TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: stabbing

  • Court documents on John Odgren

    Prosecutor outlines L-S murder suspect John Odgren’s history of violence:

    I’m linking this article because it has an interesting PDF file. It’s entitled “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. John Odgren”. I found it compelling and hard to put down. Let me give you the highlights for those of you who aren’t PDF enabled.

    • Odgren had January 19th, the day of the murder, marked on his calendar.
    • He was accepted by other students and there was no evidence of bullying.
    • He took particular joy in the blood splatter experiments in his forensic class.
    • Odgren threatened a student with a screwdriver.
    • He chased another student with a sharpened object which according to the article was a shard of glass.
    • The knife used to murder James Alenson was a 13-inch kitchen carving knife.
    • When Police Crime Scene Services arrived he excitedly offered to help them.
    • He made jokes with police and investigators.
    • He said that he didn’t even know the kid’s name (Alenson).

    If I didn’t know any better, and I do, I’d swear this was a premeditated murder of a random victim.

    I don’t care if Odgren was in a wheelchair, stricken with polio after his puppy died. He’s obviously in need of a lengthy stay behind bars. And as in lengthy, I mean forever.

  • Odgren pleads not guilty

    Odgren pleads not guilty

    Lincoln-Sudbury student pleads not guilty in slaying:

    John Odgren pleaded not guilty today in the stabbing death of James Alenson. So let me get this straight. He stabs James Alenson to death, basically confesses to the crime to police at the scene, then pleads not guilty. Just once, I want someone to plead guilty. Why has he pleaded not guilty? I sense someone laying the grounds for an insanity defense…

    Odgren, a 16-year-old sophomore from Princeton, looked puzzled during the proceeding as his attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, asked the judge to transfer his client from jail to Westborough State Hospital so he could receive medication and psychiatric treatment. Odgren’s condition has deteriorated, Shapiro said, and he has been on suicide watch for the last four or five days.

    Judge Isaac Borenstein ordered that Odgren be sent to Westborough State for observation for 20 days.

    Call me a cold-hearted bastard if you want, but I’m not buying it. I think Odgren and his lawyer are trying to use his Asperger’s to their advantage. I would lay odds that during the trial, they’re going to make it seem like that all Asperger’s patients are all just time bombs ready to go off and kill someone at any given moment.

    Let’s not forget what Odgren did either…

    Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bennett said that Odgren slashed Alenson’s throat before plunging a 5.5-inch knife through his ribs and then into his though the stomach. A third student was in a bathroom stall and heard Alenson say, “What are you doing, you are hurting me,” Bennett said.

    That doesn’t sound like someone who “just snapped” to me. That sounds more like a stone-cold killer.

  • Odgren brought knife to school before with no punishment

    Odgren brought knife to school before with no punishment

    Report: Stabbing suspect took knife to school without punishment:

    It seems that accused killer John Odgren had previously brought a knife to school without any kind of punishment. Apparently, he brought the knife to school and supposedly presented it to a school psychologist at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School last September. He asked the psychologist what would happen if he brought something to school that he shouldn’t have, then showed the psychologist the knife.

    He says he brought the knife to school by accident. How do you bring a knife to school by accident? Anyway, what makes matters worse is that the psychologist confiscated the knife and then gave it back to Odgren at the end of the day. The psychologist only told his supervisor but did not tell the principal or police. It’s also unknown if the psychologist was employed by the school district or some other agency.

    Considering that Odgren ended up stabbing James Alenson to death, I’d say there was an error in judgment on the part of the psychologist to put it politely. To put it impolitely, the psychologist is an idiot and should have his license to practice taken away.

    Personally, I think Odgren was testing the waters, so to speak, to see what he could get away with. If the knife was taken away for good, that would have been no big deal since Odgren had an extensive knife collection. It just would have been one out of many.

    I think this shows that Odgren may have been planning the murder for a while. Remember, Odgren was always talking about how he would get away with murder. I don’t think James Alenson was his intended target from the beginning. Personally, I don’t think Odgren had a specific target in mind at all. I think James Alenson was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when Odgren decided to fulfill his murderous fantasies.

  • Odgren indicted

    Odgren indicted

    School stabbing suspect faces life:

    John Odgren is facing life behind bars without parole after a Middlesex grand jury handed down an indictment for first-degree murder in the stabbing death of James Alenson at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. The D.A.’s office described the murder as a “planned, unprovoked knife attack on an unsuspecting victim”.

    Odgren’s attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, had the following to say…

    “Massachusetts’ criminal justice system is in the Middle Ages when it comes to the treatment of children,” Shapiro said.

    So I guess stabbing someone multiple times to death is considered modern and civil according to Mr. Shapiro.

  • NPR on Asperger’s and the Lincoln-Sudbury murder

    NPR on Asperger’s and the Lincoln-Sudbury murder

    Student with Asperger Syndrome Charged in Murder:

    This is a piece from NPR about how much a part Asperger’s Syndrome is playing in the murder of James Alenson by Asperger’s patient John Odgren. What I found interesting about this piece is that some parents of Asperger’s kids are horrified that Odgren’s defense attorney is using Asperger’s as a defense. It’s a very good listen.

    Thanks to Dr. Feste for the link.

  • Odgren warrants to remain sealed

    Odgren warrants to remain sealed

    Judge denies request for access to Odgren search warrants:

    Luckily, a judge has wisely decided that the search warrants used in the investigation of Lincoln-Sudbury stabbing suspect John Odgren will not be made public.

    Judge Paul Healy Jr. said in a ruling that releasing the information to the public would not be fair to the investigation or suspect John Odgren, 16, of Princeton.

    “At this time, it is believed that a blanket impoundment order is necessary to protect the rights of both the defendant and the Commonwealth and that there is no reasonable alternative,” Healy wrote in the two page decision.

    Thank God, this exercise in media self-righteousness was put down quickly.

  • Odgren’s past

    Odgren’s past

    School transfer of accused teen eyed:

    This is an article that chronicles the school history of Lincoln-Sudbury High stabbing suspect John Odgren. According to the article, he attended 5 schools in five years, which also, according to the article, is not very conducive to an Asperger’s patient.

    Psychiatrists say children with Asperger’s often struggle with school transitions, and a move to a large public school with 1,600 students would not be easy. Youngsters with Asperger’s typically have poor social skills.

    “It’s difficult for these people to accept changes,” said Mohammad Ghaziuddin, a child psychiatrist at the University of Michigan and a specialist in Asperger’s. “They are used to having their own schedule, their own routines. It’s their desire for sameness.”

    At this point, it’s unknown why all those transfers took place. One of the schools said that anyone who has a tendency towards violence would not be allowed to remain there. Lincoln-Sudbury schools are also saying that records provided to them were missing documents that should have contained information regarding Odgren’s past “explosive episodes”.

    Was he shuffled from school to school because of his behavior? Or could it have been parental impatience? Were they possibly not satisfied with the pace he was progressing and held the schools responsible? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

  • Odgren investigation is worldwide?

    Odgren investigation is worldwide?

    Judge to rule Monday on search warrants:

    In arguing whether or not the search warrants used to investigate the murder of James Alenson by John Odgren should be made public, Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bennett had the following to say…

    “We’re attempting to gather evidence worldwide,” said assistant district attorney Daniel Bennett. If information about what was found when the four search warrants were executed is made public, “The information we’re seeking could be altered. It could be destroyed. The search of evidence is both worldwide and goes back 16 years.”

    Even though my curiosity levels are through the roof at this point, there’s no real reason why the warrants should be made public until the investigation and trial are over.

    The judge is set to decide on Monday.

  • Zarate brothers plead not guilty

    Zarate brothers plead not guilty

    Not-guilty pleas in grisly slaying:

    From the “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me” Dept. comes the story that both Zarate brothers have pleaded not guilty in the murder and dismemberment of 16-year-old Jennifer Parks.

    So let me get this straight. They invited Jennifer to their house, beat her and stabbed her to death, dismembered her body so that they can store the body in a trunk, stored the trunk in a Jeep for 24 hours and attended a kid’s birthday party, then got caught trying to dump her body in the Passaic River, and then they plead not guilty?

    What possible defense could they have? I guess they figured since the death penalty is off the table, they’ll take their chances in the trial.

  • Alenson didn’t know his attacker

    Alenson didn’t know his attacker

    Principal: No Evidence Slain Teen Knew Attacker:

    The principal of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, John M. Ritchie, addressed a group of parents at the school auditorium Thursday night. He stated that there was no pre-existing relationship between accused killer John Odgren and his victim James Alenson. So all of those claiming bullying as Odgren’s motive can stick that in your crack pipes.

    Now it says the stabbing started as an altercation. How do we know that John Odgren didn’t start that altercation? If he’s going to claim that Asperger’s caused him to kill James Alenson the prosecution can also claim that it caused him to kill James Alenson unprovoked.

    An insanity plea can work both ways.