About this episode
When firefighters discovered the body of forty-year-old Terry King inside the charred remains of his Cantonment, Florida home in November 2001, they assumed the man had been asleep when the fire broke out and died as a result. Upon further inspection, investigators found that King hadn’t died as a result of the fire, but from severe blunt force trauma to his head. And even more alarming than that was the fact that King’s two boys, thirteen-year-old Derek and twelve-year-old Alex, were missing. Having occurred immediately in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Terry King’s murder could have easily been one of many tragedies lost in the fog of national trauma and grief; however, when King’s killers were arrested and identified in the days that followed, the story was so shocking, and the motive so heartbreaking, that it managed to break through the wall-to-wall coverage of the attacks. References Associated Press. 2002. "Convicted molester denies urging boys to kill dad." Miami Herald , February 1: 33. —. 2002. "Convicted child molester accused of writing love letter to boy in jail." Miami Herald , April 4: 363. —. 2001. "Grandmother: Boys couldn't have killed dad." Miami Herald , November 29: 438. Canedy, Dana. 2002. "Judge throws out brothers' murder conviction." New York Times , October 18. —. 2002. "Reject sympathy, jury is told in boys' trial." New York Times , September 6. CBS News. 2002. Man gets 30 years in killer boys case. November 7. Accessed December 9, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-gets-30-years-in-killer-boys-case/. Clark, Lesley. 2001. "Boys accused of bluedgeoning father, setting home on fire." Miami Herald , December 4: 1. Gomez, Alan. 2002. "Boys take stand against friend." Pensacola News Journal , August 28: 1. —. 2002. "Chavis judge denies request for acquittal." Pensacola News Journal , August 29: 1. Graybiel, Ginny. 2002. "Slaying suspect vows he could hurt no one." Pensacola News Journal , August 4: 1. Kaczor, Bill. 2002. "Sons change story, still to be tried for murder." Miami Herald , August 25: 970. Keith Morrison. 2009. Second chances. September 7. Accessed December 6, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32664652. 2003. American Justice: Blood Brothers. Performed by Bill Kurtis. Midico, Kathryn, and Mollye Barrows. 2004. A Perversion of Justice: A Southern Tragedy of Murder, Lies, and Innocence Betrayed. New York, NY: Avon . New York Times. 2002. "Boy, 13, testifies he and brother didn't kill their father." New York Times , September 5. Scandlen, Monica. 2002. "Testimonies quiet, simple." Pensacola News Journal , August 28: 1. Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022) Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023) Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.