CALDWELL -- The Caldwell teen -- charged with murdering his dad -- admitted to pulling the trigger Friday as part of a plea agreement.
"I think the plea agreement is justice, and I think my colleagues on the defense side of this case would agree," said Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak.
But Zachary Neagle's guilty plea is just part of the story. The other, involves heartbreaking allegations that he was being sexually abused by his dad, and that his younger brother and sister were next. Our cameras were allowed inside the courtroom today, but we weren't allowed to record any audio.
After the hearing -- Neagle's attorney described for us startling details of sexual abuse between the boy and his father Jason.
"He said he was molested that day and that the threat was made that the molestation would include his brother and sister," said Chuck Peterson.
The 15 year old Caldwell teen fought back tears as he told the judge about the abuse he suffered since he was eight. That abuse, he says, started as physical and mental. Over time it got worse. Things turned sexual. Chuck Peterson is Neagle's attorney.
"He told the judge today, that on the morning that he was shot, on that morning he had been molested, and his father took a nap and that before to take this nap, or fell asleep, that he said, 'We're going to 'play' again.' And his father used this term play in describing for Zach, when there was going to be sexual activity. And what he told Zach was this time it was going to be different, because this time the play would involve his brother and sister," said Peterson.
Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak also agreed to a change of plea.
"I didn't know at the beginning what the truth was. I'll be candid with you and tell you I don't know what the truth is now, but what I do know is a jury would spend a lot of time thinking about whether that was the case, and if it were determined to be the case I'm not so sure the jury would convict Mr. Neagle of murder, and so from where I sit as the prosecutor I think it's justice to resolve the case in the way contemplated by the rule 11 agreement," said John Bujak.
In June Neagle pleaded not guilty to first degree murder. Friday he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
"It is a compromise, and it's a way of ensuring that he gets adequate treatment to deal with, through the department of juvenile corrections to deal with the issues he talked a little bit about today."
If Judge Bradley Ford agrees to the plea Neagle will face a fixed seven year sentence with 23 more years indeterminate.
"The whole key here is flexibility. If he proves himself, does well, he's entitled to be released early, he has that opportunity, but can still be supervised for up to 30 years to make sure he stays the course," said Bujak.
Of course, if Neagle doesn't do well and does not show he can be a member of society, Bujak says the plea agreement can keep him in prison for the duration of his 30 year sentence.
Neagle will appear in court again on May 12th. That will give the judge an opportunity to review the agreement and either sign off on it or reject it. If he signs off on it Neagle will be sentenced at that point.
Prosecutor John Bujak says the community may share some of the blame for what led up to the shooting.
"Before this, the community let Zach down. If this sexual abuse were going on, there were a number of times prior to him committing the crime where society could have got involved and taken this down a different road. That didn't happen, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth," said Bujak.
Bujak says going forward he'll work to build community based resources to prevent this from happening to others.
