Man admits to killing campers with AK-47

A man accused of gunning down two campers with an AK-47 assault rifle pleaded guilty to murder Monday and received two consecutive life terms.

Leo Boatman, 21, of Clearwater, changed his plea in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Prosecutor Brad King said he offered the deal after talking with the families of Amber Peck and John Parker, both 26-year-old Santa Fe Community College students who Boatman apparently shot at random.

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They two were camping in Ocala National Forest in January 2006 when Boatman attacked them.

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“I can’t offer an explanation because there is none,” Boatman told Circuit Judge Willard Pope.

The parents of both victims told the judge they wanted Boatman to be sentenced to life in prison.