Sailor Sentenced in Slaying of Bisexual Man in Balboa Park

A Navy corpsman who pleaded guilty to murder for his part in the killing of a bisexual man in Balboa Park was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in state prison.

After listening to tearful pleas for a strict sentence from the wife and teen-age children of murder victim Michael Wayne Hamilton, Superior Court Judge Herbert J. Exarhos imposed the mandatory sentence against David Allen Kring.

Kring sat emotionless with his head down throughout the sentencing hearing. The 23-year-old will be eligible for parole in 16 to 18 years, and that option was the focus of the hearing.

Exarhos said he believes Kring showed some remorse, but hopes that time in jail will allow those feelings to become “more sincere.”

During her statement to the court, Hamilton’s widow, Barbara, said she saw no remorse from Kring and feared that if released he would kill again.

“I wanted to see sorrow. I wanted to see guilt from him,” she said, her voice shaking. “But his eyes were dead.”

Kring’s lawyer, Albert Bradley, told the judge that, despite what probation reports may state and what Hamilton’s family may think, his client is sorry for his crime.

“This is the most guilt-ridden, remorseful client I’ve had in 15 years of practicing law,” Bradley said.

Barbara Hamilton said after the sentencing that Kring should have gotten what his co-defendant, Todd Fluette, is facing.

Fluette will be sentenced Oct. 30 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury in August convicted him of Hamilton’s December murder.

During Fluette’s trial, prosecutors maintained that the two barracks mates had gone to the park with the intent to attack a gay man. Fluette testified during his trial that he stabbed Hamilton after Hamilton made a sexual advance toward Kring.