21 Years In Prison For Brandon McInerney

Teenage murderer Brandon McInerny has been sentenced to 21 years in prison in a plea agreement for the shooting of openly gay classmate Larry King.

Brandon McInerney, who was 14 when he pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Larry King twice in the head in 2008, has already served nearly four years in jail and would be released by the time he is 38, under terms of the deal. "Larry had a complicated life, but he did not deserve to be murdered," the youth's father,Greg King, said after a court hearing Monday afternoon. McInerney’s first trial ended with jurors split between convicting him of voluntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Several of the jurors have since spoken in favor of a plea bargain, in order to avoid a second trial. Prosecutors, in initially deciding to try McInerney a second time, had already dropped a key allegation that the shooting was motivated by a hatred of homosexuals, an accusation that several jurors in the original trial said they did not believe.

Brandon McInerney To Be Retried As An Adult, Hate Crime Charge Dropped

Prosecutors announced today that they will be retrying teenage murderer Brandon McInerney as an adult and with no hate crime embellishment to the charges. A mistrial was declared last month after some jurors refused to convict McInerney as an adult. Those jurors have since formed a support group for McInerney.

Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell set a Nov. 21 trial date, according to Fox, but it's unclear if it will be held in Ventura County. The first trial was moved to Los Angeles County due to pretrial publicity. McInerney was 14 in February 2008, when he is accused of killing King at E.O. Green Junior High School during a computer lab class. Prosecutors contend McInerney embraced a white supremacist philosophy that sees homosexuality as an abomination. Police found Nazi-inspired drawings and artifacts at his house, and a white supremacist expert testified at trial the hate-filled ideology was the reason for the killing.

Jurors Discuss Lawrence King Trial

HRC Denounces King Mistrial

Just in from Joe Solmonese:

“It is disappointing that the criminal justice system has failed to bring closure to the family, friends and community that loved Lawrence. In the wake of the mistrial, and in honor of Lawrence, we will continue our efforts to prevent these types of tragedies by working with school districts across our nation to stamp out the ignorance and prejudice that led to Lawrence’s death. It’s up to the adults around children to call out that early behavior and prejudice, and to explain that the differences among us are part of what makes us strong: that being different is not something to attack, but to appreciate. If Lawrence or Brandon had lived in that world, their lives might not have collided in tragedy and death.”

Local News Covers King Killing Mistrial

Hung Jury In Larry King Murder

A mistrial may be declared in the trial of Brandon McInerney after jurors could not agree on how to convict him for shooting to death openly gay classmate Larry King. [UPDATE: The judge has now declared a mistrial.]

Defense attorney Scott Wippert and co-counsel Robyn Bramson didn’t dispute that McInerney killed King. But they argued he was pushed to an emotional breaking point by King’s attentions toward him and the school’s failure to rein in King’s conduct. They also appeared to reach out for jury sympathy by calling several of McInerney’s relatives to the stand to testify to the abuse the young boy suffered at the hands of his drug-abuser father. McInerney was a boy who couldn’t cry, because if he did his father would smack him in the face and tell him to take it like a man, his aunts testified. Other family members said the father seemed to delight in humiliating his son in public. The father died from a fall while his son was incarcerated. Wippert told jurors that his client killed King but should be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, not murder. In closing arguments, he implied that McInerney should not ever have been put in front of them because the act happened when was a youth.

Prosecutors have not yet revealed plans for a re-trial, should one be necessary.

Brandon's Brother: He Was Molested

The half-brother of teenage murderer Brandon McInerney claimed in court yesterday that Brandon had been molested by a male relative. And that mitigates his murder of gay teen Lawrence King somehow.

James Bing testified that McInerney’s father cried hysterically as he revealed the molestation that occurred when Brandon was about 9 years old. The older McInerney was upset because the family had dealt with the problem internally, sending the relative away for years, instead of reporting it to police and getting Brandon help, Bing told the courtroom. McInerney’s father, who is now dead, believed the memory of the molestation was what caused his son to react so violently when Larry King began dressing like a girl and flirting with McInerney at their Oxnard junior high school, Bing said. "He felt that it scarred him," said Bing, 24. "He felt guilty that he hadn’t done anything about it before."

Last month prosecutors asked the judge to rule that jurors should disregard King's sexuality when making their decision in the case. This was seen as a tactic meant to derail any gay panic defense.

LOS ANGELES: Prosecutors Seek To Ban Gay Panic Defense In King Case

Prosecutors in the trial of Brandon McInerney plan to ask the judge to have the jury disregard the sexual orientation of his murder victim, openly gay teen Lawrence King.

Attorneys for Brandon McInerney argue that their client, who was 14 when he gunned down Larry King in an Oxnard junior high school computer lab, was so humiliated by King's flirtation that it provoked him to kill his classmate. Gay rights advocates say the argument is a classic "gay panic" defense. The panic defense became a flashpoint following the 2002 slaying of Gwen Araujo, a Bay Area transgender teen who was beaten and strangled by three men. Defense attorneys for the suspects argued that their clients panicked after learning Araujo was a biological male and won a mistrial. When the suspects escaped first-degree murder convictions, legislators responded by passing a law designed to blunt the use of panic defenses.

McInerney's defense attorney maintains that the murder was "provoked" by King's "relentless sexual advances."

CNN On McInerney Trial

McInerney Prosecutor: Killing Of Larry King Was Premeditated

Three years after then-8th grader Brandon McInerney murdered openly gay student Larry King in front of horrified classmates, a prosecutor in McInerney's just-launched trial says the killing was premeditated and based on the shooter's belief that homosexuality is an abomination. White supremacist materials were found in McInerney's home after the murder.

King was bullied by McInerney and other boys at the school, Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox said in her opening statement in the trial, which is being conducted at a courthouse in Chatsworth. But shortly before his death, King had begun wearing high heels, makeup and earrings to school and had become more confident in himself, she said. “Larry King for the first time in his life wasn’t taking it anymore,” Fox said. “And he started to give people what I prefer to call the proverbial chin. Only it was more profane. The proverbial ‘f ... you.’” The day before King was shot, the two boys had been bickering in a eighth-grade science class, she said. When King got up to get a drink of water, “Brandon said ‘I am going to shoot him.’ And this is what a student will testify to.” The next day McInerney pulled a .22-caliber handgun out of his backpack and shot King in the head, authorities have said.

McInerney's defense team claims that he was the victim of King's aggressive sexual bullying.

Brandon McInerney Pleads Not Guilty

Teenage killer Brandon McInerney, who last year walked into his 8th grade classroom and shot openly gay classmate Lawrence King in the head, has pleaded not guilty in a Ventura County, California classroom.

Teen murder defendant Brandon McInerney pleaded not guilty Thursday to first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the fatal shooting of classmate Larry King, 15, at an Oxnard school. McInerney, 15, who is being prosecuted as an adult, was accompanied by his attorneys in Ventura County Superior Court as he formally received the criminal charges against him. His arraignment had been postponed repeatedly since the February 2008 shooting. Ventura County Superior Court Superior Court Judge Bruce Young set a pretrial hearing for Oct. 23 and a trial date for Dec. 1. After the arraignment, Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox said she doesn’t know whether McInerney will be tried in December. “Your guess is as good as mine,” she said.

It's unclear of the basis of the not guilty plea, as dozens of horrified students witnessed the shooting. Defense attorneys want the case moved to juvenile court so McInerney can be "treated and rehabilitated in the juvenile system.” Prosecutors have noted that white supremacist materials were found in McInerney's bedroom.

The Little Nazi

Prosecutors say that Brandon McInerney killed gay teen Lawrence King in part because of the influence of neo-Nazis who had befriended him. A notebook filled with Nazi-related drawings was found in the 15 year-old's bedroom.

"The evidence strongly indicates he had been indoctrinated to some level," said Dan Swanson, a Simi Valley police detective and specialist in neo-Nazi gangs. On the second day of McInerney's preliminary hearing in Ventura County Superior Court, Swanson discounted earlier testimony that McInerney had black and Latino friends at school, contending that white supremacists are accustomed to hiding their true beliefs. A search of McInerney's bedroom and backpack yielded the notebook, seven of Hitler's speeches translated into English and a book about SS troopers who had been former members of the Hitler Youth. The collection reflected an interest in the Nazis that was far more profound than the World War II book report McInerney had been assigned, the investigator testified. Swanson said the teenager's family was friendly with a white supremacist in Oxnard's Silver Strand area. The man told Swanson that he and his girlfriend allowed McInerney to sleep in their apartment a night or two before the shooting.

McInerney is being tried as an adult for first degree murder. In March his father was found dead in the family home.

RELATED: If you've lost track of the details or if this case is new to you, my archive of stories about the murder of Lawrence King is here.

Brandon McInerney's Dad Found Dead

William McInerney, the father of the 15 year-old confessed murderer of gay teen Lawrence King, was found dead this morning.

William McInerney, 45, was found dead about 7:30 a.m. today at his home in the 2500 block of Roosevelt Boulevard. He was found by a friend who was picking him up to take him to his son’s preliminary hearing this morning in Superior Court, said Craig Stevens, a Ventura County senior deputy medical examiner. Stevens said an autopsy was being conducted today to determine the cause of death. There was no indication of trauma, injury or foul play, he said. “There is no obvious cause of death — no note or anything like that,” said sheriff’s Capt. Ross Bonfiglio. Attorney Jay Leiderman, representing William McInerney in a recent domestic violence case, said the family authorized him to issue a statement on their behalf. “The McInerney family asks that you respect their privacy at this difficult time. We understand that Bill McInerney’s death was a tragic accident. Everyone who knew him is devastated by this loss,” the statement read.

William McInerney had been scheduled to stand trial on April 2nd for threatening to kill his sister over an incident unrelated to his son's trial. The younger McInerney's case has riveted the LGBT world and spawned a multi-million dollar lawsuit by the victim's family. Brandon is being tried as an adult and faces 51 years to life in prison.

Father Of Brandon McInerney Arrested

The father of Brandon McInerney, the California student who murdered gay teen Lawrence King, has been arrested on two felony counts of making criminal threats and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.

William Frederick McInerney, 46, had his first court appearance Friday since being arrested Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty, court records show. Judge Colleen Toy White set bail at $40,000 and set the next hearing for March 2, according to court documents. County jail records showed that William McInerney was still in custody Friday night. William McInerney’s lawyer, Jay Leiderman, declined to comment Friday, saying that he had not yet read the incident report. Judge White ordered William McInerney to stay away from a house in the 3700 block of Tiller Avenue in Oxnard where McInerney’s relatives live. Also, he is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.

It's unclear if the arrest is related to the Lawrence King murder. The elder McInerney was convicted of spousal abuse in 2002.

Lawrence King's Family Sues Everybody For Not Destroying His Gayness

The family of murdered gay teen Lawrence King has filed suit against just about everybody that ever knew him for not insisting that he "tone down" his feminine ways. Because that's why he was murdered. Not because Brandon McInerney was a Nazi-obsessed skinhead wannabe who hated gays.

The family of a gay teenager who was shot to death in class filed a wrongful–death lawsuit that accuses the school district, a shelter and a homosexual rights organization of failing to protect him. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed Feb. 11 in Ventura County Superior Court. Larry King, 15, of Oxnard, was killed in February 2008. His classmate at E.O. Green Junior High, Brandon McInerney, was charged as an adult and has pleaded not guilty to first–degree murder and a hate crime. If convicted, McInerney could face 51 years to life in prison. McInerney, now 15, allegedly shot King twice in the head in English class. Prosecutors said there had been rising tension between the two after the eight–grader told McInerney he loved him. The 18-page lawsuit filed by King’s parents and brother names nearly two dozen defendants. It claims that everyone from King’s teacher to his social worker failed to urge the effeminate teen to tone down flamboyant behavior. The suit also claims they failed to heed McInerney’s alleged threat to kill King a day before the shooting.

The suit also make the outrageous claim that the local gay youth shelter encouraged Larry to make sexual advances on Brandon.

On Anniversary Of Lawrence King's Murder Comes New Revelations

Today is the anniversary of gay teen Lawrence King's murder by fellow classmate Brandon McInerney. Yesterday the prosecutor in the case revealed that according to students, King was not, in fact, sexually harassing McInerney.

Lawrence "Larry" King wasn't sexually harassing fellow eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney in the weeks leading up to King's shooting death, prosecutors contend in court documents. McInerney was the aggressor, teasing the effeminate King for weeks and vowing to "get a gun and shoot" him, according to a prosecution brief. Multiple students provided accounts of a growing hostility between the two boys, the document shows. Witnesses said King was usually not the aggressor. But after months of teasing by McInerney and other male students who called him "faggot," he had began to retort, according to prosecutors.

The day before the shooting, the two boys were bickering during seventh period. When King left, a student witness said that McInerney commented, "I'm going to shoot him." Just after that class, another student heard King say "I love you" to McInerney as they passed in a hallway. The same student then heard McInerney say he was "going to get a gun and shoot" King, according to prosecutors. A few minutes later, prosecutors allege, McInerney told one of King's friends: "Say goodbye to your friend Larry because you're never going to see him again."

The prosecution brief also reveals for the first time that McInerney was familiar with firearms, and that he had used that particular weapon in the past during target shooting with his family. Investigators found a training video in his possession titled "Shooting in Realistic Environments," as well as skinhead and neo-Nazi books and similar writings from the Internet, prosecutors wrote. "I had to tell the court what we knew at the time the decision was made to file in adult court," Fox said. "So that's what I did."

Memorials for Lawrence King are planned for today. Brandon McInerney is scheduled to be tried as an adult, despite pleas from a broad coalition of LGBT and progressive groups that he be tried in juvenile court.

Lawrence King's Killer Found Competent

Lawrence King's murderer, Brandon McInerney, has been found competent to stand trial.

Brandon McInerney, an Oxnard teenager accused of first-degree murder and a hate crime in connection with the shooting of a classmate, today was found competent to stand trial in Ventura County Superior Court.

Judge Kevin McGee made the ruling after hearing from a psychiatrist and a psychologist. The issue was whether the 14-year-old defendant, who is being tried as an adult, was developmentally capable to stand trial, according to defense attorney Scott Wippert.

The youth is charged in connection with the Feb. 12 shooting of Larry King, 15, in a classroom at E.O. Green School in Oxnard. King, an eighth-grader, dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. The judge set a Dec. 29 date for a hearing for a discovery motion in the case and set Jan. 26 for a preliminary hearing.

Many LGBT groups had joined the unsuccessful petition to have McInerney tried as a juvenile.

White Supremacist Materials Found In Home Of Lawrence King's Killer

Investigators found white supremacist materials in the home of Brandon McInerney, the 14 year old killer of gay teen Lawrence King. The materials were a "prime consideration" in the adding of a hate crimes charge.

Investigators seized white supremacist materials, including doodlings of Nazi swastikas, from the bedroom of Brandon McInerney, the 14-year-old Oxnard student accused of gunning down his gay classmate.

The items were found after McInerney's arrest Feb. 12 for allegedly killing Lawrence "Larry" King, 15, a classmate at E.O. Green Junior High School, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox wrote in a court filing this week. The "trove" of white supremacist literature and drawings depict a "racist skinhead philosophy of the variety espoused by Tom Metzger, David Lane and others," Fox wrote.

McInerney is being tried as an adult on a murder count, plus a hate crime allegation. Prosecutors previously declined to specify their justification for the hate crime enhancement. But in the court documents, Fox said the materials found in the teenager's bedroom were a primary consideration in adding the hate crime charge. McInerney's attorney, Deputy Public Defender William Quest, called the prosecution's disclosure a "stunt" intended to inflame public sentiment against his client.

The case has been delayed due to a possible change in McInerney's defense team.

Lawrence King's Parents Sue School, Claim Dress Code Was Not Enforced

The parents of murdered gay teen Lawrence King have sued the school district and Ventura Country, claiming that the school's failure to force King to dress like a boy led to his killing.

The boy's parents, Dawn and Gregory King, along with his younger brother, Rocky King, are seeking unspecified damages related to the fatal shooting of the 15-year-old boy as he sat in English class at E.O. Green School in Oxnard on Feb. 12.

To protect their rights to sue, plaintiffs must file claims against public agencies for injury, death or property damage within six months. The claims were received last Friday, a few days before the six-month mark.

King's father declined comment Thursday, and family attorney Steve Pell did not return a call seeking comment. Hueneme Superintendent Jerry Dannenberg said he had informed the school board Wednesday that the complaint had been filed. Officials have turned the matter over to a self-funding insurance authority to consider.

"We were anticipating some type of claim to be filed," the superintendent said. The county's risk manager, Chuck Pode, said he expected to reject the claim. King was a ward of the court and living at the Casa Pacifica shelter for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children at the time of the shooting.

"From what I've seen of the contentions and immunities given to government employees, I expect this one would be rejected, and I'm sure Mr. Pell does, too," he said. Pode said he has more questions than answers about the two-page complaint. "Much of what they had to say is against the school district, and they kind of mix and match what county obligations are and the school district's are," he said.

In the claims, the Kings say school and county staff members failed to enforce the middle school's dress code. That put the feminine-dressing King at particular risk at a time when staff members knew he had "unique vulnerabilities" and was "susceptible to abuse" because of his perceived sexual orientation, the claim says.

The family says educators knew the boy was at risk because he had been subjected to death threats at Hathaway School, an elementary campus he attended in Oxnard. King had told friends he was gay, and he wore makeup, jewelry and high-heeled boots with his school uniform — something Dannenberg said the teen had the freedom to do under his First Amendment rights.

Assistant Principal Joy Epstein, the only person named in the complaint, is accused of encouraging the boy to wear "women's clothing, shoes and makeup." She created an environment of "perceived safety" for King when "in fact she could not and did not protect Larry from the threats and ultimate death," the claim says.

The school district has said that it would have been a violation of King's rights to force him to dress as a boy. However, dress codes require that students not dress in manner that will "cause a distraction" to other students. Last week King's killer, Brandon McInerney pled not guilty. Extensive coverage of the King story on JMG can be found here.

Brandon McInerney Pleads Not Guilty

The 14 year-old killer of gay teen Lawrence King pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder and a hate crime yesterday in a ploy to have the charges reduced to manslaughter.

Brandon McInerney entered the plea in Ventura County Superior Court on Thursday. McInerney is charged as an adult with first degree murder and a hate crime for the Feb. 12 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Larry King at their junior high school in Oxnard.

Defense attorney William Quest said in court that the charges are “essentially a death sentence” for McInerney, and wants the boy tried on the lesser charge of manslaughter. McInerney faces 51 years to life without the possibility of parole if convicted.

In April, a coalition of 27 LGBT rights groups called on the district attorney not to prosecute McInerney as an adult. “The facts in this matter seem clear: one boy killed another in a climate of intolerance and fear about sexual orientation and gender expression. The alleged perpetrator, who turned 14 years old less than three weeks before the shooting, should be held accountable for his actions. But we support the principles underlying our juvenile justice system that treat children differently than adults and provide greater hope and opportunity for rehabilitation,” the groups said in a joint statement.

There were more than 20 witnesses to the shooting. Even if tried for manslaughter, it appears that McInerney will be judged as an adult.