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Clearwater teen sentenced again to life in prison for 2013 fatal stabbing

 
Published Aug. 24, 2016

Mychal King, who pleaded guilty last year to fatally stabbing a Clearwater man 25 times in 2013, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

On Jan. 5, 2013, after his work shift at an electronics store, Jason Paul, 22, was biking home when he was stabbed 25 times. Seven months later, King, then 16, was arrested in connection to Paul's death, and was eventually indicted on a charge of first-degree murder.

This is the second time King, now 19, was sentenced to life in the case. After a U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled that automatic life sentences for juveniles was unconstitutional, he had to be resentenced under the state's new sentencing guidelines.

His sentence could have been reduced to as low as 40 years under the new law, but Pinellas Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone sentenced King to life again. He will also get a sentencing review after 25 years from the date of his arrest in August 2013.