PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A man was found guilty of murder in a hate crime case after he beat a man to death outside a St. Pete bar in 2020.
Earlier this month, Kristoff King was sentenced to life in prison for killing Scott Jenks in a St. Pete strip mall parking lot.
Court documents show Jenks was beaten for nearly 80 minutes, and King yelled racial epithets and slurs at him while doing so.
During the trial, a jury found King guilty of first-degree murder and ruled the killing to be a hate crime.
ABC Action News spoke exclusively with Jenks's sister, Linda Jenks-Young, following the verdict in this case.
"It was a very long process. People are like, 'It's all over. Now you can move on. You got justice,' Well, one, I'm never gonna get my brother back. And two, these thoughts in my head are never gonna go away because of hearing his voice cry out in pain," said Linda.
She added, "I was completely surprised by how much impact he had on people in St. Petersburg, Florida. I had not gotten one bad thing from anybody. That's why everybody was so confused on how somebody could do that".
King's defense lawyer said they plan to appeal the ruling.
