After fatally stabbing a classmate because she refused his prom invitation, Christopher Plaskon, 20, and his parents “agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim’s mother,” Donna Cimarelli-Sanchez. Though details surrounding the settlement have yet to be disclosed, the settlement is “pending approval in a probate court, where a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.”
After fatally stabbing a classmate because she refused his prom invitation, Christopher Plaskon, 20, and his parents “agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the victim’s mother,” Donna Cimarelli-Sanchez. Though details surrounding the settlement have yet to be disclosed, the settlement is “pending approval in a probate court, where a hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.”
But what happened? Stabbing a classmate just because she turned down an invitation to prom seems a bit extreme, no? Well, the accident itself occurred back in 2014. On the morning of April 25, Plaskon met “16-year-old Maren Sanchez in a hallway of Jonathan Law High School in Milford.” It was the day of the junior prom, and Plaskon asked Sanchez to the dance, a dance that “Sanchez’s friends said she had been looking forward to going to with her boyfriend.” Displeased with her response, Plaskon stabbed and killed her.
Though he was 16-years-old at the time, he was “sentenced to 25 years in prison last year after pleading no contest to a murder charge.” However, at the time of the sentencing, not everyone was convinced that the stabbing was 100% due to his prom invitation being rejected. For example, Edward Gavin, Plaskon’s lawyer at the trial, “said the stabbing wasn’t related to the prom but he did not elaborate.” Despite this, the prosecutors said “there was evidence from several sources that the attack was prompted by Sanchez’s rejection of Plaskon’s prom invitation.”
It’s important to note, however, that only part of the lawsuit has reached a settlement. According to reports, “the part of the lawsuit against the city and its school board remains pending,” and “alleges that Plaskon’s parents and school officials could have prevented the killing by taking appropriate steps to address his mental illness.”
Despite the allegations and what transpired, Plaskon’s “parents and city officials filed court documents denying wrongdoing.” In fact, if the civil case actually goes to trial, his parents “plan to have a psychiatrist testify that Plaskon was mentally ill and couldn’t control himself when he stabbed Sanchez.” According to his parents, he had “possible depression, suicidal tendencies, self-mutilating behavior, mood swings,” and court documents claim Plaskon “heard voices in his head that made him kill the girl.”
For the time being, we’ll have to wait to see how this all plays out. Both sides of the aisle have yet to return messages seeking comments.
Join the conversation!