Suspect Of Brutal Milford Stabbing Over Prom Date Could Be Charged As Adult

On Friday, April 25, tragedy struck Jonathan Law High, a Milford, Connecticut school. The suspect, identified by classmates to be Chris Plaskon, 16, was involved in stabbing Maren Sanchez, 16, in the hallway during a class change. Staff members subdued the suspect of the stabbing and attempted to deliver first aid to wounds found on the victims face, neck and chest.

The victim was pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital in Milford less than a half-hour after the brutal stabbing.

Sanchez was a popular honor student and had been friends with Plaskon since they were in middle school together. Plaskon even lists her as a sister on his Facebook page. Milford residents were shocked that Plaskon, an athlete for the school, would take part in the stabbing.

Gail Wells, the mother of a student at the Milford school, said, “He was an all-American kid, the kind of kid you’d want your kids hanging around.”

“They’re looking for the kid in the black cape and the fangs and the black fingernails, but there was no sign,” Mark Robinson, who coached the football team of the Milford school last year, said after learning about his involvement in the stabbing. “He wasn’t a kid who was in the shadows. He was a well-liked kid. He was funnier than hell. That’s what makes it really strange.”

Police have not released an official motive, but students at the Milford school believe that Sanchez rejecting Plaskon’s request for a prom date prompted the stabbing.

Officer Jeffrey Nielsen, a spokesman for Milford police, had no other possible motives to report, but stated, “It’s all being investigated. We don’t work off speculation. We work on facts.”

According to Plaskon’s lawyer, Richard Meehan, the suspect is being held under psychiatric evaluation and could be there for up to 15 days. Connecticut law does allow for minors to be charged as adults in the case of murders, especially if they are as vicious as this stabbing was.

Kevin Lawlor, Connecticut State’s attorney, indicated that charging Plaskon as an adult for the stabbing was a possibility, but that the suspect has to appear in court first, which he can’t do while he’s being evaluated.

The officials from the Milford school postponed the prom indefinitely, following the stabbing. Instead, students dressed up in their formal-wear and released purple balloons on the beach in Sanchez’s honor. According to friends of the victim, purple was her favorite color.