Crimesider
Crimesider
September 8, 2009 12:43 PM

King Brothers, Seduced by Child Molester into Killing Father, Seek Fresh Start After Jail

By
Ryan Smith
Topics
Daily Blotter
(CBS/AP)
Photo: Alex and Derek King in 2001.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Two Florida brothers imprisoned as teens for killing their father with a baseball bat in 2001 are seeking a fresh start and college degrees.

Derek and Alex King went on TV Tuesday to talk about their life and plans after prison. The boys said they made a mistake and have now chosen to be "productive citizens." They plan to attend the same junior college.

The boys were 13 and 12 when they smashed their father's skull with a baseball bat as he slept. The boys then ran away with a convicted child molester who had befriended them.

The boys pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, admitting Derek swung the bat and Alex urged him to do it. Alex served seven years and Derek eight in separate juvenile prisons.

On Tuesday, the brothers spoke with Matt Lauer on The Today Show about moving on.

"Not to minimize the situation, but we all make mistakes and we shouldn't be judged on one act and one spot in our life," Derek King said.

"We spend our days planning job hunts and classes we are going to take... as opposed to reliving the past," Alex King said.

Alex in part credited Christian counseling for his rehabilitation and thanked Rosie O'Donnell for taking on their case.



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