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Slain teen's mom plans an award to honor him

Charlene King hopes others will benefit from her son's love of writing.

By MARY SPICUZZA
Published July 14, 2006

Kristofer King had always wanted to be a writer.

His mom, Charlene King, still has his first book, All About Me, which he wrote in second grade.

The boy's ninth grade teacher told her that he would be the next Stephen King, because of his gift for writing horror and science fiction stories.

But his dream was cut short in March, when King, 17, was attacked and killed in New Port Richey.

Four members of a white supremacist group, all linked to a neo-Nazi hangout next door to the home where King was killed, have been questioned in the attack and arrested on unrelated charges. They remain in jail.

But Charlene King wants to make sure her son is remembered for the smart, talented and "very, very sweet boy" he was, rather than the gruesome way he was killed.

So she's setting up a writing award in his honor.

"I didn't want him to be forgotten," Charlene King said. "What better way to remember him. Somebody else will get the education he didn't have the opportunity for."

King is launching a fundraising campaign for the award, which will be named the Kristofer King Excellence in Writing Honorarium.

The honorarium will be given to Pasco County's top senior writer, or the winner of the Pride award in writing. Each year, the Pride award in writing winner is chosen by a committee which reviews student portfolios, Pasco's supervisor of curriculum and instructional services Kathy Steiner said.

The Kristofer King Excellence in Writing Honorarium will be presented next spring at the annual Excellence in Education awards ceremony. The amount of money awarded will depend on donations.

Pasco Education Foundation is helping King organize the fundraiser by collecting donations.

"We're very happy to assist Mrs. King in her endeavor to remember her son and his love of writing," the foundation's executive director Chip Wichmanowski said.

King said she is still struggling to understand why someone would attack her son, who always refused to judge others. He was visiting the home of a friend when someone wearing a gas mask stabbed him and his friend's mother, Patricia Wells. A blood-stained gas mask was found in the neo-Nazi hangout next door, authorities say. Wells survived the attack.

"It's a real irony," King said. "He just was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She knows it will take time for her family to heal. As they grieve, she hopes other Pasco County students will benefit from her son's love of writing - and remember him.

"He just had that special something about him," Charlene King said. "Kris accepted everybody."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report.

Mary Spicuzza covers education in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. Her e-mail address is mspicuzza@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 13, 2006, 22:52:01]