The Region : Cadets Face Murder Charges as Adults

Two military school cadets accused of killing a transient and showing doubters his body on a $50 bet should be prosecuted as adults, a Santa Barbara judge ruled. The 17-year-olds had been part of a secret society known as “The Nine” at Northwestern Preparatory School, according to one witness who testified that the group was patterned after “The Lords of Discipline,” a movie about life in a military school. As their families looked on, Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Stevens ordered David K. Kurtzman of Palo Alto and James R. Tramel of Victoria, Tex., to be arraigned as adults Tuesday on charges of murder in Santa Barbara County Municipal Court. They are accused of stabbing Michael Craig Stephenson, 29, in a gazebo at Alameda Park last Aug. 4.