Families Clash at Trial for Slain Teen

Four weeks into the trial concerning the death of Oxnard, Calif. teenager Lawrence King, the families involved cannot help but show their emotions.

Onlookers were touched Thursday when a photo was displayed of King happily wearing a strapless formal gown, given to him by his English teacher, Dawn Boldrin, theLos Angeles Times reports. Boldrin was on the witness stand when the photo was displayed.

The mother of Brandon McInerney, the teen on trial for shooting King in a classroom in 2008, began sobbing, as did Boldrin's 13-year-old daughter.

The scene angered Greg King, Lawrence's father, causing him to storm out of the courtroom. When he returned, he gathered the King family to leave for the day. As the group walked past Boldrin's daughter and another family member, Lawrence's mother Dawn reportedly whispered an expletive to them.

The following day, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell ejected Dawn King from the courtroom for the rest of the trial due to the whispering. Soon after, Greg King shared his anger with reporters regarding the judge's ruling, and the tears shed in the courtroom the previous day.

"My son is dead and they're crying?" King said. "That's the woman who gave him a dress after complaining that he shouldn't be coming to school in makeup and boots!"

King was shot in the classroom at E.O. Greene Junior High School by McInerney in front of several classmates in February 2008. McInerney's attorneys are arguing that King sexually harassed McInerney. Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox has argued that McInerney was motivated to kill King because of a white supremacist background. McInerney is being tried as an adult. He faces 53 years to life if convicted.

Some teachers who knew King and McInerney said they were worried that King would be harassed by classmates for wearing makeup, and high-heeled boots.