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CNN Live Today

One King Brother Rests Case

Aired September 05, 2002 - 13:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: More defense testimony today in the Pensacola murder trial of two teenage brothers, the second murder trial in this unusual case. Defense lawyers for one of the boys rested their case this morning.
CNN's Mark Potter is covering the story -- Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. In about 45 minutes, we're expected to hear the closing arguments in this case, which mean the lawyers for the defense and the prosecution will make their summations to the jury. After that, Judge Frank Bell will instruct the jury on the law, and then the jurors will go off into a room to begin their deliberations. We do not have any idea what time that will occur, whether they will start today or wait until tomorrow.

Now, late this morning, there was an interesting development. If you recall, yesterday, the younger brother, 13-year-old Alex, actually testified in court, under oath, before the jury. However, today, late this morning, his older brother, 14-year-old Derek, announced that he would not testify, and outside the presence of the jury, the judge questioned him to make sure that he understood that he had a right to testify, and that he had made his decision freely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEREK KING, DEFENDANT: Yes, sir, it is my decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You understand that in a lot of criminal cases, when defendants don't testify, if they happen to get convicted or something later on down the line, they claim their lawyers...

KING: I heard that, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Sometimes they claim that they didn't even know they could be a witness.

KING: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand that you can be a witness?

KING: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are choosing not to be a witness?

KING: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you think you understand it through discussing it with your attorneys.

KING: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Thank you very much, Mr. King.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POTTER: When they were arrested last November, both boys confessed to the police saying that Alex planned it, and that Derek actually bludgeoned his father to death with a baseball bat before they set the room on fire to hide the evidence. Later, however, both boys recanted that confession, said it was a lie, and that instead, the person responsible for their father's murder was a family friend, 40-year-old Ricky Chavis. Police said that Chavis had a sexual relationship with the younger boy, Alex.

Because the boys changed their statement, there was an unusual legal development here. A grand jury also then indicted Chavis on the same charges the boys face. He, too, was accused of bludgeoning the father to death, and he was tried separately. That occurred last week. There was a verdict, but that verdict has been sealed, until we get a verdict in this case, so that one would not affect the other. Anyone convicted in this case, including the teenage boys, the two teenage boys, will automatically face a life prison term -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Mark Potter in Pensacola. Thanks, Mark.

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