Teen kills father, released 7 yrs later

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Alex and Derek King, brothers aged 12 and 13, were convicted in 2002 of murdering their father. Their cases received national media attention. Derek King, now 20 years old, was released from prison this past Saturday after serving 7 years behind bars. His brother Alex, now 19, was released last April.

Alex and Derek pleaded guilty to killing their father, 40-year-old Terry King on November 26th, 2001. They brutally beat him with a baseball bat as he slept and then set their Cantonment, Florida  home on fire.

Alex King, Derek's younger brother, was released from prison last April. State Attorney David Rimmer said, "They were so young, they looked so pure, they obviously were not pure."

They pleaded guilty to Third Degree Murder in 2002 when they were just 12 and 13 years old, this plea lessened their sentence greatly. Rimmer said, "The evidence was what it was, rules of evidence same, I would have liked them in there longer."

State attorney David Rimmer was the prosecutor in the case. He still has all their files. Rimmer said, "When you are dealing with young defendents that look so pure, you have to overcome that public perception that someone so young is not capable of something so evil. "

Family members say Derek has moved into his grandmother's home in Gulf Breeze, Florida. He doesn't plan to stay there long though. Family members say he wants to move away to get away from the media attention. 

Alex King, 19, moved to Jacksonville to live with former University of West Florida professor Kathryn Medico and her family.  She co-wrote a book about the King brothers' case.

The reason the boys killed their father has never fully come out.  Prosecutors believed it was the influence of a convicted child molester, Ricky Chavis.  He was the person Alex and Derek called after killing their father. 

Chavis picked the boys up after the murder and hid them from police at his house. Chavis was charged with the murder of Terry King, but was eventually acquitted.  But, he was convicted on several other charges including tampering with evidence and accessory to murder.

Chavis was sentenced to 35 years. He's scheduled for release in 2036.