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Asperger Syndrome Finds Spotlight In Murder Cases

January 20, 2007

BOSTON -- Asperger syndrome has been used with some success by defendants like 16-year-old John Odgren, whose alleged fatal stabbing of a fellow student in a high school bathroom has shocked a suburban town.

Odgren is being held without bail, charged with first-degree murder in the death of James Alenson, a 15-year-old freshman who prosecutors said was stabbed at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School on Friday morning.

Odgren's attorney told a judge during arraignment Friday that his client has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism in which people can be quite intelligent but are unable to develop social skills.

"These kids with Asperger's, particularly in the teenage years, see themselves on the outside looking in, and they don't know why," said Milton Altschuler, a Houston psychiatrist who diagnosed New York real estate heir Robert Durst as having the syndrome.

A Texas jury acquitted Durst of murdering a neighbor in 2003. His attorneys told jurors about the Asperger diagnosis, and his case is among several in recent years in which Asperger syndrome has played a role.

Missouri's appeals court in 2004 overturned a first-degree murder conviction on grounds that jurors weren't allowed to hear about James Boyd III's struggles with Asperger's. Boyd, who was serving a life sentence, this month entered a no-contest plea to second-degree murder, and is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

The Autism Society of America said there have been 22 criminal cases in the United States since 2002 in which convictions were avoided in part because of an Asperger syndrome diagnosis, The Boston Globe reported. The group did not return calls on Saturday.

Jeffrey Denner, a criminal defense attorney, said such a condition is more likely to result in a reduced sentence, compared to acquittal.

"The only defense in a criminal case is lack of criminal responsibility," Denner said on Saturday. "Diminished capacity can take first-degree murder down to second-degree. It can generally reduce the crime itself to lesser crime."

Denner said he "probably" has represented a client who has the syndrome because it's "not an uncommon condition. Usually people have a variety of different things."

Odgren, of Princeton, pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, said Odgren has Asperger syndrome and has been taking medications for many years. Shapiro, who did not return a call Saturday, told the court on Friday that Odgren has a "serious disability."

"The defendant has a history of fairly serious psychological diagnoses and has also suffered from hyperactivity dysfunction for many years," Shapiro said.

A fight broke out at about 7:20 a.m. between Odgren and Alenson in a school bathroom and spilled out into the hallway, where the stabbing took place, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said.

Authorities have not commented on a possible motive.

Odgren allegedly blurted out, "I did it. I did it," a prosecutor said. A police report said that after the stabbing, Odgren also said: "Is he OK? I don't want him to die."

Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bennett said Odgren stabbed Alenson with a long knife in the abdomen and once in the heart. The knife was found inside the school bathroom.

Students and parents were invited to the high school Saturday afternoon for a "community meeting," where counseling was available. The school will be open Sunday afternoon, as well.

Robert Craig, a father of two who lives down the street from the Alenson family, said on Saturday that that town is stunned.

“One of the main reasons we came to Sudbury was the quality of the schools," said Craig, whose daughter, Emma, attends the high school.

The Alenson family, which has an unlisted phone number, moved to Sudbury from Natick last summer. Craig described the parents as "very nice people," but he hadn't met James, whom others described as quiet and mild-mannered. Neighbors have begun preparing meals for the family for the next few weeks, Craig said.

"You wonder why nobody picked up any warning signs," Craig said of reports that Odgren sometimes wore a trench coat -- reminiscent of the Columbine High School killers - and seemed fixated on weapons.

Odgren once participated in a "CSI" -- crime scene investigation -- class at a local community college, and the Sudbury police officer who arrested Odgren reported an oddity, as well.

"I told Odgren at least three times to not speak in regards to the incident," officer Nathan Hagglund wrote in his report. "I told him that he needed to be provided his rights per Miranda. He told me that he had a set of Miranda rights in his wallet."

A detective then arrived and read him his Miranda rights -- which inform of the right to remain silent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 2 to 6 per 1,000 children have one of the autism spectrum disorders, of which Asperger syndrome is one. The cause is unknown but scientists suspect both genetic and environmental factors play roles, according to the CDC.