Evan Savoie to be tried again for Ephrata murder
Savoie looks around the court room Moday as potential juriors are questioned during jury selection.
EPHRATA - Prosecutors are retrying Evan D. Savoie for the 2003 murder of Craig Sorger.
Savoie, 21, is charged with first degree murder in Grant County Superior Court.
His previous conviction for murder in the first degree was overturned in a Washington State Court of Appeals ruling in October calling for a new trial.
The appellate court ruled former Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen violated Savoie's rights when he closed the courtroom to the public during a hearing.
Prosecutor Angus Lee decided to re-file the charges because state Supreme Court wasn't likely to change the appellate court ruling.
Prosecutors met with the victim's family along with the appeals court judges and the state Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, who all agreed it was better to proceed with the trial.
"Any further appeal would do nothing but delay this process and we wanted to get moving forward on this process as soon as possible," Lee said. "Nothing in the appeal ever indicated that the state did not prosecute the case appropriately ... This wasn't an issue of evidence being submitted that shouldn't have been or prosecutorial misconduct or anything of the like."
Visiting Okanogan County Judge Jack Burchard set Savoie's bail at $1 million.
Savoie is in custody at the Grant County Jail and is expected to enter a plea next week, Lee said.
Savoie and Jake Eakin were 12 years old when they reportedly beat and stabbed Sorger to death. Savoie was accused of dropping a rock on the victim's head and pressuring Eakin to take part, according to court records.
The day of the murder, Savoie and Eakin were dropped off at Oasis Park in Ephrata. They went to Sorger's house and invited him to play, according to court records.
Sorger's mother became concerned when the boy didn't return.
His body was found in Oasis Park.
Eakin pleaded guilty to second degree murder in April 2005 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Savoie was convicted of first degree murder by a jury and sentenced to more than 26 years in prison.