LARGO, Fla. (AP) - A Tampa Bay area teenager has been sentenced to life in prison for randomly stabbing and killing a stranger.
A Pinellas County judge sentenced 17-year-old Mychal King on Tuesday. The teen pleaded guilty in January to first-degree murder. As a minor, King could not receive the death penalty, so the life sentence was the judge's only option. King, who was charged as an adult, will be eligible for parole after 25 years.
Authorities say 22-year-old Jason Paul was riding his bike home from work near Crest Lake Park in January 2013 when a then-15-year-old King stabbed him and left him for dead. King was arrested that August and told detectives he was angry and decided to kill the next person he saw.
King's attorney said his client had mild mental deficiencies and grew up in poverty with a severe lack of parental supervision.
