Crime & Safety

Christopher Plaskon's Attorneys Considering Insanity Defense

Milford teen accused of murdering Law student

The attorneys representing Christopher Plaskon, 16, who is accused of fatally stabbing Jonathan Law Junior Class President Maren Sanchez, 16, at the school in April, are contemplating an insanity defense, the Hartford Courant reports. 

Attorney Richard T. Meehan said they’ve chosen three judges to decide Plaskon’s fate because they are more likely to be objective when deciding a case where mental health issues are debated, the Courant reports. 

"I'm a firm believer that juries have a very difficult time with issues pertaining to mental health and the criminal justice system," Meehan said after Wednesday's hearing, according to the Hartford Courant. 

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Plaskon is no longer on suicide watch, the paper reports. Plaskon on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in Superior Court, Milford. 

The New Haven Register’s Phyllis Swebilius tweeted that Plaskon’s attorney said his client is on medication for anxiety and psychosis but is lucid. 

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Plaskon’s attorney Richard T. Meehan has said his client is “ill” after his last court date. He is being held on $3 million bond.

“I do believe he is sick,” Meehan has said of Plaskon. “There are signs of active psychosis.”

Milford State’s Attorney Kevin Lawlor has pledged to fully prosecute the individual who committed this crime and to ensure they are “punished appropriately.”

Since the Sanchez tragedy, the Milford community has rallied together as thousands attended a city-wide vigil in her memory. More than 1,000 people attended Sanchez’s wake.



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