'Valentine Road': A Path To Teen Tragedy
In February 2008, 14-year-old Larry King walked up to fellow classmate Brandon McInerney and, as a dare, asked him to be his valentine.
A few days later, on Valentine's Day, McInerney shot King twice in the back of the head at school. McInerney is now serving a 21-year sentence.
First-time director Marta Cunningham spent four years making the new HBO documentary, Valentine Road, which explores the life and death of Larry King. She tells NPR's Celeste Headlee that her years of research and interviews transformed the way she viewed the crime, the victim and — most surprisingly — the shooter.
"I couldn't help but feel a tremendous amount of empathy for this child," Cunningham says, "and I always felt a tremendous amount of empathy for Larry because of how misunderstood he was."