had disposed of the knife, then pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
The weapon matched a knife tip that had been left in the victim’s skull.
Lisa Sorger left the courthouse Monday without speaking to reporters. Before the sentence was announced, a victims’ rights advocate read a letter by Sorger in court.
While seeing Craig’s body was shocking, she said, it wasn’t until the trial that she realized Craig had suffered. She urged Jorgensen to impose the maximum sentence.
“In your worst nightmare, you could never believe this could happen to you,” she said. Sorger said her family has suffered, her health has suffered, and she feels tremendous guilt about ever allowing Craig to go outside to play that day.
Jorgensen told Sorger she should feel no guilt.
“There isn’t a parent who, exposed to the facts, wouldn’t be alarmed,” he said. “There isn’t any parent who wouldn’t let a child go out to play.”
Savoie has been locked up in juvenile detention since his arrest. He will remain there until at least age 18, and sometime before age 21 will be transferred to an adult prison.
Prosecutor John Knodell called the judge’s sentence “absolutely correct.”
“The decision to treat this young man as an adult was the right decision,” he said. “He is a danger to society.”
Holly Parent, Savoie’s mother, continued to insist her son is innocent. She said neither he nor Craig received justice in the case.
“The killer is still out there,” she said. “Now we’re going to appeal. And I’m not giving up. My son is innocent, and I’m going to fight.”
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