As family members and friends prepare
for the first anniversary of 15-year-old Lawrence “Larry” King's
death on Valentine's Day, new details about his killer have emerged.
In a newly filed brief, prosecutors
contend that King's death at the hands of Brandon McInerney, 14 at
the time, was calculated murder.
McInerney killed King, who told friends
and family he was gay and often wore makeup, on February 12, 2008
with two shots in the head during his 8th grade English
class at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California. He
survived the night, but died on Valentine's Day after being
pronounced brain-dead.
The brief is a response to the
accusation by defense attorney Scott Wippert that Ventura County
District Attorney Gregory Totten abused his office when he decided to
try his client as an adult.
The prosecutor's brief, details of
which were published this week in the Ventura County Star,
paints McInerney as an executioner.
“It was an absolutely brutal crime,
with premeditation and deliberation,” Deputy District Attorney
Maeve Fox wrote. “He was familiar with firearms and had fired that
gun before. He knew what he was doing.”
McInerney was aggressive towards King,
teasing the effeminate boy for weeks, and once vowed to “get a gun
and shoot” him, the documents show.
A July Newsweek cover story
focused heavily on King's effeminate behavior. The story reported
that he liked to tease other boys – he would say “I know you want
me” in the hallways – and had asked McInerney to be his Valentine
in front of his teammates, who naturally teased him about it.
Gay rights groups decried Newsweek
for the suggestion that somehow the murder was justified.
Memorials and a candlelight march and
vigil are being organized by local gay rights groups to mark the
first-anniversary of the shooting.
A resolution read in Congress Thursday
honored King's life.
“Every child should be guaranteed an
education free from bullying, harassment, discrimination and
violence,” Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who introduced the
resolution, said on the House floor.
The prosecution brief also detailed for
the first time that investigators had found a training video in
McInerney's possession titled “Shooting in Realistic Environments”
and various neo-Nazi books.