EXCLUSIVE: Boy, 16, who stabbed girl to death after she refused to go to prom because she was dating his friend 'was depressed and on heavy meds', devastated classmates reveal

Maren Sanchez, 16, was stabbed in the neck at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Connecticut Friday morning after refusing a prom invitation



The accused attacker, also 16, was her longtime friend Chris Plaskon



Friends say Plaskon was 'a cutter' and 'tried to kill himself last year'

'He just wasn't right... he had depression,' one friend said



Plaskon is now charged with murder as a juvenile but his lawyer expects it to be boosted to adult status



The junior prom was scheduled for Friday night but has been postponed

Some 200 friends and classmates went to a nearby beach to release purple, star-shaped balloons in Maren's honor, dressed in prom attire



Accused: Police reportedly have Chris Plaskon, 16, in custody and friends have said that he knew Maren Sanchez since middle school

The 16-year-old who allegedly hacked a fellow student to death at a suburban Connecticut high school after she refused to be his prom date is a ‘cutter’ who had previously attempted suicide and has a history of depression, his classmates have told MailOnline.



Chris Plaskon has been identified by parents and students as the teen arrested after Friday’s brutal attack on Maren Sanchez, the beloved junior prom queen. Friends say he battled ADHD and other mental issues that led to sometimes bizarre behavior in the classroom.



'He just wasn't right. I know his cousin. He didn't act right,' 16-year-old Seamus O’Reilly said Friday.



'He had depression.’



Plaskon allegedly attacked Sanchez, whom he dated a few years earlier in middle school, in the stairwell at Jonathan Law High School in Milford, Connecticut, Friday morning – stabbing her in the throat and hacking her to death with a kitchen knife as she fought for her life.



He is currently being held in a mental health ward, charged with murder as a juvenile but prosecutors have said they are considering filing adult charges against him.



Tyler Curtin, 16, said he was very close to Plaskon when they played on the football team together at freshmen – though Plaskon’s behavior had changed recently and the two grew apart.



Curtin said he believed Plaskon struggled with mental illness – including cutting himself. He always wore long sleeves to class.



‘He had ADHD and took strong medicine for it and had other things, too,’ Curtin said.



Plans: Maren Sanchez, pictured in the dress she had planned to wear to prom, was excited about the dance which was due to attend with her new boyfriend

Detained: Chris Plaskon is being charged with murder as an adult over the stabbing of a girl at his school

Apartment: The alleged attacker lives in an apartment in this complex in Milford, Connecticut with his parents and three brothers

Last year, Plaskon tried to kill himself, but called a friend at the last moment.



‘He was dealing with a lot of things.’



He also began acting out – seeking attention from his classmates. For Halloween last year he wore a full bodysuit under his clothes and ripped his pants off in the middle of class, Curtin said.



‘He was always acting up and always looking for attention,’ he said. ‘Everybody thought it was funny at the time.’

Friends say that by all indications, Plaskon had a good home life. He lives in an apartment on Long Island Sound with his father – a contractor – his mother and three brothers.



On Saturday, most of Sanchez’s classmates gathered in the gym at the high school – which administrators have turned into a makeshift crisis center. Grief counselors were on hand to speak with students and teachers – many of whom witnessed the attack or its aftermath first-hand.



A steady stream of classmates and parents dropped off flowers and stuffed animals at a makeshift memorial in front of the school. Sanchez’s classmates painted a rock in the front lawn purple – the color of the prom dress Sanchez was so excited to wear.



New relationship: Sanchez (left) had been dating Jarrod Butts (right) for about a month and a half at the time she was killed

Connected: Tyler Curtin (left, in the white shirt), Jarrod Butts (crouching in a green shirt) and Chris Plaskon (right, showing a thumbs up sign) were all on the same football team freshman year but have since grown apart

Curtin said he saw Sanchez – a friend he had known since sixth grade – being wheeled out of the school on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance. She was taken to a nearby hospital, but could not be revived.



‘Her neck was just covered in blood. It was everywhere,’ Curtin said.



‘It was really terrible. I can’t believe it. I still can’t believe what happened.’

Curtin said Plaskon and Sanchez's new boyfriend were acquaintances , but were not close. All three played together on the freshman football team – and were friends then. However, when Plaskon quit the team sophomore year, they stopped seeing each other.



The portrait that is emerging of Plaskon’s alleged attack on Sanchez shows the violent intersection of high school romance and social pressure – combined with a teen who, classmates say, was becoming increasingly isolated at school. Junior prom is a big deal at Jonathan Law High School. And it's a big deal if a boy doesn’t have a girl to go with him.



'It's just embarrassing if you don't have a date,' Seamus said.



Plaskon dated Sanchez in middle school, but the pair broke it – nobody remembers why. They remained friends and Sanchez moved on. But Plaskon didn’t.



Dealing with tragedy: Tyler Curtin said he was very close to Plaskon when they played on the football team together at freshmen, though Plaskon's behavior had changed recently and the two grew apart

History: Seamus O'Reilly, who is seen in front of the rock that was painted in honor of Maren, said that Plaskon was depressed and was trying to stand out and attract attention in school

Curtin said that he confessed he privately to his close friends that he still carried a flame for Sanchez.



Sanchez was working hard to make something of herself. She was heavily involved in after-school activities. She was junior class president, she was in drama club, choir, a student manager of the swim team and the softball team.



And she had a new boyfriend, a lacrosse and hockey star whom she had been dating for about a month and a half.



When Plaskon asked her to junior prom, Sanchez politely declined, classmates say.



The attack on Sanchez happened Friday morning as students prepared to go to class – and excitedly awaited junior prom. Sanchez herself had organized and planned the big dance and was chosen as prom queen.



Heartbreaking: Maren's boyfriend Jarrod Butts holds up the dress that the teenager planned to wear to their junior prom as friends gathered in her honor on Friday at the beach

Different duty: Maren's junior prom date Jarrod Butts was seen bringing the dress she was so eager to wear to the beachside memorial service held Friday night (left) and he was wearing a matching vest (right)



Emotional: Butts posted this message to his Twitter account on Friday

Classmates, even the ones who said they once knew Plaskon well, said nothing in his behavior had ever indicated he was capable of violence.



‘He was such a nice, sweet kid,’ Curtin said.



O’Reilly said he saw Plaskon Tuesday at the high school gym, doing squats. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and he didn't mention Maren or prom.

Prom, though, is a big deal at law high school. And it's a big deal if you don't have a date.



'It's just embarrassing if you don't have (a date),' O'Reilly said.

Heartbreaking: Maren was fatally stabbed on Friday morning by a boy who reportedly asked her to prom

Too soon: Maren had been looking forward to going to the junior prom with her hockey star boyfriend, and another boy- who she reportedly knew since middle school- asked her and she said no

Excited: Maren's drama teacher said that she had left rehearsals early on Thursday in order to get a manicure ahead of the big prom on Friday night

Plaskon's judicial fate is not yet decided, as his lawyer said that ' Connecticut law allows the authorities to try minors as adults for murder and other serious crimes'.

'They're devastated not only for him but they're devastated for Maren Sanchez's family as well. This is every parent's worst nightmare,' attorney Richard Meehan told The New York Times.



The small seaside community has be left reeling and hundreds of friends and fellow students went to a memorial held in her honor Friday night.



The students wore their dresses and tuxes to the beachside memorial for Maren instead, releasing purple balloons in tribute.



















