Teen watched as best friend was murdered

EPHRATA — A 15-year-old boy testified Tuesday he saw his friend Craig Sorger murdered by two boys at Oasis Park on Feb. 15, 2003.

Cody Cook, of Ephrata, called Sorger his best friend.

"He may have pissed me off a lot," but they were "best friends," Cook testified in Grant County Superior Court during Evan Savoie's first-degree murder trial.

Savoie is charged with Sorger's killing, a crime that occurred when he was 12 years old, and he faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted. Savoie's former co-defendant Jake Eakin confessed to his role in Sorger's murder and is serving a 14-year sentence after pleading guilty to complicity to second-degree murder one year ago.

Cook told the jury he remembered "just little bits and parts of" the day more than three years ago when he said he saw Sorger murdered.

"I was just out walking and I heard a fight," Cook testified. He said he recognized the voice of Sorger who was "one of my best friends."

He said he soon recognized his friend because "Craig would always wear the same clothes," he explained.

Cook's animated testimony was laced with swear words, creating laughter in the courtroom on several occasions despite the serious nature of the proceedings. He wore his hair long and his sleeves short when he took the stand and described how he usually preferred to keep his eyes covered with dark glasses.

Cook wrote about Sorger's murder in a journal he kept while in custody on unrelated offenses at Grant County Juvenile Detention Center. He was interviewed by police after his journal writings were discovered by a detention center employee, but he was deemed not credible.

Defense attorney Randy Smith questioned Cook about his habit of carrying a knife. Cook said he was carrying a hunting knife when he took a walk through Oasis Park the day Sorger was murdered.

"I crouched down to see what was going on," Cook said after coming upon the struggle between the three boys in a wooded section of the park. "I had my hand on my knife."

Cook said he felt "frozen" and unable to move as he watched his friend get brutally attacked.

"I didn't do much 'cause I was scared," Cook said.

"So you were hiding from the fight?" Smith asked. "So what did you see?"

Cook said he saw "the tall one" pull out a knife, motioning to Savoie in the courtroom at the defense table.

"You could see the glint of the knife," Cook recalled.

He said he saw Eakin hit Sorger with a stick and a rock during the attack.

"And this was a pretty thick stick, I might add," Cook said.

After Eakin and Savoie left the scene, Cook said he ran to his friend's aid, tried to stop the bleeding and then ran back to his family. His parents, brothers, sister and other family members were in the park that day watching National Guard troops leaving Ephrata for the Middle East.

Smith wanted to know details about what Cook had seen, including what positions the three other boys were in as the attack unfolded in the secluded area of the park.

Then Smith's questioning changed briefly before prosecutors objected and Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen sustained the objection.

"How would you do it?" Smith asked Cook.

Smith also asked Cook if he had Sorger's blood on him. Cook said his hands were bloodied, but he said he kept them in his pockets until he was able to wash them off. Cook said if his family saw blood on him they would be suspicious.

"They see blood and they automatically think I did something wrong," Cook said.

He said Eakin and Savoie fled the scene headed north toward the park's entrance and parking lot. Savoie and Eakin told police they left the scene headed south along Ping Pond, stashing Savoie's bloody clothing in a small feeder pond near Martin Road on the southern end of the park. The clothing was found in the location Savoie described to police.

Cody Cook's father Scott also testified Tuesday. Kerry Cook, Cody's mother, testified both Monday and Tuesday and told jurors her son's behavior changed dramatically after that day at the park.

Scott Cook disagreed, saying his son's demeanor following that day was "nothing out of the ordinary."

The defense team may call Cody Cook again to testify.