Jurors: Boys didn't swing bat

PENSACOLA -- The jury that convicted two teenagers in the death of their father believed that neither boy swung the aluminum baseball bat that killed him, the jury forewoman said.

Instead, the six-member jury was convinced that Rick Chavis, a convicted child molester who was tried separately and acquitted in the killing of Terry King, carried out the slaying, jury forewoman Lynn Schwarz said.

But brothers Alex and Derek King opened the door to let the killer in and therefore are guilty of second-degree murder without a weapon, Schwarz told the Pensacola News Journal.

The boys, 12 and 13 at the time of the Nov. 26 slaying, were also convicted Friday of arson for setting the house afire. They each face 22 years to life in prison when sentenced Oct. 17.

An hour later, their friend -- and Alex's accused adult lover -- Chavis, 40, learned his fate. He was charged with first-degree murder and arson and stood trial last week, but his verdict was sealed until after the King brothers were tried for the same crime.

Chavis was found innocent on both counts.

But Schwarz said the King jurors, after less than five hours of deliberation, "were all as one that Chavis, and not the boys, killed Terry King."

Schwarz said the King jurors were aghast when they heard Chavis was acquitted.

"I was so shocked, I just couldn't believe it," said Schwarz, 52. "It's disturbing that 12 people could see it one way and six people another. But I don't blame that jury. They saw a different presentation and a different interpretation. It's too bad they couldn't have all been tried together. That might have been a fairer trial."

Schwarz said that to the King jurors, the boys' taped confessions were forced, rehearsed and unbelievable. But certain details rang true, like the sound of the father's "death rattle" and the crack of the bat on the skull, that led the jury to believe the boys were present.

The jury's reasoning stunned prosecutor David Rimmer.

"I didn't think that at all," Rimmer said. "I thought perhaps he encouraged them to do it, but I never felt Chavis was there."

The boys had told detectives a day after the slaying in graphic detail how Derek, at Alex's urging, had hit their father in the head about 10 times with the bat while he slept in a recliner then set their house on fire.

They said they then called Chavis from a pay phone and he picked them up.

But months later, they recanted their confessions and told a grand jury that Chavis had killed their father while they hid in his car. They said Chavis then persuaded them to confess, saying they would get off easy because they were juveniles. Alex testified that he loved Chavis and had been having sex with him.

Chavis still faces separate trials later this year for allegedly abusing Alex and for being an accessory after the fact to King's murder. He has confessed to picking up the boys, washing their clothes and hiding them for a day before turning them over to authorities.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright