EPHRATA — One of the youngest murderers in state history has been resentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2003 slaying of a playmate at an Ephrata park.
Evan Savoie, now 23, was sentenced Tuesday in Grant County Superior Court by visiting Douglas County Superior Court Judge John Hotchkiss, according to iFIBER One News. The sentence was near the top end of the range of 12 to 21 years he was facing.
Savoie pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Craig Sorger, who was developmentally disabled.
Savoie and co-defendant Jake Eakin were just 12 years old when they were suspected in the February 2003 death of Sorger.
The three boys were seen playing together in Ephrata’s Oasis Park before Sorger’s body was found that evening with dozens of stab wounds.
Savoie and Eakin were tried as adults, becoming the youngest murder defendants in modern state history. They maintained their innocence for two years before Eakin confessed to taking part in the crime and led police to the knife used in the murder. Eakin testified against Savoie and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the plea deal.
Savoie was convicted of first-degree by a jury in 2006 and sentenced to 26 years in prison. He appealed the verdict on the grounds that the judge violated his rights to a public trial. A portion of the trail was closed to the public while attorneys argued over the disclosure of Sorger’s family mental health records.
An appellate court ruled in 2011 that the closure violated Savoie’s rights and overturned his conviction.
Savoie was headed for a retrial in Grant County when he pleaded guilty.
